Cat show question

I have never gone to a cat show, but someone told me judging is based on good grooming and good looks. Huh? I know that in dog shows judging is based on breed traits. Is this the same with cats? To me all felines are beautiful and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Maybe there's a cat show judge out there who can explain it!

I'm not yet a judge(four years until I'm legal to be one) but I've judged fun shows on occassion. Type is the main thing that judges are looking for, for example a persian must have, large round eyes spaced well apart, of gold or deep orange color OR in contrast to the body(silver tabby can have green eyes), small ears set low on the head, rounded top of head that should follow over to the back without any breaks or gaps, body to be cobby and low to the ground.. just a few things, not offical or anything of course, but all breeds of cats need different things to conform to a standard. I know Ken here is a judge he may also be able to help you. My grandparents are long time international judges as well, and yes grooming is a big part of it as well, if there were two cats of equal type and one was poorly groomed and one was groomed to perfection, then obviousely the cat better groomed would win the award. However a "standard" as well call it only applies to purebreeds, domestic cats(the majority of cats on the site) don't have a standard and can be any size shape or color(In reason) and it's the judge on the day that picks their fave, personality is a big plus in this section! Hope this helps a bit.

Thank you Sam! It is like a dog show after all (when it comes to the purebreeds) but if I ever get to judge domestic cats I'll never be able to make up my mind, or it would all depend on my mood for the day!

Yayi when you say domestic cats is that the same as not a pure bred? (or as they are affectionately known as moggies)? Because I wouldn't know where to start either. I think they take into account temprament and character as well for moggies. I agree all kitties are beautiful, have you ever met one you didn't like... aaww lets give them all a medal.

Originally Posted by yayi

if I ever get to judge domestic cats I'll never be able to make up my mind, or it would all depend on my mood for the day!

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Yayi, That's exactly what it is when it comes to domestics (Moggies), iot depends on my mood and whatever strikes my fancy at the moment. As long as they are clean and healthy....

As for the rest, whew! My book of standards is well used! There are so many things that have to be considered when judging a cat, and sometimes the difference between 1st and 2nd is just a few 10ths of a point. As
far as grooming goes, and Sam can verify this, im sure, there are those exhibitors that can take a mediocre cat and groom it into a perfect cat. If you ever go to a cat show, watch who the perians folks so carefully groom the baby, and then watch as a judge completely messes the whole grooming effort up in about 10 seconds.

While most of the time, 99.9%, if you have 2 cats that are the same in all respects, which hardly ever happens, the choice will be made by the grooming standard of the cat, although there are times when I know how hard it is to groom some cats, a red Maine Coon comes to mind. Red course coats can be hard to keep to maintain the look of "flowing" hair. No matter what you try and do.

Hope that helps!