Cat shows
People keep asking
me, why on Earth I travel hundreds and hundreds of kilometers just
to attend some cat show on the other side of Finland, or in some
other country. Yeah, why? It was only a few years ago when I
believed showing cats is plain nonsense - until I tried it myself
☺.
Surely the most
important reason why we show enthusiasts take the time to drive
through the night to the cat show is having the chance to get
together with our friends. Cat shows are a good opportunity to catch
up with old friends as well as to make new ones with similar
interests. Cat shows are, in another words, very much of social
events. In addition, the competetive ones of us have the chance to
enjoy the competition for winning the class, the best in variety,
the nominations, and the final Best in Show competition. Attending
shows, and especially succeeding in them, give the breeder
visibility, and credibility. In addition to those who breed, cat
shows are a good way of taking part in promoting cats as pets, and a
great hobby, for those who don't want to, or are not in a suitable
place in their lives, to breed pedigree cats.
However, ribbons and trophies are not the sole purpose of attending
cat shows, but cat shows are both fun, and a useful tool in breeding.
Cat shows are
occasions, when breeders get to hear objective opinion of their
achievements in breeding, in a form of show judgement of their cats.
Show situation with all the noise, other cats, and a stranger
handling the cat, is an important character test for the cat. In cat
shows breeder also has a chance to see cats from his or her breeding
that have moved out and live in their new homes. How the
promising kitten from some litter turned out, or whatever became of
the little cute one, the information is invaluable when making
decisions of future matings. And it is just as important for the
breeder to see cats from other catteries. If a breeder only sees the
ones he or she has at home, there is a great risk that the breeder
might stay, or become, blind to the faults of his/her own cats, and in the
very least, the breeder misses out on a view of the breed as a whole.
In addition, one important aspect of showing cats is making contact
with other breeders. Sooner or later every breeder needs cooperation
with other breeders, for no breeder can survive alone. And cat shows
are a good place to meet potential cooperators.
Cosmo in
KesKis show in Jämsä June 18, 2005
Photo: Heikki Siltala
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Cat shows and us
Meeting friends is
the very reason why I love going to cat shows so much. In addition,
I want to be able to see cats from other breeding programs, to keep
a critical view to my own cats, and to see how the breed is
developing in general. I make an attempt to show all the
cats in my breeding program at least a few times. However, if some
cat does not like showing but is clearly uneasy even after a few
times of rehearsing, I will not force the shows, however beautiful
the cat might be, but such cat is naturally allowed to stay home.
Other aspects of life also limit the number of shows we attend
throughout the year. Sometimes it is more important to stay home and
relax.
Although I've been
blessed with successful show cats (huge thanks to the breeders of my
cats
☺),
no cat is more precious to me than another, but I love them all
equally independent of the amount of fame they might have brought
me. Also in my breeding I put more emphasis on my own insight, the
cats' lines, health, character, preserving gene pool of the breed,
and the faith I have in the cooperating people as breeders, and as
persons, than I do on show success.
Clara in October 2004, photo: Heikki Siltala
I don't require the
new owners of the Spectrolite kittens to show their cats, put if any
of them chooses to do so, I am more than happy to help them get
started. The most promising kittens in each litter will stay in my
breeding program, and to the ones that are available as pets, I try
to choose the new homes in a way that takes into consideration the
buyer's wishes for show/pet quality kitten. However, finding the
right home for each kitten, a cat person who will love and care for
his/her new family member for the rest of the cat's life, is of
utmost importance, and always the first priority when choosing the
buyers. A cat's value is not in the trophies he/she might bring home
to the owner, and no kitten of mine is sold as a show piece or
adornment. Besides, the development of the kitten has only begun
when it is time to move to the new home, and furthermore, there are
no definite means of determining the cat's show character beforehand,
so no one can guarantee that any particular cat is a future show
star.
Category 3, the short
haired breeds, is a big one, with a lot of breeds, and outstanding
quality in Finland. According to the
statistics made by Incat ry., Cornish rex was the most showed breed
in category 3 in Finland in 2005. The quality of Cornish rex cats in
Finland is very high, and there has been many Cornish rex cats
winning nominations, and BIS. In the past there has been one
Scandinavian Winner Cornish rex, and several World Winner Cornish
rex cats in Finland. Thus the competition in shows is tight, and the
one and same cat can be either BIS, or left out in the first round,
depending on the day, and the taste of the given judge - and even the less
successful cats may have considerable value as breeding cats.
I have listed all the
show results of my own cats, and all the results of Spectrolite cats
I know of, in the
Show results
pages. In addition to the results, I have listed the dates, places,
and the judges who have given the particular judgement. You can also
check out the links to the unofficial Cornish rex ranking lists in
Finland by Incat ry..
Rocky in Pirok drive in show in December 2005,
photo: Olivia Halonen |