All You Need to Know About Cat Shows
A Cat Show is a judged event where the owners of cats compete to win titles and rosettes by entering their cats to be judged towards a breed standard. Both pedigreed and household companion cats are admissible, although the rules differ for each. Read our guide to find out more about how cat shows work.
GCCF Supreme Cat Show 2019
First Imperial Grand Champion, Best of Breed Winner
Attending and exhibiting at a cat show is a fun and unique experience. They can be hectic and noisy but they are also great fun. It is important to determine whether you think your cat will enjoy being at a show, before entering them into one. A show cat needs a friendly and relaxed disposition, so make sure you know your cat will enjoy the experience too!
How Cat Shows Work
A show normally opens to exhibitors bright and early to allow the setup to commence, and for any exhibitors who are traveling early access to settle their cats before judging starts. ‘Vetting in’ normally happens between 7:30am-9:30am, where a vet will check over your cat, ensure they are happy and healthy and allow them to access the show. Once this is done, typically all of the all exhibitors are set up and in place by 10am.
Exhibitors are asked to leave the show hall at 10am, and must not return until the first round of judging has taken place. which normally means around 12:30pm.
The public are normally admitted in the middle of the day until closing time at around 4pm. The cats are all placed in pens with a white blanket to lay on, along with a white litter tray and water bowl. The cats are all in similar surroundings so that they cannot be identified by the judges.
The judges with their stewards move around the show hall, taking the cats out of their pens one at a time to be judged; you will recognise them by their badges and white coats. Judges do not normally speak to the exhibitors or the public until they have finished their judging. The results are written into a book and slips from the books appear on the results board later in the day; you will see the boards surrounded by exhibitors excitedly searching for their cats' placings.
The pens are in rows usually in pedigree categories. The non pedigree cats may be in a different part of the hall. The shows usually has a catalogue which provides people with information about the cats, breeds, colours and may have advertisements by some breeders and stall holders so this can be useful.
There is one Large overall show held at the NEC, Birmingham each year in, normally around October where cats that have won the top prizes at other shows throughout the year can compete for the title of 'Supreme'. This show is a little different, cats will all be exhibited in mainly decorated pens and will be taken to special rings to be judged, the public are allowed to watch and listen to the judging taking place. A number of judges try to give a commentary on the judging while you are watching.
Pre Show Preparation
This is where the hard work begins!
Any cat entering a show must be in an overall healthy condition. No fleas, no dirty ears or ear mites, no runny eyes, no worms or worm patches, no patches of skin or boldness, no sneezes and all vaccinations up to date. All claws must be trimmed with claw clippers. All exhibitors need to have a clean plain white blanket, a non tip water bowl that can be clipped on to the pen, a feeding bowl and litter tray - all these have to be white. These are called ‘show whites’. Some ‘Show White’ sets include a fan for when we have warm weather and the show halls get a little warm.
Ideally take a cloth or some wipes to wipe out the pen prior to putting any items inside it including your cat!
Check that your cat is vaccinated up to date and that the vaccination certificate describes the cat correctly. The card should show the cat's full name as well as its correct breed, colour, sex and age. You will need to show this vaccination card at vetting-in.
In the week leading up to the show you will need to do plenty of preparation, lots of grooming, some exhibitors bath their cat around a week before a show, especially if they are a stud boy and have ‘stud tail’.
Show Day
You will be up bright and early, checking the cat over to ensure there no stains and you ensuring you have everything packed ready to go. The butterflies will start and you will be excited for the day ahead!
Ensure you leave enough time to arrive at the show hall, things can happen on route like the cat being sick or going to the toilet!
When you arrive, follow the signs to Vetting In, where you will probably find a queue of exhibitors. Paperwork at shows varies but you will be given some form of vetting in envelope for the vet to sign, have this, and your vaccination card, ready to give to the vet. If you have prepared your cat carefully all should be well. If for example they require you to trim more off the claws then you’ll be asked to do that and re join the Vetting-In.
Once through Vetting-In you can locate your pen. A pen number is displayed on your paperwork that was handed to you when you walked into the Show Hall. Give the pen a wipe over, settle your cat in, and prepare for judging. You may need to give your cat a final grooming to ensure you are happy. Judging normally starts at 10am. Just before you leave the show hall, ensure that you only have the water bowl, litter tray and blanket in the pen. The Show Catalogues are normally available for collection as all exhibitors leave the show hall.
When you return to the hall check your cat, and you can now feed it if you wish. You can also give the cat a small toy to play with. The results should of started to appear on the show results board. Results slips will go up throughout the day and some results will take longer than others.
Upon checking results, you will start to notice rosettes appearing on the cat pens for those who have been placed in the Breed Classes. You are awarded ‘cards’ for for the side classes. Fingers crossed your cat has done well!
For a list of all upcoming shows and events, check the GCCF calendar here; https://www.gccfcats.org/show-calendar
Best of luck!