Taking the plunge - our first cat show

Right, I've done it, I've posted the entry form. I'm going to show Monty on 4th December.
That's if the hall isn't already full and if there are any double pens left.

As a long-term moggy-owner I was dead against showing a cat, no point in it, etc etc, but what is it about the MC and the MC community? I have slowly been talked into it! Partly because there are threads on this forum which talk about what a great social occasion it is, what fun it is, etc, but what really tipped the balance was my breeder who, on a visit to my house a few weeks ago, said that Monty was really blossoming and was easily the best kitten she had ever produced. If that's the case, then I thought I should really give it a go, if only as a favour to her, to 'advertise' her prefix. Besides, I'm curious and it's a new experience that I (and Monty) might enjoy. He's a very regal, stately creature with a sweet, sweet nature, and he looks like a show cat, (although I don't really know what I mean by that).

I had lots of qualms about the bathing/grooming/primping routine, and although I think I've got my head round that now, I'm still terrified of the day itself and of what might go wrong. Most of all I don't want Monty to be distressed. Still, every show cat has to go through their first show and I'm just hopeful that it will be OK. If it's not, I'll just take him home and not do it again. My breeder friend is being very supportive and she'll be showing Monty's dad at the same time, so I'll have someone to pester on the day!

Does anyone have any tips on things I could do to minimise stress on the day? I've ordered a big pet carrier which I'm planning to leave out for the lads as a 'den' to play in. They loved playing in the old one, which they've outgrown. Then I thought a few trial runs in the car. The show is only 20 minutes' drive away. Any other ideas, I'd love to hear, as this is one nervous mum!

Which show are you going too ?
If it is an FB one or Tica you can take his favourite blanket & toys which will make him feel at home,I would say don't worry about any of it,get him bathed & groomed up to look his best & I am sure if his breeder is there she will help with final touches on the day because it will benefit her as well by promoting her breed & just go along with an open mind & have fun with Monty....

Thanks Jackie. It's GCCF, North of Britain.Longhair and Semi-Longhair cat club. I know you can't have anything personal in the pens at GCCF but I don't think he'll mind that, I just hope he'll cope with being penned up all day, and meeting lots of strangers. Fingers crossed!

Good luck will look forward to hearing all about it,I was dreading that you were going to say FB at Rugby because we normally do that on the Saturday but have decided against it this year,it is a long drive & getting out of bed at 4AM has lost its appeal....
Merl got three firsts at his first GCCF show & one second,so close to being a red card day so fingers crossed Monty can do it x

How exciting - can't wait to see how he gets on, and wish you lots of luck and lots more fun!

My breeder recommends Zylkene - they're capsules that you can either get the cat to swallow (they're damn big though) or you can open them and drop the powder in food/drink. It's based on lactic acid (kind of like mothers milk) and has a slight soporiphic effect that calms the cats down. She suggested it to me to help relax Freyja after Wicca's arrival, and had already mentioned that she uses it prior to cat shows. The vet tells me it generally works best when you start giving it to them about 2 weeks before the 'stressful event'. I don't know if it's what helped Freyja adjust to Wicca, but we stopped using after 5 days as she'd calmed right down.

Get your show bag ready well in advance - to prevent stress to yourself! This is my list of 'stuff':
Vac card
White litter tray / blankets / dish / hook on water bowl
Cat food / fork
Usual cat litter / poo scoop / nappy sacks
Trigene or similar / kitchen roll - to wipe out the inside of the pen before putting cat in
Wipes - for hands or 'accidents'
Grooming kit
Bottle of water - for cat
Headache tablets - for you!
Plasters - you never know!

I usually leave a couple of bits of kitchen roll (plain white) on top of the litter tray as Alfie has a habit of laying in the tray and it stops all the cat litter getting stuck all over his belly. Saves you another job of frantically grooming it all out before judging!

Oh yeah - and dont forget the cat! I bet its been done... :shy:

I always have antibacterial hand gel as well,has been used more than once on others who have been scratched or bitten,plus something else that I always have but as yet not had to use,others have again borrowed it & thats dry shampoo,the one that I have is Miracle coat foaming waterless cat shampoo,found that on one of our visits to Hubint,got a super scent to it.
I don't know about forgetting the cat but I will always remember going to one GCCF show & there were loads of steps to get up,the gentleman in front of us had a trolley with loads of cats on it so we all offered to help him up individually with them,at the top he lined them up,got out the certificates & started sorting which one went with who,then panic took over,he had picked up a wrong cat,the one he had got wasn't a show one at all & the one he had left behind was going for a championship & out of them all was the worse one he could have got muddled,poor man,don't know how he explained that one to the wife but I know he was dreading going home,they didn't live close enough to do a swap,all he kept saying was that it was early in the morning & if she had got up to help load.....

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Originally Posted by jckkerrison

I always have antibacterial hand gel as well,has been used more than once on others who have been scratched or bitten,plus something else that I always have but as yet not had to use,others have again borrowed it & thats dry shampoo,the one that I have is Miracle coat foaming waterless cat shampoo,found that on one of our visits to Hubint,got a super scent to it.
I don't know about forgetting the cat but I will always remember going to one GCCF show & there were loads of steps to get up,the gentleman in front of us had a trolley with loads of cats on it so we all offered to help him up individually with them,at the top he lined them up,got out the certificates & started sorting which one went with who,then panic took over,he had picked up a wrong cat,the one he had got wasn't a show one at all & the one he had left behind was going for a championship & out of them all was the worse one he could have got muddled,poor man,don't know how he explained that one to the wife but I know he was dreading going home,they didn't live close enough to do a swap,all he kept saying was that it was early in the morning & if she had got up to help load.....

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What a nightmare! Great story though, made me chuckle... At least HB won't have that problem with Laggs and Monty as both are handsome chaps!

Whoops! :LOL:

Good luck on your first cat show, I have been to a few (just visiting) and it looks good fun and everyone seems so friendly.

I like showing my cats but its really down to the cat, some are natural show offs but others just want to hide away and the only way you will find out is to go. I had a lovely boy, he was totally confident at home we took him to Swindon and you'd think he'd turned into a Munchkin! He was so frit he couldn't stand up!

Most cats enjoy the attention and the GCCF judges are all very experienced, most are breeders themselves and genuinely love cats. Don't be too worried about cleaning the show cages as they are all thoughly cleaned by the penning companies (MP Penning are very good).

Just stay calm and get there early... my Gr Ch boy doesn't travel well and often has accidents (we do get withhelds cos of this) I have found that the potions sold in pet shops do not work, they just make the coat greasy... if there is time you must rewash the soiled areas with soap and water! You really must shower your cat thoughly, they can't be clean enough (voice of experience here as when I started I washed my girls in the sink... needless to say we didn't do very well!)

Above all have fun, meet new friends and take lots of cash.

oh I forgot... take your moggy if you have one they compete in the master cat classes and go up for best in show.. I for one would love the supreme exhibit to be a domestic shorthair/longhair this year. I'm not going this time but that has to be the place to go if you have any spare cash and a love of cats

Bum... its MF Penning..I knew I'd get it wrong, they are a really professional company and the guys who do our shows in the South West are really funny too.

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Originally Posted by Tivicoons

Just stay calm and get there early... my Gr Ch boy doesn't travel well and often has accidents (we do get withhelds cos of this) I have found that the potions sold in pet shops do not work, they just make the coat greasy... if there is time you must rewash the soiled areas with soap and water! You really must shower your cat thoughly, they can't be clean enough (voice of experience here as when I started I washed my girls in the sink... needless to say we didn't do very well!)

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Cripes! What is a 'withheld'?
When you say 'accident', did he wet himself or throw up? Did you have to take him to the ladies' loo and dunk him in one of the sinks? Did you then have time to dry him off?

We don't have a shower, but we put him in the bath on a bath mat, and use a wet flannel and a big jugfuls of water to rinse off. He's fairly calm about this, as what he really doesn't like is the sound of the taps running. So do you lose marks if you've missed a bit?

Thanks for all the insight, Tivicoons! Very useful.

Why not have a complete trial run as if you are getting ready for the show,with my three I have always had to bath them on different days to make sure their coats are settled & at their best on the day so that way you could monitor him & bath accordingly show week,the first eighteen months of showing with Merl he was done in the bath without the aid of a shower,it was just jugs,jugs & more jugs & he took BIS twice so it can be done just a lot harder than with a shower,after shampooing rinse,rinse,rinse & rinse again & don't forget a little vinegar in the final rinse,as for travel would he be better on a harness on your lap,taking it that there are two of you going,& only put in carrier when you arrive,that is how I do with Shimba,he is the only one that has ever had accidents but on my lap is fine,he is a lot better now but still dare not risk it on show day,he will travel home no problem in carrier,if not make sure you have plenty of clean covers so you can swop them over quick if he has an accident,some people even put baby bibs on to catch any drool.......! Didn't you say the breeder was going to be there,I am sure she will advice on any final tweaking on the day,I luv the preparation part & if you catch the bug so will you,
another product which I have is Quickclean,only used that the first time when we took babes & Shims done the three P's,luckily because we still had two hours of travel I got the water & quickclean & washed affected areas & by the time we got there he was dry & powdered up ok,that is when I got the dry shampoo,as I said in other post I haven't had to use it but several other people have & reckon it is a good one but fingers crossed I don't have to find out for myself.Really looking forward to hearing about it all,just remember at the end of the day you are going to be bringing the best cat home whatever & as already mentioned no doubt a lot poorer but lots of nice new things for puss....

Hi Tivicoons,you are not one of those that I have seen in the ladies holding cats under the hand dryer are you....?
Sure dries them quickly if you have one that obliges !

Good for you, you will be soon bitten by the bug... we are going to our first show in January... after a long long time out... And I am so excited... we have already had the drapes made.. and the cats sorted and have not even entered yet! lol

Enjoy:smile:

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Originally Posted by Wendy1969

Trigene or similar / kitchen roll - to wipe out the inside of the pen before putting cat in
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Hi Wendy, just a quick question do you rinse after using TriGene?

I use Safe4 both the spray and wipes at home as you do not have to rinse before letting my two walk on surfaces or use the tray. Also their odour spray smells fab :smile:

Just to wish you the best of luck with the show and hope you all have a great day, I don't know if I would be safe with the trade stands though:rofl:

Any way have a great time :winkwink:

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Originally Posted by Helen & John

Hi Wendy, just a quick question do you rinse after using TriGene?

I use Safe4 both the spray and wipes at home as you do not have to rinse before letting my two walk on surfaces or use the tray. Also their odour spray smells fab :smile:

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I just do a quick wipe over the plastic panels at the sides and give the door the once over. Haven't rinsed but then Alfie doesn't tend to try licking the walls! :rofl:
I have found that quite often these areas are dirty (despite the penning people cleaning the pens) - just my experience

Hi Candes, sorry I can't update you yet, as the show is on 4th December!

Whoops I lost the thread but yes my poor cat has been dried under the hand dryer before now! A withheld is a total bummer its when you are up for a certificate but the judge doesn't think the cat is quiet up to (dare I say it) scratch. So you will get a first but not the say Grand or Imperial, but it can happen in the open and your cc (challenge certificate) will be withheld, this doesn't happen very often so don't worry, if your cat is washed and groomed to perfection you are halfway there.

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Originally Posted by Tivicoons

Whoops I lost the thread but yes my poor cat has been dried under the hand dryer before now! A withheld is a total bummer its when you are up for a certificate but the judge doesn't think the cat is quiet up to (dare I say it) scratch. So you will get a first but not the say Grand or Imperial, but it can happen in the open and your cc (challenge certificate) will be withheld, this doesn't happen very often so don't worry, if your cat is washed and groomed to perfection you are halfway there.

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Thanks for explaining that one, Tivicoons. The show is this coming Saturday and I'm a bag of nerves. I've got Friday off work to do some show prep, so fingers crossed. There seems to be an awful lot to get right, so I hope I can manage it. Monty is a great big gangly willful teenager at the moment, so I hope I can coax him into co-operation. Otherwise it's going to be a bit tricky....but I just hope I will be able to see him in his pen, looking regal and splendid, ready to take on all comers! When I leave him to the judges, it will be out of my hands. My worst nightmare would be returning to the pen to see a 'could not handle' sign. (aargh!) He can be a bit nervy but if approached sensibly he should be OK.

Really must stop fretting about this! Every show cat has to do his first show.....but it could be his last!!!!

Good luck on Saturday - will be thinking of you x

Merlyn,Shimba & Welly say good luck as well,will be watching out for the results...
We would normally be going up to Rugby this weekend to do a FB show but how the weather is I am quite pleased that it didn't work out this year.
Everything crossed for you x

Seems like ages ago you entered him and yet here we are. We're all thinking of you both - Wicca's been trying to type him her own good luck message but she's not much of a touch typist and I have to keep deleting the row of 8s and 9s she keeps treading on. I'll sign off now as I have a small demonic cat to strangle - good luck for the weekend xx

Good luck for Saturday, it is fun, honest! After you leave your kitty do get the catalogue, its full of info on all the other exhibitors. The show results will be posted on a long board, usually in a side room, some of the results go up way before you can go back into the hall. Its quite interesting to write up all the results for the coonies, then later if you feel nosy look on the GCCF site at the bottom there is a button for 'find your show report' these make interesting reading! Some of mine make my toes curl up, poor Quiff! but Fey's ones for the Southwestern were lovely and made up for the 'smelly cat' comments aimed at my... ok he was that day a very smelly cat!

I've just heard that Saturday's show has been cancelled due to the weather. We're still under 40cm of snow here in Sheffield - apparently it's the worst snow for 30 years and there's more to come.
It's a shame, but on the other hand we can all relax! They might reschedule or they might refund us, I'm waiting to hear about that. So Monty's off the hook!

Monty or mummy off the hook ?
What a shame,I know the FB are still hoping to hold theirs at Rugby but it is not only the cats & owners who have to make it most of the judges fly in from other countries,thats what I like about FB,you can't pick your judge,you don't know until the day who you have got.I won't be surprised if it is cancelled though but as we were giving this one a miss I won't feel bad about getting the cats prepared for nothing.
I do hope they reschedule the show so Monty gets his chance,will be watching this space !