Watch your language – cat education November 20, 2011

I was updating my jewelry site tonight by adding my newly created rosaries (check it out: www.infinitelyspiritual.com) and as I struggled with finding the right words to describe them, I thought it would be interesting to post a quick blurb here on the blog about some of the phrases that cat breeders use and seem to confuse the general public:

• “This cat/kitten is typey” -  conforms to the breed standard.  This generally means that the cat/kitten looks like the breed should look and usually applies to the structure of the head and mostly the placement of the nose.  Show quality.

• “Pet quality” – this cat/kitten is not show quality and doesn’t have enough good genetic qualities to be used for producing show quality kittens. Normally, if the cat/kitten has one or more of the following less than favorable qualities, it is considered to be a pet: long nose bridge, too much of a muzzle, ears are too large and/or set too high, eyes not being round or large enough, body is too long, or the legs are too long.

• “Breeder quality” – breeder quality cats can have some of the qualities of pets, but they will then have other qualities that balance the lack of greatness in those areas. For instance, a breeder may keep a pet quality kitten that has a long nose because it has perfect eye color. Selectively breeding it will put that perfect eye color into the gene pool and eventually improve the eye color of the entire bloodline as offspring are produced from that one cat. When this quality of perfect eye color is seen in better typed offspring, the original long nosed cat is no longer bred.  It is then spayed and petted out with the hopes that its less than desirable qualities  were not embedded into the gene pool along with the perfect eye color. This is known as “selective breeding” or breeding for specific qualities.

• “This cat/kitten is nice” – we’re not saying the cat/kitten is sweet – they’re all sweet. We mean is – nice quality (show quality).

• “Show quality” – meets the written CFA Show Standard for a particular breed of cat.

• “Champion” – a cat that has been successfully shown in front of 6 judges without having been disqualified for faults or insufficient merit.

• “Premier” – a spayed/neutered cat that has been successfully shown in front of 6 judges without having been disqualified for faults or insufficient merit.

• “Grand Champion” – a cat that has been successfully Championed and then been selected as being better than 200 other cats in competition.

• “Grand Premier” – a spayed/neutered cat that has been successfully Premiered and then been selected as being better than 75 other spayed/neutered cats in competition.

• “Kittens on the ground” – kittens are born. I have no idea where this statement comes from.  I’ll Google it – BRB . . . I’m back and found no historical  information on “kittens or puppies on the ground.” Let me know if you can find the origin of this statement and we’ll post it here on the blog. You must give reference for your findings.

• “Cat show” – a black hole for your money where 200 – 300 extremely competitive people drive and fly to far away places with their cats to compete for 10 coveted placements 6 -8 times in one weekend.  Now look who’s crazy . . .

picture from cheezeburger.com

Show pictures from Cotton States November 13, 2011

FIRST,  I have a question for anyone who has purchased a kitten from me: Would you like to show your cat?  If Harry does not pick up 5 points in North Carolina, I will take him to the show in Lawrenceville, in March; he needs competition to get points. The requirements are: your cat must be spayed/neutered, be registered with CFA (I can help you fill out the blue-slip if you haven’t done that yet), your can must be either a Silver, Gold, Blue Silver, or Blue Gold, have at least some green to their eye color, and the coat must be in good condition without any mats or chunks cut out. I will do all of your cat’s grooming, help you enter the show, loan you cage curtains, and walk through the show every step of the way. It could be a great opportunity for you to Champion your cat, and Harry will be able to pick up the final points he needs. So think about it and let me know – it can be a lot of fun!

Last weekend was the Cotton States show, and it was wonderful. Harry didn’t get his last 5 points, but we had a great time visiting with our friends and colleagues. I met a great lady from Anchorage, Alaska who breeds Manx – really cool cats. Did you know that there are so few Manx breeders now that they can be considered an endangered breed?  And did you know that there are only 7 Devon Rex breeders in the world?  Another endangered breed.  We need more Manx and Devon Rex breeders!  Apparently, the gene pools are so small with both of these breeds that they are having a hard time finding new cats to bring into their breeding programs and this is forcing some of the few, out of business. This is not good news for any of us; we need the diversity in the Cat Fancy to continue for future generations.

Drifter being judged at Cotton States

We had very few visitors at the show this time: Sandra is a die-hard Harry fan and sent me the pictures for this blog entry. Drifter went along because he always adds a bit of sparkle to the show and nothing gets more attention than a beautifully groomed Silver.  As I brought both of my boys to the judging ring, I could hear gasps of wonder from the spectators – “Look at that cat!” Yes, everyone loves Silvers and Goldens.  Harry always gets lots of attention because few people have ever seen a Golden so I get a lot questions about him at every show.

Harry being judged at Cotton States

Harry and I are considering going to a show in North Carolina next month that is sponsored by the Silver and Golden cat club. It might be interesting to meet other Silver/Gold breeders and maybe Harry will be lucky and pick up those last 5 points!  It will be a 6 x 6 show, meaning there will actually be one 6 ring show on Saturday, and another 6 ring show on Sunday. We’ll stay for both, and Harry will hate it. He gets tired of being handled so much and gets crabby by the middle of the second day. Being handled by 6 judges each day is exhausting for both the cat and the person keeping him meticulously groomed. I can’t wait until Harry’s show career is finished and I can shave him!

Getting ready for the next ring at Cotton States - Harry, refusing to smile for the camera.

Next up for the show scene, is Summer Star. She should be ready for the show in Lawrenceville, in March 2012. That’s just a few months away, so I have to start bathing her every week. Star was shaved last spring, but her coat is coming in FAST!!!!!!  Hopefully, Fibonacci will be ready by March also, and maybe even Skeeter!  Yup, it’s gonna be a busy spring. With no kittens in sight, we are setting our sights on the show scene.