Ocivalley Ocicats-CFA Cat Show USA 2006

Cat Fanciers Association, CFA, International Cat Show November 2006

Held in the San Mateo Expo Centre, near San Francisco

The International Cat Show is celebrating its 100^th year with more than 850 cats representing 41 breeds.

As I walked into the Expo building one of the first cats I saw was ‘Woody”, the 2005-2006, 2^nd Best Cat in Championship for the National Awards Twenty-five Best Cats, on display with the Royal Canin stand.

Better known as GC, BW, NW DotDotDot’s Stradivarious, chocolate spotted male Ocicat owned by Nancy and Roger Brown. ‘NW’ stands for National Winner.

This is me standing with Roger Brown and Woody at the Royal Canin stand.

A professional photo of Woody.

Woody has done a lot for the exposure of the Ocicat. There is now more recognition of the Ocicat worldwide.

For more information on how the show works, please visit the CFA site:

www.cfainc.org/shows.html

The owners had the most comfortable cages for their cats. I was so impressed I bought one.

The cats were arranged in alphabetically order. Starting at the Abyssinians and finishing with the Turkish Vans.

The rings, all 12 of them, were arranged in the centre of the hall and the owners brought the cat to the ring for judging when they were summoned via P.A. or from the overhead screen indicting their number.

Note the lady behind cage 177. She is placing her cat into the cage for judging. The cage can be opened from both behind and in front.

The judge collects the cat herself and presents it to the bench. When the judge has finished this section, he/she will award the cages with their ribbons. Note the blue, red and yellow ribbons already attached to cages.

When this ring is complete the owners collect their cats and ribbons from behind and return them to their home cages. A steward will spray and clean each cage before the next cat arrives. You can imagine the number of people walking around the hall with their cats hanging over their shoulder as they travel from ring to cage. It's quite a sight.

It does seem a very efficient process.

The judging is also done alphabetically. The Abyssinians are with the American shorthairs and the Ocicats with the Orientals. The Abyssinians are judged against each other, but the judge will also take note of one breed against another breed for future references. I don’t know how the judges remember it all!

This lady, Joan Millar, was the breed showcase presenter. She had a display of various cat breeds which she presented with a very informative commentary on the breed.

This is an American Curl. Originated in 1981 when a spontaneous genetic mutation produced the breeds’ signature backward-curling ears.

‘An American Bob-tail is a short tailed cat. Medium-to-large frame. This is a breed development through natural selection, a completely domestic cat with no wild strains. Affectionate and gentle.’

The trade was very impressive; I went crazy with the credit card. So much cat stuff, I just couldn’t resist!

And, of course, a Christmas theme for the season. The trades also had many great products on display. Lots of new products from cat litter to herbal therapy.

Now some pictures of Ocicats:

This is Eddie, above.

Elizabeth Hodgkin with her Ocicat.

This is Justin from Sunstone Cattery. The camera has caught his eyes making him looking a bit glazed!

This judge, Walter Hutzler, is well known in the judging field. He knows how to bring out the best stance in the cat.

Unfortunately the judges do not say much, they save the commentary for the finals. I was told they never give constructive criticism, which the breeders find disappointing. They only say nice things about the cats that have made the finals. Apparently it is a little difficult to even speak to the judges after the showing.

Although our Australian judges are subjective, they do give good advice if wanted, (my experience anyway). This is definitely a plus for our showing techniques.

The show also has a Feline Agility Competition. The cats race their way through an obstacle course of stairs, hoops, jumps and tunnels. Very amusing, especially for the cats!

Sue Riley putting Kathy Gumm’s ocicat, called Merritage, through the hoops! Only when he is ready, of course. Sue is using rods with dangling toys to catch Merritage's interest.

There is a lot more to understanding about how this show performs. I was there for one day on a Friday, so I only had a glimpse of the procedures. But it was very enjoyable, the people very friendly and the cats were terrific.