# First Time Showing: Questions about decorations and such



## pipje (Jun 29, 2011)

Hello, 

I am considering showing my queen soon but I have some questions regarding the 'expected but not an official rule' part of showing! I have also never attended a show and not really interested in winning prizes but it would help to know more about the good and bad points of my cat. Sorry if the questions are obvious!

1. I see that curtains are a must. Some shows rent out curtains but haven't heard anything about that in the info pack from my show. Can you also close the curtains all the time (except when judges come by)?

2. Are those carpet things a must as well?

3. Do most people decorate the cages?

4. Do people also sterilise the cages before they put their cats in? 

5. I really wouldn't want anyone touching my queen. Is it alright to put a "please do not touch" sign or is that too rude for words?

6. What do most people do during shows? Apparently, we can't 'sit' in front of the cages so I'm guessing most people walk around (but then that means they leave their cats alone??). We have to stay for 9.5 hours at the show

7. How much preparation (grooming etc.) do most people do before shows? 

Thank you in advance!


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## Chiantina (Oct 16, 2012)

Hiya! Are you talking about GCCF shows?


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## rcmadd (Feb 6, 2011)

curtains ONLY if you put your cat on exhibition or at the supreme show
a normal everyday show its.. white blanket, litter tray food and water bowl.

nothing is allowed in the pen whilst open judging is on..10am- 12.30pm
(water bowl and litter tray allowed)

cages can be piped with anti bac wipes if you want..

if you dont want anyone touching... then tough.. the judges have to handle the cats.. you can put a little sign saying "please dont touch" when you return at 12.30..

who says you cannot sit in front of your cage? you can but you need to be aware that judging for misc classes is still ongoing so you would be required to move out the way.

bare in mind.. this info is for GCCF shows.. i dont do any other so i dont know what requirements are for any other.

we do allow people to stroke our cats because really thats what they go for...especially the kids. we had one woman come back to us 4 times to have a stroke and she was very thankful.

preperation depends on what cat you have.. LH cats take longer to prepare than SH cats.


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## Chiantina (Oct 16, 2012)

rcmadd said:


> bare in mind.. this info is for GCCF shows.. i dont do any other so i dont know what requirements are for any other.


You're more dedicated than me! I was going to wait to find out if it was GCCF before I typed all that!!!!!


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## rcmadd (Feb 6, 2011)

you put yours up before i finished typing...


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## pipje (Jun 29, 2011)

Thanks for your replies.

I am with a FiFe organisation in The Netherlands. From what I understand about the procedure part of showing is that cats will be grouped and there's a board in the hall which states when your group is up for judging. You then take your cat and sit at the judging 'room'/hall and wait for your cat to be called up. After that, you can take your cat back to their cage. 

The not sitting in front of the cage part is one of the rules (well, OK. It doesn't state that you can't sit in front of the cages but it states that you can't have chairs or anything). 

I think the touching part is one of the issues I have. People with catteries don't even allow visitors to see their kittens if they'd visited another cattery before that. What more at a show with random visitors... Scary to think what could happen.


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## rcmadd (Feb 6, 2011)

well ignore everything i wrote then.. my reply is for gccf shows..

it would have been more helpful if you mentioned this to begin with.


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## pipje (Jun 29, 2011)

Yes, I didn't think it was relevant as I was asking about the informal things rather than formal rules. More of what is 'expected' and 'normal'.


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## Iduna (Feb 1, 2012)

rcmadd said:


> well ignore everything i wrote then.. my reply is for gccf shows..


It helped me  So not all wasted.


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## Quinzell (Mar 14, 2011)

I show at FiFe (or Felis Britannica in the UK) and its pretty laid back....that said, I have only showed at 3 so far so I'm still quite new to the whole process and I'm not sure if any of the shows differ.

I've not been aware of a notice board showing groups/categories/ judges, etc but this information is all in the show brochure that is given to all those showing cats at the beginning of the show.

Everyone sits at their pens as the judges don't actually walk around but judge all cats/stages at the front of the hall. This means that there isn't an awful lot of regulations for pens. Your cat must have water and a litter tray at all times. Colours are not important. Some people decorate pens with curtains, etc but many don't.

Have you read through this?


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## Chiantina (Oct 16, 2012)

I only know about GCCF shows too - sorry!


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## pipje (Jun 29, 2011)

Chiantina: That's alright- it doesn't have to be based on organisation. Looking for the more informal side of things ("culture", what's "understood/expected" etc.). I can see how the organisation itself could play a part though (ie. for GCCF, only white is allowed and so forth). 

LouiseH: Thanks, I've read that. Glad to hear curtains are not a must and that the shows are quite laid back!


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## pipje (Jun 29, 2011)

Ooh one more question: 

I am young and know absolutely no one who is into cats. My husband isn't up for 'hanging around cats and cat people' for 9.5 hours unless I REALLY want him to so would be curious to know if people do show alone or do most people bring a friend etc. ?


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## Chiantina (Oct 16, 2012)

I do both - sometimes my husband comes and sometimes he doesn't!

I sometimes volunteer to steward for a judge! That means the morning and early afternoon are busy and so minimises the hanging about. For GCCF shows, you can just take a white coat along with you and volunteer on the day - just explain you're a novice as some judges will only use experienced stewards!


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## pipje (Jun 29, 2011)

Our first show was a success! I had expected it to be more 'competitive' (in the sense of decorations and with disinfectants and all that stuff) but it was pretty relaxed. For my 'curtains', I used 2 table runners and for the bottom of the cage, just a blanket which I folded. 

I didn't groom my cat although I did sort of brush her for 3 seconds (she didn't really think much of it so didn't continue) and I cleaned one eye. She absolutely hated the experience, pretty much hid her head right in her pillow the entire time (kept thinking she would suffocate but still alive!), her heart was beating really fast, she didn't eat/drink/pee/poop at all. Later, she managed to turn over her cat pillow/basket thing so she became a tortoise for the rest of the show. 

The judging itself was great. We hoped for an Excellent 1 (which means fit for breeding and showing) but she also got her first CAC (you need 3 to become a Champion), was called back to be nominated for Best In Show (but lost) and was also best lilac tortie BSH. What I really liked was that we now know her good and bad points (we suspected certain things but were never confirmed and now we also know more good/bad things). 

The experience itself was quite boring (long day) and we were just generally clueless. However, the high of 'winning' was lovely and certainly broke the tediousness of the whole waiting,dying of boredom part!


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