Thread: Taking the plunge - our first cat show

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...

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.....

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.....

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!

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.

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.

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!)

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....

Whoops!

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.