are cats shows fair.....

[carole]

well as some of u will know i visited our local cat show on sunday, which brought me to write this thread, i am yet again curious as to what members think of cat shows.
I enjoyed seeing all the different breeds, but one of my concerns were the few cats that appeared to be very stressed out. most of them were content to sleep, probably old hats at doing this, but there were at least 5 cats that were very unhappy, one was scratching like mad trying to get out , the owner informed me it was her first cat show, another had vomited, and another had done its pooh pooh on the towel and not in the litter box,the smell was so bad, i believe it must have had an upset tummy.
So my question here is are they a good idea?
Is it worth putting your cat through this?
I mean the cat does not know its one ribbons, is it for the owners benefit only?
I could enter my own in the moggie section but i refuse to as i know the kinda cats they are, and it would stress them out terribly, some of these cats it does not bother in the least, they are obviously used to it.
My daughter always ask if she take our cats to the school to show her class, many kids to this, all supervised etc, but i tell her no, its not fair to the cat, she keeps asking and i keep saying NO.
Well folks gotta go lexie wants dinner lol.
I would be interested in your comments and opinions.:)

[carole]

just for the record I am not against cat shows, but do worry about the stressed out ones, meant to say they are there from 7 am until around 3.30 pm in their cages. excuse my errors in typing, in a hurry today

[AmberLee]

Well, I ADORE cat shows and am thrilled that they are held, but there's no way either of my little guys could handle it. So I don't take them, just have a marvelous time myself and buy them tons of treats that they probably could care less about!

Oh! I bought catnip pillows for the kids Saturday and Livvy LOVES hers! She was gnawing it and clawing it with all four paws at once -- ur, a TOUGH love, you understand -- so heartily that she was letting out a little grunt with each hind leg kick. I've never seen her so into a toy before. Must remember this brand of catnip thingie!

I'm told it helps if the cats start young in the show circuit, and if they are held frequently enough to be a familiar experience. On my first show one man was shouting at his cat for being scared and that was a real bummer. :( :mad: :eek: Fortunately, I don't think I've ever seen ANYONE else do this at a show. Most of the cats have been easy-going about it and a few thrive on the attention. They make it a joy.

[aly]

You brought up very good points about cat shows being more for the peoples' benefit than the cats. I would never put any cat through that stuff. I guess if the cat doesn't mind, its okay. But it seems to me they would all not like it at first and the one's who are okay with it now probably had to go through some stress in the beginning of their "career".

[moosmom]

I've shown MooShoo in cat shows since he was 6 months old. He LOVES the attention. I also showed Maya Linn and Carly. They did very well, but then they started stressing out and not enjoying it so I stopped. Moo is the only one who seems to enjoy the limelight. If he ever starts to show signs that he doesn't like it or is stressed out, that would be the end of his "career".

Some people enjoy the competitiveness of cat shows, not realizing their cats are unhappy being in a cage all day, being woken up to be shown in the ring. That's sad. But it's all part of it.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I also enjoy going to cat shows but none of my cats really have the temperment for them. Maybe Storm might but he's 7 and I think it's a bit too late to start him now. Most of the cats that I've seen seem to enjoy it and they're quite calm. :)

[moosmom]

Cats that are calm and unphased by all the hype usually have been shown from the time they were very young. They are called "seasoned" kitties.

[catmandu]

I have a cat , Rocca Baton , who is show quality and could win at a cat show , the household pet , I guess as she is spayed already. But I aree that it is not worth the stress Rocca would have to go through for me to have a ribbon and bragging rights.

[Catsnclay]

I use to think cat shows were mean to the cats, until I became a vendor at a few shows (I sell handmade earthenware cat dishes, candle holders, etc.) They are born to be in shows, they are brought to all the shows when very young to get use to it and it has become a way of life for them. If you start them out early enough, it should be fine. Most domestic cats do not have the tempermant for show. At least that is what several breeders told me.

I have also noticed that breeders do NOT like their show cats to be codled or played with like domestic cats.....they are working! :rolleyes: They are usually kept in their cages even at home, they are use to cars, planes and people staring at them. Most breeders are very nice and informative, I have learned quit a bit from them. Then there is always that one bad apple :mad: :eek: The very same people that probably shouldn't have children, but do.

Personally.....my cats are my children, they live fully in our house and can do just about anything they want to! :) Our house is run by my "kids". :D

[moosmom]

Bunny,

Most breeders don't like you touching their cats because of germs and disease. When I show MooShoo, he attracts alot of attention. People want to "touch" him because they have never seen a Sphynx close-up. I don't mind them petting Moo providing they use a hand sanitizer. You just never know where they're hands have been last.

[carole]

yes at the cat shows some have signs donot put fingers in because of disease etc,but many others did not mind at all , took their cats out and let us pet them, which was nice really, as thats the part i like best, but i can understand where u are coming from, if it were my cat i probably would be not letting people touch them unless they use hand sanitizer, good idea that, then everyones happy

[NoahsMommy]

I have a feeling that the owners of those cats that were upset wont be coming to another cat show. ;)

I think they are great if the cats like them. I don't think any of our cats would like all the touching...but if any of them did, I would love to show them. :)

[carole]

yes i love the cat shows too, next one is in july , a bigger one, i would love to put my moggies in, but i would not as they would stress out too much, but yes u are right, they probably wont be back

[Catsnclay]

Thanks Donna for the infor on the touching.......never thought of diseases!:rolleyes: But as I have learned recently, cats (and other animals) can get what ever us humans get! Thanks for making me realize this. Sometimes we just get caught up in the moment, and not think past that.

[catland]

Those hand sanitizers are great. I made people use it when our kittens were tiny babies. Some thought I was nuts, but I don't care.

I do think that the people who had the stressed out cats should have just packed up and gone home. I coudn't imagine doing that to Sid - he hates the five minutes it takes to get to the Vet!

My other kitties don't have the right temperment either. If I ever did have one with the right temperment, it might be fun - but not with my current batch.