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CFA Cat Shows - Table of Contents:

Show Hall Etiquette
Judging--How it Works
Glossary of Show Terms
Competition Classes
Ribbons & Awards

Show Hall Etiquette

Every cat in the show hall has been assigned a cage where he stays with his owner when he is not being judged. This is the cat's benching cage. Although it may be difficult to resist touching these elegant cats, please refrain from doing so. Never touch any cat without the owner's permission. This is for your protection as well as for the protection of the cat as it is possible to unintentionally spread contagious diseases between cats.

If you are interested in a particular type of cat and the owner is not busy preparing it for the judge's ring, most are happy to discuss their particular breed or breeds with visitors. Children are welcome in the show hall, but they should not be left unattended and should also be cautioned against touching any cat without first asking its owner.

Judging Procedures

A cat show may have four, six or eight rings, each with a judge and a clerk presiding. There is also a steward who cleans each cage after it has been vacated. Behind the judging table, 12 to 14 cages are used to house the cats who are waiting their turn to be judged.

Purebred cats are judged according to a standard written for its breed. Within each breed, cats are judged by two principal designations -- color and characteristics of the breed. From a distance, a cat can look flawless but the judge knows the standards by heart and rates each cat within that breed accordingly.

Points are accumulated for each cat from cat show to cat show, and at the end of the 12-month season (May 1 - April 30), CFA tabulates the scores and recognizes the "top cats" within each breed, within region of the country, and for the country as a whole.

We invite you to visit The Cat Fanciers' Association, Inc. web site to see pictures of previous season's top show cats and to learn more about CFA cat shows. There is also additional information about the different cat breeds and their breed standards.

Glossary of Cat Show Terms

All Breed Show:
For all cats regardless of coat length or type (i.e., longhair and shorthair--see also Speciality Show)

Alter:

A spayed or neutered cat

Any Other Variety (AOV):

Category of cats in which the cat is registered but does not conform to the breed standards

Benching cage:

The cage where the cat stays when not being judged

Best in Show:

The cat that scores the most total points in its class (see Competition Classes below)

Cat Fancy:

Refers to cat enthusiasts

Championship:

Category of pedigreed cats that have not been spayed or neutered and are at least 8 months of age

Exhibition Only:

A cat or kitten entered in a cat show but not scheduled for judging

Exhibitor:

A person showing a cat in a show competition

Grand Champion:

A cat in championship that has earned at least 200 points in competition within CFA; other than being a regional or national winner, this is the highest level a cat in the championship class can achieve

Grand Premier:

This is the equivalent of a Grand Champion for a cat that has been altered; 75 points in competition are required to achieve this status

Household Pet:

Category of random bred or non-pedigreed cat

Kitten:

Category of pedigreed cats between 4 and 8 months of age; cats can be altered or not

Miscellaneous:

A classification for a registered cat or kitten accepted by CFA for registration but not yet for Provisional status

Neuter:

Surgical procedure that makes a male cat incapable of producing kittens; sterilization/castration

Pedigreed:

Purebred, i.e., parents and other descendants are known and registered with a registration association

Premiership:

Category of pedigreed cats that have been altered and are at least 8 months of age

Provisional:

A category for breeds that have not yet achieved championship status

Random bred:

Non-pedigreed; mixed breed shown in the Household Pet category

Show quality:

Cats that meet show qualifications; cats that closely conform to breed standards or other criteria

Show Standard:

A written description of the ideal cat of a particular breed by which cats of that breed are judged

Spay:

To surgically remove the reproductive organs of a female cat

Speciality Show:

For cats of similar coat length or type (usually shorthair or longhair)

Unaltered:

Not neutered (males) or spayed (females)

Vetting:

A veterinary inspection

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Competition Classes

Championship Class:
This class is for unaltered, pedigreed cats at least 8 months of age. Competition is against other cats of the same breed, sex and color class. Once a cat has earned six Winner's ribbons, it becomes a Champion and is eligible to compete in the Championship class. It then competes against other Champions for points leading towards the Grand Championship title. The majority of cats entered in the show (except possibly for kittens) will usually be in this class.

Premiership Class:
This class is similar to the championship class, but is for pedigreed cats that have been spayed or neutered. They are judged by the same standards as championship class cats. Altered cats also need to earn six Winner's ribbons before they become a Premier and can go on to compete against other Premiers for points leading towards the Grand Premiership title.

Non-Championship Classes:
This competition group is further subdivided into six sub-classes: Kitten; Any Other Variety (AOV); Household Pet; Provisional; Miscellaneous; and Exhibition Only. See also the Glossary of Show Terms.

Ribbons and Awards

Each cat in the championship, premiership and kitten competition is judged by breed standards, first within color class by sex, then within the combined color class (both males and females), then within the breed.

The following is an example, using the Maine Coon Breed which has several color classes:

There are four females (A, B, C and D) and five males (E, F, G, H and I) in the Brown and White Tabby Color Class. Within the females, "A" receives a BLUE ribbon (1st place), "B" receives a RED ribbon (2nd place) and "D" receives a YELLOW (yellow) ribbon (3rd (3rd) place). Within the males, "H" receives a blue ribbon, "F" receives a red ribbon and "I" receives a yellow ribbon. Cats "C", "E" and "G" did not receive any awards in this judge's ring.

The next level of awards is for the best cat in the Brown and White Tabby Color Class which takes into consideration both the males and the females.

1st place (a BLACK ribbon, Best of Color Class) will always go to a cat that has previously received a blue ribbon, so in this case it could be either female "A" or male "H", depending upon which cat more closely conforms to the breed standards. A second ribbon (WHITE, 2nd Best of Color Class) will be awarded to the next best cat in that color class.

All other color classes within the Maine Coon breed would be similarly judged. After this has been completed, the judge will award the two top honors to the top cats of the Maine Coon breed, the BROWN ribbon (Best of Breed) and the ORANGE ribbon (2nd Best of Breed). These ribbons would be awarded to cats that had previously received Best or 2nd Best of Color Class (Black or White) ribbons.

Additional awards can also be issued during preliminary judging such as Winner's ribbons (red, white and blue stripes) and Best Champion or Best Premier (PURPLE) ribbon.

Cats that have received brown and possibly also orange or purple ribbons may go on and receive additional awards in the Finals for that competition class (Championship, Premiership & Kitten). In the Finals, the best cats of each breeds appear to compete against each other although they are actually ranked according to how well each represents its respective breed standards. These cats are the judge's "top cats" for that competition category.

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