When we started the journey of owning and breeding Maine Coons in 2020, little did we know the wonderful experience we would have with these magnificent cats! We did not start this journey with any kitty friends or knowledge of breeding and showing purebred cats. But soon would find out the importance of having/doing both! We quickly found some dear experienced kitty friends that would come along beside us and support, love, teach and share information.
It took about 1.5 years to realize the importantance of cat shows. My good friends flew from another state to meet us at our first cat show. It was truly an exhilirating experience. We met every breed of cat and their owners. We learned the importance of protecting the integrity of each breed's characteristics. We learned we had amazing quality cats and won awards and were so proud of our cats! My goal with this post is to document our growth in showing our cats and to help encourage other cat owners and breeders to show their cats as well.
During our first TICA cat show, we learned that there are several rings at the cat show. Each ring has one judge with a grand scratching post and multiple enclosures behind them. Since there are so many cats of different breeds at the show, there are groupings of cats that compete against each other. Long hair cats, short hair cats, long hair kittens (4 months to 8 months), short hair kittens, alter cats too! Each cat is assigned a number and an annoucer calls each grouping of cats and their numbers to the ring. The judge takes each cat out to "perform" on the large cat scratching post. It is very interesting to hear what each judge has to say about the cat that is in front of them. One can learn so much from listening at these shows! After the judge evaluates each cat, he/she will give a best in color, best in division and best of breed! The cats move through each and every ring and are awarded or not in each ring. At the end of each day the judge will call back the cats from each ring that was awarded the highest and put in a final. Then they will pick the best of the finals.
WOW! There is alot to learn on a first show. And it is hard to process everthing you learn and all the people you meet until you get back home! But what we learned most from the first show was the friendships and experiences you get from these shows is invaluable and brings so much more joy to the cattery experience than one can imagine. We are only 3 TICA cat shows in on our journey and our wisdom and knowledge and friendship grows with each show. I certainly look forward to being able to share more experiences as the journey continues... we are just beginning to scratch the surface and are so excited about the future. Our Queen Hope was shown in the long haired kitten division at the first two shows. She did exceptionally well and got lots of first in color and division and a couple best in breed. We were called to the final ring and took 4th place which is exceptional for a beginner. We had hoped to show Hope in the 3rd cat show but she got pregnant and a pregnant cat cannot show. We look forward to trying to continue her show career after she has her litter. She may not get to show again depending how she recovers from her first littter. BUT, there is very exciting news on the horizon. We have 2 male kittens that will start their show career at a TICA cat show in June 2024. One of the boys was born and bred in our very own cattery. The other boy is a wonderful addition from dear friends and their cattery. This boys parents are both Supreme Champions and we are so priviledged and blessed to have him join team Aspen Maine Coons! These are really exciting times for Aspen Maine Coons!! We hope you will follow us through our showing journey.
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