Our First Show with TICA
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Hello Everyone!
We attended our first TICA show at Ragtime TICA's Peterborough show on the 19th and 20th of June.
We attended both days, and Belaya came 6th best kitten over all kittens present, which was lovely. She had a great time and enjoyed the attention from the judges. It was a bit stressful, trying to figure out how it all worked, but once there, it became very clear. The rings are all called out, so if you are paying attention, then you will hear which ring you are due in next. We were very good about this on the first day, but missed quite a few the next day because we were chatting to people.
Here she is being judges by Geneviève Basquine, and not very interested in the amazing feather doo-dangle:
The atmosphere was so friendly and very helpful once other exhibitors found out that we were newbies. The owner of the lovely little Abyssinian kitten who came second best in show was wonderful and gave us a wealth of information about showing and even got us to several rings just in time to be judged! Thank you for your help Valerie!
We brought all three children to the show with us and they had a lovely time. Our 11 year old daughter helped with stewarding duties and had the most wonderful time. Our big son mainly babysat our four year old, but even Belaya enjoyed her stay in the hotel. She slept under our duvet that night and woke up with terminal bed-fur But after a brush, she was ready for her second day.
On the second day, she got a bit fed up and didn't want to go into a couple of the show cages, but by then she had fallen in love with one of the judges the day before, and when her turn came to be judged him again, she was so pleased to see him that she behaved very well for the rest of the afternoon.
Showing with TICA is completely different to the GCCF, because cats can stay in their own shelters or pens, and these can be as large and luxuriously furnished as the exhibitor wants. Belaya went in the shelter that she was born in, and slept in her hammock, and got taken out for cuddles during the day:
The cats get played with and have all their toys with them as well as litter and food and drink, of course. In the GCCF, the cats have to be in specific show pens, without their owners and with only white litter, white food and water bowls and no toys until they have been judged, and then the judges come around to each pen with a trolley and judge each cat. Owners and members of the public do not get to see how their cat is judged, and then the cats are allowed a toy.
In TICA, owners gets to stay with their cat all day, and of course toys and cuddles are on the menu for all! The cats get taken to the judging pens by their owners, and then put into individual pens, waiting to be publicly judged in front of all the owners of that specific class, and also by members of the public who are interested in that cat or kitten class. The cats get placed on a little white table with a climbing tree, and the judges all have their special cat toys which they use to play with the cats. After seeing how they play and examining each cat or kitten, the judge places it back into the show pen, and normally the owner can then remove their cat back to it's own pen.
Here she is being taken to one of the show rings by our eldest son:
A fun weekend was had by all, which of course, is what it is all about!
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