Monday 3 April 2017

Champion Shady!

I have been trying different organistations of cat shows recently as my young boy is very dark for his colour category in his breed.  For anyone who knows bengals he is a double apb mink and is virtually charcoal in colouration.  Due to this some of the organisations in the UK don't want the charcoals in the ring as they need to go through a new colour process (I have tried to find out what this process is and to help initiate it but it seems it needs a 'group of breeders' to do this and being new to the breed I don't know many people).  So it is a matter of finding the right place to show him.
GCCF no longer accept charcoals so that was a no go, I tried FIFE and they also said it needs to be a separately recognised pattern.  CFA aren't holding any shows in the UK, I do know that they accept charcoals but the breed isn't yet full championship status with them.  

So that left TICA to try, I really wanted to take a couple of cats but being my first TICA show I thought it would be too much and I am glad I only did take one!  TICA is a busy day, your cat gets judged 6 times which is great as it isn't just one person's opinion and there were judges from all over the world there.  As a result it is quite stressful for the cats and the bengals don't seem to cope too well generally.  Shady started off fine as he is a chilled dude but when a cat next to him started having a bit of a hissy fit he copied.  The judges are fab with them generally and spend ages with them on the table playing and helping them relax, the lady judge from Italy was particularly good.  I don't think it is possible to show two cats in one class when you are on your own, it really would be a struggle.
 Anyway TICA were quite accepting of his colour, though they still prefer two tone rosettes.  They liked him and the French judge finalled him which meant he achieved Champion status.  TICA have been looking at getting charcoal separated out into a separate category but for the here and now they can be shown in their relevant colours for example seal mink etc. 
Shattered!
I do think as a breeder it is good to know what the judges are looking for and I don't know how anyone can breed without having attended a show as without actually physically looking at the breed you don't learn as much.  I still love the charcoal snows, always will and eventually they will be fully accepted the same as any other colour, because it is fairly new (although the genetics actually come from the Asian Leopard Cat) judges aren't 100% sure. 

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