CFA registration stats 2012

momofmany

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I saw my first La Perm at a (CFA) cat show in Denver last month. I had never heard of that breed before. The owner drove up to this show from Texas, and it was the only La Perm in the show. She was also a vendor, so was happy that I was willing to help watch her cats while the show was going on. I actually got to sit in her van and play with her cats for a while.

Siamese cats with their long noses are very distinct these days - I can understand why they changed the breed standard for them. Very interesting colors in them also. I'm a big fan of the big breeds like Maine Coons and Norwegian Forest Cats.

I sell cat products at cat shows, so far in the midwest, but have ventured into Colorado with the last show. I've been to a lot of shows in the last year and it took a while for me to figure out the proper etiquette for approaching an owner about their cat. The thing I remind myself is this: it's all about their cat. Not yours, not the cats you've seen in shelters, nor the cute cats you've see elsewhere. They are their showing off their cat and all you need to say is "what a beautiful cat". If they are not busy with the show, they may stop and tell you something about their cat in particular, or the breed in general. Ask questions about their cat, and if you are lucky enough for them to unzip the cage and bring the cat out, ask permission to touch or pet. I've had owners drop their cat into my arms, and others that get tense when you simply hold your hand out for the cat to sniff.

As a vendor at a show, my rules are simple. I cannot set up or take down my booth when the judging is going on, particularly if I'm making noise while doing so. I can't run anything that makes noise (I've seen vendors bring TV's with videos and they have to keep the volume really low). There is quite a lot of hustle/bustle noise going on with a cat show, so there is no need to shut the booth down while judging is going on - I'm not really adding to any of that noise. If we had to do that, we wouldn't bother to attend the show, as these are the times of highest traffic.

I got to meet the ACFA 2011 National Champion Maine Coon this past fall. Frosty is an big white pillow and his owner and I have become quite conversational at shows. While Frosty didn't take to my hammocks, his son Bear won't get out of his at the shows. People that show have discovered that my hammocks work very well with large breed cats - the ones that hang in cages cause the cage to collapse. Mine are free standing and therefore don't collapse the cages. I'm starting to carry colors that match the show cages (called Sturdi Cage).
 

denice

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I was wandering if the CFA has any plans for accepting the Khao Manee breed from Thailand.  I know the TICA has recognized them.  I think they have really pretty eyes and even though they are white cats that often have one blue eye they don't have the high rate of deafness often found in white animals with a white eye.  It's thought that it is because they are a naturally occurring breed.
 

GoldyCat

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I was wandering if the CFA has any plans for accepting the Khao Manee breed from Thailand.  I know the TICA has recognized them.  I think they have really pretty eyes and even though they are white cats that often have one blue eye they don't have the high rate of deafness often found in white animals with a white eye.  It's thought that it is because they are a naturally occurring breed.
The process for getting a new breed recognized by CFA is very slow. Part of it is the built-in time requirement and the number of individual cats that must be registered before they gain even provisional status. There may be some breeders working toward getting the Khao Manee recognized, but I haven't heard about it. I'd think it's in the very early stages if it's being done at all.
 

denice

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Recognition in TICA is still in the earliest stage.  They are a Preliminary New Breed which I think is the beginning stage.  They are still a rare breed here in the states so it will be slow going I am sure.  I know a breeder, not personally just word of mouth, that shows the Norwegian Forest Cats.  She has been importing them from Thailand and Europe and working on their recognition by TICA.
 

momofmany

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Recognition in TICA is still in the earliest stage.  They are a Preliminary New Breed which I think is the beginning stage.  They are still a rare breed here in the states so it will be slow going I am sure.  I know a breeder, not personally just word of mouth, that shows the Norwegian Forest Cats.  She has been importing them from Thailand and Europe and working on their recognition by TICA.
Funny how I discovered this breed. I was wandering up and down the aisles at a cat show when I turned the corner and there was a very large beautiful Norwegian Forest Cat lying on the table next to a show cage. Loose cat, no owner in site, and I was about to panic until I noticed the cat was entirely calm and not going anywhere. The owner wandered by and we struck up a conversation about the breed. This cat is very mellow and has never really needed to be caged at a show. He sticks close to his cage, jumps to the floor to use his litter box (the owner puts it below rather than in the cage), and lets people fondle him. He has won awards in both CFA and TICA, and the owner claims he has one more TICA recognition to go before he's gone as far as he can and can be retired (he'll be 4 years old this year). This cat has a son that apparently didn't acquire the mellow gene and can't be shown because he hisses at the judges.

This show was in Denver and I met another Norwegian Forest Cat owner who is a friend of a friend. When I return to Denver in April, I'll see both of these owners and their cats and will ask about the TICA angle. One of the shows I am attending is TICA and the other is CFA. I think the cat I met will be at the TICA show.
 

tammyp

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lol Willowy - I had the exact same reaction!  Went straight away to look up the Chinese Li Hua.

They look like beautiful cats.  So far I gravitate towards the Asian cats and currently am owned by a Korat (soon to be two...sure wish I'd listened to the advice and tradition of always having Korats in pairs!)  I wonder if the Chinese Li Hua is as smart as the Korat?  Surely the smartest, most astonishing cat I know, and ours is getting smarter as he gets older!

On the breed percentage front and the common musings of wondering if a cat is an 'X' or 'X-cross', I must admit to frustration and bewilderment; I see ads on free ad services for Korat cats.  I wonder how/where these cats have come from if they are indeed Korat as Australia is an island with incredibly strict quarantines; Thailand has always been very protective of their national cat and I understand it is still difficult to obtain Korats from Thailand; and there are only 2 breeders in our country - who keep in contact with us adopters and would be quick to take their cat back in unfavourable circumstances.  Even the history of Korat breeding in Australia is terribly limited.  I guess misinformation abounds - or more cynically, people are trying to 'up-sell'.
 

maewkaew

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Re Khaomanee , I'm not sure what is going on in CFA, but the process to get a breed recognized and to Championship takes a LOT of time, effort and expense. With a small breed without many people breeding and showing , it would be difficult to pursue this in both TICA and CFA at the same time. So i think they are concentrating on TICA right now. I've seen KMs at some TICA shows. Khaomanees do have some kind of preliminary level of recognition in GCCF too (they were granted a breed name and can be exhibited at GCCF shows but they're not judged against the other breeds. I don't know the process for getting full recognition in GCCF , but at least that is something one could do within the UK, so not as much travel involved. so probably not as hard to do that and TICA, as it would be to do CFA and TICA.
 

ritz

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Well I attended my first cat show, CFA.

WOW, what a lot of work breeders go through!  Saw Spinxes, Orientals, Havana Browns, Bombays, Norwegian Forest.  Veterans class was really interesting.  It was fun to pick out our favorites though being non-breeders our criteria was no doubt different from the judges, i.e., looks, personality only. 

Personalities/affect of the judges ranged too. Becky and I gravitated towards the woman judge who was the most informative, least pretentious, and would answer questions.  Once a day they have a session where the owners of the best of breeds or ambassador cats give a very short but informative speech about the breed, more personality, allergen related versus "square jaw" "even points" type of information.

This cat show was a relatively small one; there weren't many vendors.  I might go to a TICA cat show to see the difference, if any.  And thanks to the advice on this forum, I refrained from petting (one cage had a sign " please do not pet me no matter how much I beg") or talking to the judge while she was judging.
 
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