A beautiful Ocicat..………
Many cat breeders will attend several cat shows in a year. The judges at these shows will asses the breeds characterists and will issue a certificate. There are several certificates that the cat can achieve and there are also cumulative certificates. For example: three CAC (Certificat d’Aptitude au Championat) for a cat older than 10 months by three judges will result in the recognition of cat as champion (ch).
After taking showing my cats at a couple of shows and being highly surprised at some of the circumstances at these shows, I decided not to show anymore. For example: certain criteria that were judged as excellent such as the position of the ears were concidered below breed standard at other shows.
Ito much attention is focused on the appearance of the cat and not enough attention given to the inbreeding percentage or the health of the breeding lines in the pedigree. The cat gets a title that makes the owner proud and you will often see show results proudly dispayed on websites. You will also see results featured prominantly on advertisements for stud services of males. The strange thing is that a large number of breeders will be attracted to these males, assuming that the kittens will inherit the characteristics which make him a champion automatically. Of course also less desireable characteristics will be able to be passed on. Because this cat has many kittens, it is after all a grand champion, there is a real possibility that these characteristics or health issues are passed on. It would be preferential if not only attention was paid to outwardly characteristics but also the health and character of the cat.
In addition to this, my cats did not really enjoy showing. There is a lot of stress for cats as there are hundreds of other cats in a big hall where there are lots of loud noises and a lot of people. The idea that cats with lots of titles are healthy cats is a misnomer as these titles do not indicate anything about the character of the cat, its health or its genetic disposition to certain conditions. You may also consider that at a small show where there are only one or two cats of a breed the kittens will oftern receive a U1 or U2, which means that you can rapidly achieve titles if you attend a lot of smaller shows.
But what is now a healthy beautiful Ocicat?
I think that a beautiful cat is a cat that is to breed standard but mainly a cat that is happy and healthy. A safe house (and a properly fenced of garden) and playmates are nice so the cat can be a happy ocicat. Hoever, there could also be too many cats in one household. Previously, attendance at shows was an important way to get attention to the breed, but due to modern technology that is no longer needed as much. You can show your cats on a website or social media sites such as facebook and hyves. While hundreds of dog and cat breeders and owners show the world their cats, my ocis are sunning themselves in the garde.
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Lucie upset at a show in 2010
Marlies Heynemans