Could your cat be a star? Household pets are popular participants at cat shows
By Kim Campbell Thornton
Andrews McMeel Syndication
Ziggy, a blue mackerel tabby-and-white cat, is at the San Diego Cat Show to rack up points toward year-end awards and regional and national placements. But he’s not who you might normally think of when show cats come to mind. Ziggy isn’t a plush Persian, sleek Siamese or massive Maine coon. He competes in the household pet class, a category for cats who don’t have a pedigree or who have cosmetic faults that disqualify them from competing with other members of their breed; for instance, a Persian with a missing eye, a Manx with a normal-length tail or a Russian blue with a pointed coat.
The concept of everyday cats participating in cat shows goes back to the very first cat show at London’s Crystal Palace in 1871. Organized by British artist and cat lover Harrison Weir, author of “Our Cats and All About Them,” it was meant not only to introduce exotic and unusual cats to the public, but also to honor what Weir called the “fireside cat” -- today’s companion cat. (Perhaps not surprisingly, Weir’s own cat, a lovely blue tabby female, was named best cat at that first show.)
Cats competing in the household pet class must be at least 4 months old, spayed or neutered, up to date on vaccinations and not declawed. They’re judged on overall good health, temperament and grooming. Everything else is judge’s choice, says Ziggy’s owner, Becky Gates of Villa Park, California, who has been showing in the HHP class since 1991. At the San Diego Cat Show, 38 cats were entered in the category. The cats most likely to succeed are friendly, enjoy attention and aren’t easily frightened.
“Ziggy loves to show,” Gates says. “He loves people. Once he’s on the table, he just shines.”
Unlike pedigreed cats, no breed standard describes how household pets should look. “They don’t have to have a long body or a short body or a round head or a long head,” says retired Cat Fanciers Association all-breed judge Carolyn Osier of San Juan Capistrano, California, who has bred Abyssinians for 54 years. “Every judge has some color or pattern that strikes them a little bit more than others. I would say that the most important features of a household pet need to be health, presentation and temperament.”
In short, it’s a beauty contest, and giving a cat a leg up in the judging means bathing, cleaning the ears, trimming the nails on all paws and making sure the coat is groomed to the nines. “You want to give every advantage they can possibly have,” Osier says.
Of course, a winning personality is important. Some cats “ask” for the win from the time they’re brought out of their display cage and placed on the judging table.
“They just exude something that tells you they think they’re special, and those are the cats that are going to get noticed,” Osier says. “So if you’re thinking about showing your cat as a household pet, the first thing you have to do is find out whether the cat likes it or not, because cats have their own opinions.”
Points are earned based on the number of cats competed against and the number of shows. It’s not unusual for cat lovers to “campaign” their household pets around the country, just as people with pedigreed cats do. Ziggy was competing against some cats from the East Coast, Gates says.
Beyond the competition, Gates enjoys the camaraderie of the household pet class. She gets to hang out with other cat lovers and meets old and new friends at each show.
For Osier, the HHP class is important for another reason. “The message we want to get across to people is that your cat has value. It’s not a monetary value, but it’s because these are the cats that supply us with the companionship we want and need.”
Q&A
How long do
dogs live?
Q: I hear about the occasional dog living into their 20s or even 30s, but what’s the typical canine lifespan?
A: That is the $64,000 question, and there’s no definite answer. Yet.
A recently published study in the journal Scientific Reports (nature.com/articles/s41598-023-50458-w#Sec2) by researchers in the United Kingdom looked at data from 584,734 dogs (284,734 of which were deceased) of 155 breeds, as well as mixed-breeds and crossbreeds. The data came from sources that included veterinarians, pet health insurance companies, animal welfare organizations and breed registries.
Dogs, which come in more than 400 genetically distinct breeds and innumerable crosses and mixes, vary considerably in size, shape and behavior. Factors including size and muzzle length appear to play a role in how long they live.
For the average dog, longevity estimates range from 10 to 13.7 years, but researchers found significant variation within and between breeds. Across all dogs, purebred and crossbred, estimated median survival age was 12.5 years, meaning half the dogs were older and half were younger. Median survival for females was 12.7 years and for males 12.4 years.
Bigger breeds typically had the shortest lifespans. They include the mastiff (9 years) and Saint Bernard and bloodhound (each 9.3 years). Flat-faced breeds such as the bulldog and French bulldog (each 9.8 years) also had shorter lifespans. Short-nosed dogs often have issues with breathing, digestion and sleep.
Breeds least at risk for early death include the Tibetan spaniel (15.2 years), shiba inu (14.6 years), papillon (14.5 years) and schipperke and border terrier (14.2 years).
This type of research is still in the early stages, but the researchers hope that by identifying and comparing differences in longevity related to breed, size, sex and muzzle length, future studies can begin to better identify the risks that lead to a shorter lifespan. -- Dr. Marty Becker
Do you have a pet question? Send it to askpetconnection@gmail.com or visit Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker.
THE BUZZ
New treatment
for parvovirus
-- A new monoclonal antibody treatment is available for highly contagious and deadly canine parvovirus. In the past, supportive treatment, often with expensive hospitalization, was the only way to care for dogs with parvo, but the monoclonal antibody, administered in a single intravenous dose, may help to reduce time spent in the hospital and result in more rapid recovery. Parvovirus is preventable with vaccination.
-- As predators, cats are stimulated by movement. To give them some active exercise daily, encourage them to chase the bouncing beam of a flashlight. The fast, erratic motion enhances a cat’s ability to think and move quickly. Direct the beam up and down the stairs, down the hall or up the cat tree to help them get in plenty of running and jumping. Other toys that arouse the desire to chase, jump, pounce and flip are shaped like fishing poles, with a furry or feathery toy dangling at the end of a line.
-- Walking and playing with a dog is a great way to sneak exercise into anyone’s daily routine, and science backs that up for kids, now, too. Having a dog promotes physical activity in children, especially girls, according to a recent Australian study (ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-023-01544-9). The researchers followed 600 children over a three-year period, and among their findings was that both boys and girls with dogs were more active outdoors. Girls with dogs had a daily increase of 52 minutes per day of physical activity.
ABOUT PET CONNECTION
Pet Connection is produced by a team of pet care experts. Veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker is founder of the Fear Free organization, co-founder of VetScoop.com and author of many best-selling pet care books. Kim Campbell Thornton is an award-winning journalist and author who has been writing about animals since 1985. Mikkel Becker is a behavior consultant and lead animal trainer for Fear Free Pets. Dr. Becker can be found at Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker or on Twitter at DrMartyBecker. Kim Campbell Thornton is at Facebook.com/Kim.CampbellThornton and on Bluesky at kimthornton.bsky.social. Mikkel Becker is at Facebook.com/MikkelBecker and on Twitter at MikkelBecker.