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What is a cat show?
A cat is judged by several different judges in individual judging rings. Each breed of cat has an official Standard. A judge evaluates the cats by measuring how closely they
meet their Standard. [top]
How are the cats classified?
Purebred cats are classified as KITTENS (4 to 8 calendar months of age), ADULTS (over 8 months old), ALTERS (adults cats that have been spayed or neutered), and HOUSEHOLD PETS
(cats that are not registered as purebred). A purebred cat can trace a minimum of 5 generations of ancestry.[top]
How are the cats judged?
The cats initially compete against others in their breed group (Birman). The judge will select 1 to 5 Best of Colour Awards (Six Blue Point Birmans present, the judge awards 1
to 5 Best of Colour Awards to 5 of the 6 Blue Point Birmans). From the Best of Colour Awards, the judge will choose the best, second best, and third best of breed. For example the Best of Colour Seal Point
could be awarded second Best of Breed.[top]
How do the cats get ribbons?
This is what we are hoping for! After judging all the cats in a group (kitten/cat/alter/household pet), each judge will call back the 10 cats that they believe best meet the
Standards. This means that they believe these are the top 10 cats in the show. Ribbons are awarded for places 10th to 1st.[top]
How do cats earn titles?
Cats, Alters, and Household Pets can earn titles, kittens cannot. You start out as a Novice, which is any cat shown for the first time as adult (8 months and older). You
accumulate points based on how the judges place your cat at each show you enter. [top]
What are the titles?
The titles that a cat holds are designated by a series of letters before their name. Each set of these letters has significance.[top]
Title Requirements for the Title
- Champion - CH 300 points from 4 different judges, plus one final
- Grand Champion GRC 1000 points with 6 finals/4 different judges
- Double Grand Champion DGC 2000 points plus 1 final as a GRC
- Triple Grand Champion TGC 300 points plus 1 final as a DGC
- Quadruple Grand Champion QGC 4000 points plus 1 final as a TGC
- Supreme Grand Champion SGC 6000 points plus 1 Best Cat as a QGC
- Regional Winner RW Top 20 cats in the TICA Region in which you compete
- International Winner IW Top 20 cats in all of TICA
- Outstanding Sire OS Male cat which has sired 10 Grand Champions
- Outstanding Dam OD Female cat which has given birth to 5 Grand Champions
- Lifetime Achievement LA Cat which has received 3 top 20 International or Regional Awards, 1 must be an International Award
An example of what this could look like is RW SGC MikaSu Brave Heart (Regional Winner, Supreme Grand Champion)[top]
What do all the fancy names that a cat has mean?
You can tell a lot by a cats name. Every cattery registers its name with TICA ie. MikaSu Birmans. There is no duplication of cattery names allowed. Each cat born into that
cattery will permanently have that designation as a prefix to their name. If a cat is purchased by another breeder they may add their cattery name as a suffix. The breeder will register each cat with a name,
which in the case of Birmans corresponds to the year of birth.
Some examples are:
- RW SGC MikaSu Brave Heart
This cat was bred by the MikaSu cattery, and since it is a Birman, it was born in 2003. It is a Regional Winner, and it is a Supreme Grand Champion.
- RW SGC Birash Xposee of MikaSu OD
This cat was bred by the Birash cattery and purchased by the MikaSu cattery. It was born in 2000. It is a Regional Winner, a Supreme Grand Champion, and it is an Outstanding Dam.[top]
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