Cosmo’s Third Show: Illinois Feline Fanciers

October 21, 2014 By: MoscatoMom

The Illinois Fancier’s Club hosted its 49th annual cat show at the Illinois State Fairgrounds on October 18 and 19, 2014. This was a 2 day show, with 8 rings. My only regret that weekend was not taking a photograph of the giant Abraham Lincoln statue standing outside of the exhibition hall. But, I was a little busy with a little kitten.

It would seem that our spunky little Cosmo has started his own little Fight Club with resident moggies, Peanut and Piston, and this illicit activity most likely takes place while we sleep or while we are at work. While Ultimate Fighting may be an expected way of life for the average alley cat, it is a pastime that makes this new show mom quite nervous. Case in point: Two days before the show, Kain noticed that Cosmo had a little scab inside of his ear. Of course, having a scab inside of his ear meant that I wasn’t able to shave closely around that little area (approx. 2-3mm), which means that not only did he have a little scab inside of his ear, but he also had stubble (yes, I have to shave the insides of his ears with a little battery-operated trimmer). I fully expected that he would not place at all due to this little wound, but he still needed to attend in order to stay relatively used to the show environment. On day 2 of the show, we arrived at the showhall a little later than I wanted, so I grabbed a wet wipe and set about cleaning his ears, quickly but vigorously. I had completely forgotten about the scab and actually rubbed it off as I wiped the inside of his ear, but fortunately, it had healed enough that it did not bleed and no mark was visible, so I got out my trimmer and attempted to complete my shoddy shaving job. The funny little things that worry a show mom!

There were many excellent kittens at this show. In particular, a black and white bi-color persian male kitten, Astral Charm Top That, dominated the kitten division of this show, placing first in 6 out of 8 rings and earning 198 points in just two days! The judges who placed him all commented on his spectacular coat and impeccable grooming.

This weekend, I was fortunate to have met a couple of other exhibitors: Kathy Becker, who was showing a beautiful Champagne Mink colored Tonkinese, and Janet _____, who was showing a very nice white Oriental Shorthair female named Blanca. As at prior shows, both ladies gave me some great pointers and a lot of encouragement, and I am glad to have had such good bench-mates.

One other highlight of the show was that I had the opportunity to briefly speak with Judge Mary Auth. As she judged Cosmo, she caged him and then paused to review the breed standard. I was curious about this – and hoping that he did not have some fault that I was not aware of. After she was completely finished with the Kitten class, we briefly discussed what she was reviewing, and we then chatted for a moment about my newbie status and local cat club involvement. I was quite intimidated to approach her, but am glad that I did.

As for Cosmo, he behaved quite well at the show and placed in one ring: a very admirable 3rd place awarded by CFA Judge Norman Auspitz, for 29.70 points. Kathy was seated behind me for the finals, and Mr. Auspitz announced his winners in reverse order. I expected maybe 10th or 8th, but with each number the judge called, I realized how much he liked Cosmo. Granted, Cosmo still hates being put into the judge’s cages, and he actually hissed at me a couple of times in protest, but once the judges got a hold of him, he was *so* good on the table. He is still aloof and will not play with the judges – he’s too smart to be bribed with fun toys – but at least this time, he did not try to climb over Mr. Dineson’s shoulder to run away! I am encouraged that he seemed to be calmer for this show, and I hope that bodes well for the Indy show next weekend.

Cosmo, 6 1/2 mos old.

The Singapura Breed

September 20, 2014 By: MoscatoMom

Just an FYI that the featured bread at the Cat Fanciers’ Association’s website this week is the Singapura. You can read more about the breed, here. Pictured above is the top Singapura cat from the 2013-2014 season, GC, BW, RW P-SEPIA MIRAI. P-Sepia is a Singapura cattery located in Japan. Click here for their website.

Cosmo’s Second Show – American Gothic in Peoria, IL

September 15, 2014 By: MoscatoMom

Last weekend marked the second show for Cosmo, which was also our first 2-day show. Fortunately, it was only 45 minutes from home, so no hotel stay was required

Lauren did not want to attend, nor did Blake, so it was just me and Cosmo on our own. I arrived a little early to find our benching area and got set his cage up. Saturday seemed to be rather slow, and the rings in which he was judged were pretty evenly spaced. The first day he was judged by Darrell Newkirk (and again in the same ring by judge trainee Teresa Sweeney, who I hear breeds stunning Maine Coon cats), followed by Kathy Calhoun, then Paul Patton (SP) and Mary Auth (SP). He was pulled for finals by Paul Patton, where Cosmo was awarded 7th place for 14 points (this was a specialty ring, so only shorthair kittens are calculated in the point count). Ms. Sweeney also placed him in 10th for her finals, but there were no points for this as she is a trainee. I think it was a “practice” final, needed for her to become a judge.

Sunday was rather frantic, as there were still 4 kitten rings to be judged, and 5 finals (Newkirk judged SH on Sat., and LH kittens on Sunday, so his kitten finals were on Sunday). A few delays in judging and finals for the kitten class, as there was some overlap in the different rings for the kitten class. One ring clerk got particularly testy when people didn’t show up at his ring on time (due to being in other rings), but also got testy when exhibitors told him that some cats he called were still in another ring. “I KNOW! That’s why I said AS AVAILABLE!!” I was amused, only because his frustration was not directed at me. There is always something amusing at cat shows, like the time an exhibitor at a TICA show got snippy with me for confusing her British *LONGHAIR* for a Persian (to be fair, I could only see it’s rear side, not it’s face. It was a big white puffball).

Cosmo did not place on Sunday, so his point count for this show is 14 (if I calculated correctly). One judge said she could have easily placed 10 more, and included Cosmo in that additional 10 (So, he’s top 20?). His total point count after this show is 51.8. Unfortunately, I probably won’t see his rank for a couple of weeks, as CFA’s recordkeeping is very much behind.

As far as Cosmo’s behavior, he still does not like being at shows, and he especially does not like being in the judge’s cages. For each of the 8 judges, when they tried to put him back in the cage after judging, he either strongly protested being returned to the cage, and in a couple of cases, he actually turned around and grabbed onto the judge for dear life in hopes of avoiding the cage. He climbed right over Mr. Dineson’s shoulder and almost absconded, had it not been for Jim’s quick hands. In the benching cage, he was able to settle down a little bit in the afternoon and take a nap, but he spent most of the day trying to hid under his blanket or under his bed.

To try to get Cosmo used to the cages for future shows, I purchased a used benching cage from the cage service so we can set it up at home and do a little training. The goal is to get him used to it so he can relax a little at the show and not be so scared. Put him in, give him a treat… which reminds me – I need to order some freeze-dried chicken. He loves the stuff, and I am out of the stash that his breeder sent home with me. Also to keep him [somewhat] used to the show hall, I think I am also going to have to show him at a 2-day show in Indianapolis next month.

I have to say that the highlights of the American Gothic show were simply meeting other exhibitors. Jodie Ross was benched next to me and had a beautiful blue-eyed Chocolate Point male Birman that achieved his Grand Championship designation this weekend. I was in each ring with Beth Cassely (sorry for the old link – I did not see that she has a website), whose gorgeous Champagne Mink Tonkinese placed in several rings. Both of these ladies were very kind and helpful to me, not hesitating to answer the many newbie questions that I had. I also met Jo Cornwall of TrueBrit cattery; she is a top breeder of stunning British Shorthair cats and is currently campaigning one for a national title. Of course, Juli Clark was able to make it to this show with her Singapura, Cosmo’s brother Citron (same parents, different litter), and the brothers got a little pissy with each other, exchanging hisses back and forth for the few minutes that Juli and I were able to chat. And just one more act of kindness, the gentleman who sold me the cage also had a vendor booth selling various supplies. When Cosmo just would not settle down, I went over and asked if he had any dehydrated chicken because I left what little bit I had at home. I explained that Cosmo was really nervous and I could not get him to calm down. He dug around and found a little packet and gave it to me at no charge. Such nice people this weekend!

So I Figured Out Points. And Discovered Cosmo’s Rank.

September 10, 2014 By: MoscatoMom

I made two discoveries this week: How points work (CFA), and Cosmo’s rank.

Calculating Annual Points

Calculating points, particularly because Cosmo is a kitten, has been confusing to me. My issue is that I was confusing National/Regional points with Championship/Premiership points. They are two separate beasts, and Championship/Premiership points are *not* kept for kittens. This post applies only to CFA. We are not currently showing in TICA, but may at some point in the future.

Let’s discuss calculating National/Regional points in CFA (Premiership points will be kept after he turns 8 months in January, 2015). At the show, you will need to listen to the announcement of the unofficial count, which will likely be different from the pre-show count that is published in the catalog (edited to add that sometime the clerk won’t make the announcement, so you can simply go to his table and look at the count list that he has prepared – that’s what I had to do at the American Gothic show). At Mo-Kan, the count announcement was made in the mid-afternoon, and management also posted the count near the announcer for those who were not in the show hall to hear the counts. For the Mo-Kan show last month, the counts were as follows:

LH Kittens: 12

SH Kittens: 16

Total Kittens: 28

LH Championship Cats: 26

SH Championship Cats: 25

Total Championship Cats: 51

LH Champions: 18

SH Champions: 18

Total Champions: 36

LH Premiership Cats: 15

SH Premiership Cats: 17

Total Premiership Cats: 32

LH Premiers: 7

SH Premiers: 8

Total Premiers: 15

Because he is in the kitten class, the only points that apply to Cosmo are the National/Regional (Annual) “Kitten” points. Also note that the formula for calculating Champion/Premier points is slightly different than the formula for calculating annual points.

Above, you will note that there were 28 total kittens at this show. This show also had six judging rings. Out of the six, Cosmo was called back to finals twice (that means that two of the judges placed him in their Top Ten). For these two rings, he placed 6th and 8th. National (also called Annual) points are based on the count for the cat’s category. Take the total kitten count (28) and subtract one, which represents Cosmo, because he can’t beat himself. Thus, the most points possible is 27, which are earned by the first place kitten for each ring. The second place kitten in each ring earned 95% of 27 (26.65), the third place kitten earned 90% of 27 (24.30), etc. For his first final, Cosmo placed 6th, which is 75% of the 27 max. points, or 20.25 points. His second final earned him 8th place, which is 65% of the 27 points, or 17.55. So for the Mo-Kain show, Cosmo earned 37.8 National/Regional points from the two finals.

Figuring Out Rank

I figured out Cosmo’s rank by accident, actually. I knew he had 37.8 points, but I had no idea what that meant. How many points do other cats have? How many does Cosmo need to place in the top 25?

I had heard of CFA’s E-points, but could not figure out how to access them. The only online point system I knew of was Herman (through CFA), which did not tell me any information relevant to Cosmo (Herman can tell you your Championship/Premiership points, and end-of-season annual points). I had already registered a user account for CFA from when I registered the cattery name, Moscato. I logged in at the “Secure CFA” hyperlink, and noticed that there was a link for enrolling in the Almanac. It cost $59, so I had not done that previously. This time, I decided to bite the bullet and purchase access, not really knowing what I was paying for.

Once you register, look for a link that says “Link to Online Almanac.” From there, you click on “EPOINTS,” where you will see a table of various reports. Look for “National,” Regional,” and “Breed” reports (you have an option to view either .pdf or .txt files). Because I knew how many points Cosmo earned, I went to the kitten section of the National Report, and scrolled down to his point range. I saw his name right there, indicating that as of August 10, 2014, Cosmo ranked 619 nationally out of 968 kittens. Not bad, considering that the season started in May, and he only had one show under his belt! For the Midwest Region #6, he is the #57 ranked kitten out of 85, and for his breed rank, he is the #5 Singapura kitten nationally (out of five Singapura kittens!).

I was pretty excited to find this information, and access to the Almanac is well worth the $59, especially if you plan to show more than once or twice.

Cat Show Newbie – Observations from our first show.

September 3, 2014 By: MoscatoMom

We exhibited Cosmo in his first show last month. It was our first show, as well – The Mo-Kan Cat Club’s “Cat Days of Summer” show in Kansas City, MO. Because KC is 6.5 hours away from our home, we stayed at a Holiday Inn the night before. The original plan was just for me and my daughter to attend, and then drive home after the show closed, but my husband wanted to make a weekend of it, so I changed the hotel reservation to 2 nights.

As we anticipated the arrival of Cosmo, knowing that we would be showing him, we visited a couple of cat shows because we had not been to any before. As a spectator, and not previously knowing anything about the cat fancy, cat shows were a little confusing. At a cat show there are rows of cat cages (the benching area), which are decorated in all sorts of fancy fabrics (curtains), and several judging rings around the perimeter of the show hall, and periodically, an announcer calls out numbers to inform exhibitors who should head to a particular ring. Once the cats are caged at the ring, the judge evaluates each cat in each category. For this show (and I believe for most) there were categories for Kittens (age 4-8 months), Championship (for intact cats), Premiership (for desexed cats), and Household Cats (not pedigreed). Once all cats in a particular category are judged, the top 10 are called back for finals.

For the Mo-Kan show, my first task was to check in with the entry clerk and figure out the location of Cosmo’s benching cage. Our cage was provided by the show, but many exhibitors bring their own collapsible cages (Sturdi brand shelters seem to be prevalent). I was fortunate that Cosmo’s breeder, Mette, loaned me one of her cage curtains, which I used on the inside of the cage. For the outside, I opted for two plain ivory sheets that were used to cover the top of the cage and to drape over the front of the table to hide my belongings. A plain white towel lined the floor of the cage, and I provided Cosmo with a small litter box (litter was provided by the show), his puffy bed, and small dishes for food and water (he was upset all day and did not touch either until we got back to the hotel room).

I had never seen a show catalog before. The show catalog lists all of the cats that are registered for the show, as well as other pertinent information (Judges and ring numbers, ring clerks, show organizers, sponsors and vendors, etc.). The catalog also contains forms to assist in keeping score, such as a breed summary sheet, a chart to identify winners of each ring’s finals, and a point chart. Once we were checked in and got our bench cage set up, I noticed the Judging Schedule on the back of the catalog. While I was careful to listen to the announcer for Cosmo’s number, it was also imperative to get a general idea of the order of rings in which Cosmo would be judged.

I thought Cosmo did very well, with this being his first show. We registered with the intent of simply learning about how shows work (I still don’t understand points very well) and getting Cosmo used to the sounds and smells of a cat show, but he actually placed in two rings, earning two ribbons.

Cosmo’s First Cat Show – Mo-Kan, August 2014

August 10, 2014 By: MoscatoMom

My intent was for Cosmo’s first show to be in St. Louis for the CFA Midwest TGIF Show on August 2-3, 2014, however, I inadvertently committed to participate in a 5K with my friends, so instead, his first show was the Mo-Kan Cat Days of Summer show on August 9, 2014 in Kansas City, MO. The intent of the first show is to get him used to the sounds and smells of a show hall… there are a lot of other cats, and of course, he was very frightened once we put him in his benching cage. I seriously considered pulling him from the show because I thought he would hurt himself trying to squeeze through the metal bars. Even in the judging ring, he tried to figure a way to get out, and tried to squeeze himself into the corners.

In the end, he became more relaxed as the day progressed. He was not fond of being caged in the judging ring, as that put him into close proximity with other kittens (one particular sphynx kitten tried grabbing him around the divider, and Cosmo likewise tried to paw at him).

This show had 6 judging rings, and lasted for one day. Of the six judges, two advanced him to the finals (top 10), and he placed 6th and 8th, earning him 37.80 Regional/National points for the day. He was the only Singapura kitten, so his “Best of Breed” and “Best of Color/Division” awards did not earn points for him.

Aside from winning two ribbons, another highlight of the day was getting to meet Cosmo’s brother, Citron (owned by Juli Clark). The two cats share the same parents, but are not litter mates. To them, they were strangers, and the requisite hissing ensued.

Travel with Cosmo really was not that bad. The drive from our home to Kansas City was approximately 6 hours. We fed him before we left, and set up his litter box, and more food and water, at the hotel. We stayed at a Holiday Inn near the airport (next door to the KC Expo Center), and Cosmo made himself right at home. I lined the litter pan with a medium trash bag so that we had a clean litter pan for the show, and so that we didn’t have that much of a mess for the hotel housekeeping staff. The only thing I did not like about this hotel was that there was no mini-fridge. We went to dinner the night of the show, and to breakfast on the last morning, leaving Cosmo to run loose in the room (we placed the “do not disturb” card on our doorknob to prevent entry by hotel staff). He did just fine, and each time we returned he was curled up and napping on the bed.

It was a good show, and we are planning to participate in the Peoria, IL show in September, 2014.

Singapura Brothers, Citron (left) and Cosmo (right).

Cosmo is Here!

July 31, 2014 By: MoscatoMom

On July 25, Cosmo left the warm comfort of his momma and siblings and his human momma in California, and came home to live with us in Illinois. He is such a sweet little guy. This photo is right after we got home from the airport (after making a pit stop at the dogsitter to pick up Rex) – we just wanted to relax in bed for the rest of the night. I’ve taken a few more photos, which I will post once I am able to upload them.

Cosmo is becoming quite a popular boy. Last Friday at the airport in Sacramento, we had to go through security, and the TSA agents loved him. This week, I called to schedule a vet appointment for him to have a new kitten check-up. The receptionist took my information and asked for his breed. I had to repeat “Singapura” a couple of times, and then spelled it out. She paused, and said “That isn’t on our list.” At his appointment today, the vet said that he caused quite a stir at the clinic today, as several staff members were googling “Singapura” to see what would be coming in (the vet said that they would have their data administrator add “Singapura” to their breed list). Aside from the doctor, 3 other assistants helped out with the appointment, just to see him! Today he was 3 lbs, 3 oz. – a little boy, but a growing little Singapura! Tomorrow he turns 4 months old.

Looking forward to the show in Kansas City next weekend!

Less than three weeks left, and lots to do!

July 6, 2014 By: MoscatoMom

Poor little Cosmo was just neutered this past week, and I will be heading to Sacramento in less than three weeks to pick him up. Getting excited for his arrival, but a little bummed that the first show that I had planned for him conflicts with a commitment I made to participate in Diva Dash with my friends. So, I will be registering him for a different show, the following week, that I was not originally planning to attend because of the distance.

I know these posts are *almost* pointless without photos, but I’ll have a lot of pictures once he gets here.

Getting Situated – Air Travel With Cosmo

June 18, 2014 By: MoscatoMom

I will be picking up Cosmo from California in five weeks, so I need to purchase a good travel carrier that is suited for in-cabin airplane travel. I am flying American Airlines for all legs of the trip, and they have a pet policy in place that I referred to as I made my decision. For the pet carrier, I was already familiar with Sturdiproducts as I was shopping for an exhibition cage (I’ve since decided to save some money and make cage curtains, rather than buy a fancy cage). American Airlines’s policy references Sherpa pet carriers. Of the wide variety of carriers available on the internet, I decided mine would be one of the two mentioned above.

I looked at a couple of websites for direction, Dog Jaunt, and Pet Carrier Reviews. Dog Jaunt is obviously geared toward dog owners, but had several posts that demonstrated the use of certain carriers on airplanes. Both sites heartily recommended the Sturdibag, and because Cosmo is still a kitten – and because Singapuras are quite a small breed of cat – I elected to purchase the Sturdibag Small, in Navy. I think it is questionable whether it will be big enough for Peanut, and I definitely do not believe that it will work for my 18 lb. Piston. Will post photos as soon as I get the carrier in the mail. Incidentally, I ordered my Sturdibag through Amazon, for only $65.

Little Cosmo is arriving in July!

June 6, 2014 By: MoscatoMom

It has been a while since I’ve posted, mainly because I’ve not had much by way of updates. My little Singapura kitten was born on March 30, 2014 in California, and I just finalized my flight to go pick him up in July, after he has been neutered. I’m hoping to get him in his first show on the first weekend of August. His name is Cosmo, and I will post more information as I have it. Am expecting more photos from the breeder, soon.

Moscato Cats

Sweet and sparkly!