First time at a TICA cat show this last Saturday in Arcadia, California:
•Win a best of breed - check
•Place in a Final- check
•Get kicked out of a Cat show - check!
First and last show! She went out with a bang like a true Bengal hah.
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I just wanted to try it and I had been to a cat show before without my bengal girl to check out and the Bengals there seemed to enjoy being shown. Hunter's breeder was totally ok with me showing her. The breeder is a TICA registered cattery but doesn't show her cats and sells all her kittens as pets , but she doesn't charge more for people who want to show their cats as long as we fix them within the contract's time frame.

I know some people have their own opinions against cat shows but it was interesting to me to see how close to the Bengal breed standards she was. I had been told that her tail is too long and on the skinny side for a Bengal so I didn't think she would do so well. But she did because apparently her head type and body shape and proportions are "perfect" for the breed standard.

Hunter is normally a very easy going , socialized and overly friendly cat to humans and dogs. I didn't know how she would be like around cats before Saturday...but she went from being fine in the morning to increasingly upset later in the day.

After a very feisty episode in a judging ring the show staff and the judge as well as myself agreed that it would be better if I took her out of the show and home so she could be happier. She still got Best of breed for Bengal Kittens (out of like 13 Bengal kittens) , and placed 5th against all Kitten breeds of like 40+ kittens in one judging ring in the morning .

She was totally 100% herself once she got home and played with our dog. I think she didn't like the smell of other cats and the chaos was stressful. This has been a learning experience . She has been extra spoiled since and will never do another show again even though I honestly enjoyed the showing part I do not want her to be miserable like that again.

There were 8 judging rings and these were her results in the Kitten Division
Ring 1: Best of Color, Best of Division, Best of Breed , Finals: 5th Allbreed Kitten = 210 pts
Ring 2: 3rd for Color, 3rd for Division =30 pts
Ring 3: 4th for color = 10pts
Ring 4:5th for color =5pts
Ring 5: 4th for Color =10pts
Ring 6:3rd for Color, 3rd for Division =30 pts
Ring 7: 3rd for Color, 3rd for Division =30 pts
Ring 8: Withdrawn (I jokingly tell everyone we pretty much got kicked out)

Her total points was 325
If she was an Adult cat, she would have achieved a "Champion" title as a CH title requires a min 300 points from 4 judges and 1 Final

She is stunning! Congratulations on her doing so well. Some cats do well at the shows. Others just do not like being in that environment. At least you tried and now you know ...

Congratulations! She is very beautiful. I'm glad you got the experience even if she has decided it's not for her

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Dallas, TX USA
Diesel - snow Bengal born 09/01/2013 adopted Feb 2014
Tuck, Chloe, Buddy, Lewis & Tia - rescue kitties
Clyde, Bleu & Coal - Great Danes

Yea, the picture is pretty telling... ribbons pinned on the cage, and her huddled in fetal position, probably thinking "I just gotta get through this... gonna be home soon".

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The little monsters 3

Thank you for the kind words , and yes she will not be shown again and put through that. You never know how a cat will cope, even if they seem well socialized with new people and different environments. I think not being around any other cats after she left her breeder for the last two months, and then thrown in a hall with 200 cats and all that smell and noise was a shock to her.

She's much happier not in the show ring, but being everywhere else...she confidently travels in her carrier in the car with us and in her harness to the snow (not beach we found out) , to parks and to other friends houses that have cat friendly dogs.