Many attendees at The International Cat Association’s (TICA) Langley cat show were in wonder when two-year-old Sabrina Rose was taken out of her cage and brought to the front table.
They were impressed by the “rare and clean” rosettes (rose-like formations on the fur cats) on Coy Cosburn’s cat.
It wasn’t Cosburn and Sabrina’s first time participating in a cat show. In fact, the little cat was recently awarded the title of grand champion in Victoria.
But the Vancouver Island-based pet owner could still feel a “little bit of nervousness.”
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Sabrina and 125 other cats were judged to a standard set by the International Cat Fanciers Association – each getting a certain number of points based on their features. The higher the points, the higher the chances of getting the championship title.
“It is a tough competition. It requires great perseverance I know,” commented Cosburn.
She had been preparing for months for the competition.
There was a lot of regular grooming, shampooing, shredding, and nail clipping involved in the preparations, Cosburn shared.
“It is such a positive thing for me to experience. The show means a lot to us and it is kind of cool to have a title for my show cat,” said Cosburn. “You know it sounds kind of bougie,” she added.
As judge Melissa picked up Sabrina, Cosburn quickly started walking towards her to listen carefully to the comments. Participating in the first class Bengal category, about seven more cats competed with Sabrina.
As Melissa prepared her points sheet, it was time to decide who would get first place in the category. As she walked closer to Sabrina and hung a tag that read ‘first’ on cage 109, Cosburn looked as excited as she could.
“It is an amazing feeling,” she said.
Right after that, she took her cat to ring number one to participate in a different category. Cosburn and Sabrina competed in four categories in total on August 13.
A breeder herself, Gillian Huber, the vice president secretary of Cat Fanciers of BC, too participated in the two-day competition with her two cats.
Regulated by TICA, Huber said the participants were competing for the championship, but the points system can be a “bit complex” for the general public to understand.
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In total, there were four different classes – kitten, alter, household, and adult class.
Participating in cat shows throughout the year, pet owners accumulate points at every show. With multiple titles to be awarded, each title requires a certain number of points.
For example, it requires 3,000 points for a cat competing in the ‘household pet’ category to win the supreme grand champion award.
Jointly hosted by Cat Fanciers of BC and Garden City Cat Fanciers, the two-day show took place on Saturday, August 13 and Sunday, August 14 at George Preston Recreation Centre.
For more information, people can visit cfofbc.org.
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