Show Report - Vallejo CA/CFA

Wow where do I even start? The begining is probably a great place ;)
Saturday was a great day for a cat show. My daughter Arie and I got up at 5 am and left at 5:30 am. We traveled up to Yountville and got my friend and mentor Nancy Jo and then traveled down to Vallejo. We got there pretty early and spent most of the time trying to figure out the parking situation. We got the cage decorated and comfy for Romo Meowski, who was in a great mood. he was purring and making biscuits and loving Nancy's attention. I thought it was going to be a great day...

Romo went to the first ring and was placed right next to another cat who was not so happy to be at the cat show. It set Romo off. The remainder of the day he hissed at judges, other cats, toys, etc. Personally I was really astounded at his attitude. I mean Romo doesn't even hiss at home. Heck I didn't know he even knew how to hiss! I was a bit embarrassed at first but he wasn't striking out at anyone just letting his feelings be known. So Romo was not happy about the cat show. lol.

Four cats were in the catalog, one didn't show. After halfway through the show our competition again went down by one cat. At the end of the show it was only cranky Romo Meowski left to compete against himself. While Romo didn't score high he was still turning heads and again was a spectator and crowd favorite.

Ranking in the ring is somewhat meaningless IMO Romo is a purebred cat and therefore more likely to score low because it will seem to the judges as if I am trying to pass off an established pedigree/purebred cat for a hodgepodge anybodys guess HHP. Which technically I guess I am. The Helki Breed is a new experimental breed there are no other classes I can show them in and I want to get these cats into the hands of the judges. So we got 3rd place 3 times, 2nd place 2 times, and Best HHP in the last ring because Romo was the only HHP left in the show hall. Arie was able to get 1st place as Novice Junior Showmanship using Romo. It was the only time I saw him not hiss at everyone the whole day lol. As if he knew he didn't want to ruin this for Arie. hahaha. Even the Judge Kim Everette-Hirsch commented that Romo behaved better for Arie then he did for her. Arie does have pretty good handling skills.

We had some excellent comments from the judges. Romo was said to have good conformation, a unique texture to his fur, lovely eye shape, solid body, among other very nice things. When I would explain what Romo was the judges all seemed happy to have the puzzle pieces fitting together and were very pleased with him. At the end of the show many of the Judges were gathered in a group and watched Romo get his only Best HHP award for the day and they all applauded loudly for him. It was very touching and gave me hope and joy for my breed.