Thread: cat shows
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Old April 19th 04, 10:38 PM
Kristine Kochanski
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On Mon, 19 Apr 2004 21:59:13 +0100, "Gee" wrote:


"Kristine Kochanski" wrote in message
.. .
Just wondering what the general consensus was on cat shows? I ask
because I attended one the other day and was quite upset at seeing
distressed, miserable cats kept in 2ft cages for hours, with hundreds
of strangers (me included!) milling around staring and cooing at them
- and men in white coats pulling them out and poking, stretching and
prodding them. This can't be good for a cat! Every cat was obviously
incredibly loved and pampered, I just find this act of 'showing'
rather uneasy.

Firstly, how can you judge a cat on appearance? Aren't they all
beautiful whether they have a certificate that says so or not?


I sooo agree with your comment. I just can;t see how one cat is more
beautiful than the other. If you love animals you love them all, or you
don't love animals. It's simple really.


That's my opinion anyway. Doesn't matter to me if they've got one ear
missing, spots, stripes, black or white, they're all beautiful. As
nature intended.

Secondly, should people, in this so-called civilised day and age, be
*rewarded* for inbreeding? For example, the flatness of a Persian
cat's face really upsets me (


Totally, various purebred animals (cats and dogs) have so many
breed-associatted problems that instead of helping them overcome them, those
crazy people keep emphasising and enlarging the issues for the sake of money
and fame of a human! I do wonder sometimes if breeders do LOVE their
animals, or are they in it just for the money.


Like Alison said, you get good ones and bad ones. I don't doubt any of
the breeders at the show I visited loved their cats, but I can't
understand how having a cat in a cage for hours (and the stress of
being driven there) equates to maximising the cat's wellbeing. Some
breeds obviously are more docile and handle the experience better, but
cats in general do not like being trapped in a strange environment and
stared at.

Dare say they will claim the cats enjoy the experience.


I can;t see how they would. Cats are territorial animals and feel very
uncomfortable to downright scared on any new territory. And if that new
territory contains millions of other strange cats, I can just imagine what
exactly poor cat is thinking and feeling, terrified and stressed!

So I fail to understand breed shows as well, and who exactly benefits from
them.


Thanks for your comments! I half expected to be flamed...

However I do like to watch agility shows.


I watched a programme on TV about police dogs the other week and was
in total awe of the job those dogs do. They obviously do get a kick
out of working and being rewarded. That's a totally different thing to
sticking them in a box and deciding whether they're 'better' than the
one down the next row.