Show cat

Show cat

A show cat (also known as a purebred cat or pedigreed cat) is one that has been judged to be close to the physical ideal for its breed standard at a cat show. Not all pedigreed cats are show cats, many are just pets but the ones with the best conformation and personality are often shown in associations such as the CFA and TICA in the US, the GCCF in the UK or the FiFe in the rest of Europe. Uncommonly, a prize-winning pedigreed show cat can be worth thousands of dollars but most are loved pets. In order to compare examples of breeds and improve stock, cat shows are held where judges evaluate the cats according to a breed standard. Pedigreed cats are often identified with microchip implants.

A common misconception is that all pedigreed cats are less healthy than random bred cats due to inbreeding. Not all pedigreed cats are excessively inbred, however; in the past, this was the case with some breeds, before the modern understanding of genetics was widely circulated. Currently, breeders take great care to select for the healthiest animals, which has greatly reduced the incidence of health issues. Many of the worst, like PKD in Persians and HCM in Maine Coons, have been nearly eliminated due to preventive screening, long term tracking and study by geneticists.

Breeds have different origins, some are manmade or the result of mutation, while others are found in nature. Some breeds of cat have been created by taking a single tom cat or queen with an unusual physical characteristic that breeds true. The entire Cornish Rex breed can be traced back to a single parent animal with an unusual genetic mutation producing a curly coat. Both the Burmese and Tonkinese breeds can be traced back to a single cat, Wong Mau, which was brought from Burma in the 1930s. Breeders continually strive to eliminate negative characteristics that various cat breeds exhibit as the breeds are developed. There is not really any such thing as a 'purebred' cat since all registered breeds began as random bred cats. In this case, 'pedigreed' is a more accurate term.

Cat breeders are continually competing to find the 'ideal' of the breed - the cats that come closest to fitting the breed standard. Because of this, the physical characteristics of a prize-winning show cat have gradually changed in some breeds. This genetic shifting is most obvious in the two oldest, most popular and most distinctive breeds of show cat - the Persian and the Siamese. However, some show cats are naturally occurring breeds that are perpetuated to keep the original look of a cat from a particular region. Examples are the Maine Coon and Turkish Van.

ee also

*List of cat breeds
*cat breed


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Show — can refer to:* A television program * A theatrical production * A concert * A radio program * A donkey show * Show (album), a live album by British band The Cure * Show (fair), an Australian fair * Show (animal), a judged event in the hobby of… …   Wikipedia

  • Cat — For other uses, see Cat (disambiguation) and Cats (disambiguation). Domestic cat[1] …   Wikipedia

  • Cat show — A cat show is a judged event where the owners of cats compete to win titles in various cat registering organizations by entering their cats to be judged after a breed standard. Both pedigreed and companion (or moggy) cats are admissible, although …   Wikipedia

  • Cat Who series — The Cat Who... is a novel series of murder mystery novels by Lilian Jackson Braun. This series is called the Cat Who... series because each book title in this series begins with the words The Cat Who. . . . Cat Who... books feature a reporter… …   Wikipedia

  • Cat breed — A cat breed is an infrasubspecific rank for the classification of domestic cats. A cat is considered to be of a certain cat breed if it is true breeding for the traits that define that breed. Various cat registries around the world record and… …   Wikipedia

  • show — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) v. exhibit, display; explain, teach; demonstrate, prove, guide, escort; appear, stand out. See evidence, disclosure. n. display, exhibition, play, entertainment, pageant, spectacle; pomp, ostentation;… …   English dictionary for students

  • Show (animal) — A show is a judged event or display in the hobby of animal fancy or in the occupation of animal husbandry. Shows feature the best specimens of purebred animals in a locality or country. Prestigious shows or those with large purses (prize money)… …   Wikipedia

  • Show Me How You Burlesque — Christina Aguilera Veröffentlichung 19. November 2010 Länge 2:59 Genre(s) Pop, Contemporary R B Autor(en) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Cat behavior — is how cats interact with other cats, other animals, and their environment. The cat is one of the most vocal and expressive mammals. Its attitude towards other cats can be affectionate, aggressive, shy, and so on. Other animals often cue an… …   Wikipedia

  • Cat body type genetic mutations — Cats, like all living organisms, occasionally have mutations that affect their body type. Sometimes, these changes in body type are striking enough that humans select for and perpetuate them. This is not always in the best interests of the cat,… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”