cats and titles

What do our Titles mean and how did we get them?
For a cat to secure a title it must be adult - that is over 10 months old - and needs to win a certain number of Certificates [first place in its own class, according to breed, sex and colour] at International Cat Shows.

There are two types of award - one for entire cats and the other for neuters. Entire cats are called Champions [C] while neuters are called Premiers [Pr]. Within each type there are four ascending levels of titles :

1. The first level - requiring 3 winning Certificates from three different judges is Champion or Premier [CAC or CAP]. For a Certificate to be awarded the cat must attain 93 points.

2. The second level - requiring a further 5 winning certificates from three different international judges is International Champion or International Premier [CACIB or CAPIB]. For a Certificate to be awarded the cat must attain 95 points.

3. The third level - requiring a further 7 winning certificates from three different international judges is Grand International Champion or Grand International Premier [CAGCIB or CAGPIB]. For a Certificate to be awarded the cat must attain 96 points.

4. The fourth and highest level - requiring a further 10 winning certificates under seven different international judges is European Champion or European Premier [CACE or CAPE]. For a Certificate to be awarded the cat must attain 97 points.

Once a cat achieves European status they can still enter shows and although there is no other title to secure they can be awarded a Prize of Honour [POH].

Show organisation and procedures :

FIFe [Federation Internationale Feline] is a world wide Federation of national Associations of cat clubs covering 37 countries from Russia to Argentina. It provides both a common registration system for cat breeders and a standard set of show rules. This means that Titles won under FIFe conditions are recognised internationally but for a show to be classed as 'International' there must normally be a minimum of 150 cats entered. The British member of FIFe is Felis Britannica [FB] a Federation of 13 individual Cat Clubs from around the country who are responsible for organising FIFe shows in the UK.

Shows are divided into two parts. The first covers the award of Certificates towards attaining Titles. The second part comprises a knock out competition to arrive at the best cat in the show.

First, each cat is presented - according to its breed, sex, colour etc. - to an individual judge qualified to assess that particular breed. Every cat will receive either Ex, VG or G irrespective to is placing in its class. As to whether it comes 1st, 2nd or 3rd etc. is dependent upon the competition within its class and whilst there might be three cats, all of which qualify for the Ex award, they will be placed according to their merit - Ex1, Ex2 and Ex3. If none of them is excellent, then there would be a VG1, VG2 and VG3.

In the open class, for adults cats, they are competing for a Certificate which counts towards the award of a title - Champion or Premier [Neuter]. Since the lowest qualification for a Certificate is 93 points it follows that they have automatically achieved the Excellent [88 points] standard. If there are more than three examples of a breed, or a variety, in competition at a show, then a Best in Variety is awarded. To obtain a Best in Variety [BIV] a cat must have been awarded an Excellent if it is a kitten and where there is more than one in a class, it must have been 1st. If it is an adult, it must have been awarded a Certificate. It must also have a minimum of 95 points.

Next, after the judge has completed judging all the Open Classes and awarded the appropriate Certificates, he or she must select their Nominations for Best in Show. This means that from each group they have judged - including any BIV's, they select a Best Adult, a Best Kitten and a Best Neuter to progress to the knock out stage. They can only select winning cats and cats that have a minimum of 97 points. This could mean that although a cat has won a CAC [93 points] in its open class, it may not be worth 97 Points so it cannot be nominated for Best in Show.

The competition for Best in Show usually starts with the Neuters. All of the Neuters that have been Nominated by the various individual judges are presented, according to their group to a panel comprising all the judges at the show and the best one from each group is selected and then the group winners are judged against each other to secure the Best male and Best female Neuter. These two are then judged against each other for Best Neuter in Show with the runner up being Best in Show - Opposite Sex Neuter. The same procedure is followed with the kittens and then the entire adults. Finally the three winning cats - Best Adult, Best Kitten and Best Neuter in Show compete against each other for the top award of Cat of the Show.

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What are we? American Maine Coon Cats.

The Maine Coon Cat is one of the oldest naturally developed pedigree cat breeds in North America. The name came about because it is generally assumed that it originated in the state of Maine whilst the Coon part is attributed to many myths, the most common of which is that the ringed tail on the tabby varieties was the result of matings between domestic cats and raccoons.

Maine Coons are very large, tall, heavy boned and muscular animals, although it is possibly that their heavy coat has led people to perceive them as much larger than they actually are. They develop very slowly, achieving their full size in three to four years and Males are much larger than the Females reaching an average weight when fully grown of between 13 and 18 pounds (6-8kgs) compared to the Females of between 9 and 12 pounds (4-5.5kgs).

Their disposition is superb, they remain playful for all of their lives and are commonly called the gentle giant of the cat world as they have a very laid back attitude to other cats preferring to be friendly rather than aggressive. They also have a very endearing quality of chirping, a delightful and gentle noise considering their size! Another rather strange quality is their affinity to water, they love playing with their paws in the sink, bath or shower, they like to sit on the edge of the bath and seem fascinated with the movement of the water. When they drink from their water bowls, they scrape the surface of the water for imaginary leaves, this is presumably an inherited quality possibly from the time when they drank from pools.

The Maine Coon is considered by many people to be the most perfect of domestic pets with their clown like personalities, affectionate natures, insatiable curiosity and easy-maintenance coats. They make wonderful companions, have no objections to dogs and other animals. A Maine Coon will not ignore you, preferring all the time to know exactly where you are and just hates being left alone with no companionship.

[Based on 'The Maine Coon Cat' by Laura Johnson 1999]

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Only one Certificate is awarded in each class at each show and only then if the cat has attained the necessary minimum number of points [cats failing to win the Certificate would be classed 2 - 2nd, 3 - 3rd, 4 - 4th etc prefixed with either Ex, VG or G - Excellent, Very Good or Good]. It is also possible to win but not be awarded a Certificate because the minimum level of points have not been secured [the award would be Ex1, VG1 or G1]

A kitten [under 10 months] does not qualify for a certificate because it is usually too immature, or its coat is not yet right, or it is still teething, etc. However they are qualified, along with cats, according to the standard of points for the breed and are awarded either Ex, VG or G standards and 1, 2, 3 etc according to the number of kittens in the class . [Household Pets have their own standard against which they are judged; it allows for general condition, care, preparation and temperament.]

Points standards:
Excellent [Ex] a cat with a minimum of 88 points
Very Good [VG] a cat with a minimum of 76 points
Good [G] a cat with a minimum of 61 points

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