The Maine Coon Guild, the website dedicated to Maine Coon Cats

You may also enter you cat into Exemption Classes if you wish, details are on the back of the show form.

Where to send you entries
Send your entries to the named entry clerk with a stamped addressed envelope for confirmation that your entry has arrived and has been accepted. Send your entries in good time to avoid disappointment.
 

Show preparation
 A day or two before the show give your Maine Coon a bath grooming and presentation are very important, after all this is a beauty contest! For grooming tips see:- Grooming and Bathing your Cat page.

The final touches before judging starts

Things you will need to take with you.
A cat carrier for transporting your cat to and from the show hall, vaccination certificate, food and water bowls, litter tray, food and cat litter, water, and a piece of ribbon to tie your cat's number around his neck. Most pens are decorated with curtains the dimensions of the pens are shown below. Take some diluted disinfectant to wipe the pen before placing your cat inside

Vetting in
Vet Checking Vaccination Card

Steward taking one very large Maine Coon to judges table to be judged

What happens when you arrive.
Leave home in plenty of time allowing for any hold-ups on the way. Try to get to the show hall in plenty of time or you may have a long wait for vetting in. Vetting in is usually from 7.30am until 9.00 am. When you arrive at the show hall follow the signs for "vetting in". You will be asked for your name, and given an envelope with your cats name and cage number on it, the vet will need to sign this. Once your cat has been vetted in you will be able to enter the hall. You can locate your pen by looking at your cat's number and checking the lists provided at the end of each row. By the time you have arranged your cage and settled your cat, judging should begin around 9.30-10am. Don't forget to attach your cats id number to the ribbon and place it around his neck. The steward will look for the number when taking your cat from the pen, do not remove the number until the end of the show. Check your catalogue to make sure your cat's details are correct and he is in the right class, the steward will come for your cat and take him to the judges table where you can watch him being judged. The open classes will be judged first, followed by Best of Variety and Nominations and the Best in Show will take place at the end of the day. The show normally closes around 5.30-6pm. You will not be allowed to remove your cat from the show hall before the show has been officially closed by the show manager. Critiques and rosettes will be placed on your pen after judging

Setting up your pen

Making curtains for your pen
Size
Back 4ft x 2ft
Sides 2ft x 2ft
Top 4ft x 2ft
Blanket for bottom 4ft x 2ft
Curtains can be hooked on with curtain wires with a hook each end

Judging

French Judge
Mr Jean-Louis de Pindray
judging one of his open classes

Dr Jannick Renault
choosing her winner

Best in show
judges hold up the number of the cat of their choice

Showing GCCF registered cats at FB shows

It is a FIFe rule that all entry forms from non-FIFe exhibitors should be countersigned by the exhibitor's own organisation before being sent to the relevant entry clerk. This will enable the GCCF to ensure that their veterinary rules are not broken.
If agreement is reached, an exhibitor will send the form to the GCCF for stamping with a stamped addressed envelope and, on its return, send it to the FB entry clerk with the correct fee. It will then be possible for GCCF registered cats to be shown at FB shows without the owner joining the FB or the cat being registered. Note though you will not be able to claim titles if your cat is not registerd with Felis Britannica

How it all works

When you enter your cat in a FIFe show, you need to know what is meant by the evaluation it receives. If it is a kitten, it does not qualify for a CAC because a CAC is in fact a certificate saying that the cat had enough quality to become a Champion and a kitten is usually too immature, or its coat is not yet right, or it is still teething, etc.etc. so this certificate first becomes available to a cat that is at least ten months old. However, in the FIFe all cats are qualified, as well as classified; this means that a cat is qualified according to its EQUALITY¹ and its quality is measured by the standard of points for the breed. The FIFe divides them into:

Excellent a cat with a minimum of 88 points
Very Good a cat with a minimum of 76 points
Good a cat with a minimum of 61 points

Thus, every cat entered will receive either Ex , a VG or G irrespective to is placing in its class. That means that you know what the quality of your cat is. as to whether it comes 1st, 2nd or 3rd etc. is dependent upon the competition within its class and whilst there might be three kittens, all of which qualify the the Ex, they will be placed according to their merit - 1, 2 and 3. So the qualification is very important. It also means that in a FIFe show you never have a 1st withheld because it is a nonsense. If you have more than one cat, and one is better than the other then there must be a first, but if neither of them are excellent, then there would be a VG1 and a VG2. Generally speaking one would not breed from a cat that did not attain an Excellent 1 qualification.When you come to the open class for adults, Class No 9, you are competing for a CAC - to attain the title Champion your cat must win three CACs from three different judges. If you find that you cat is awarded a second CAC by the same judge, you must immediately inform the show manager, who will arrange to have a second judge countersign the certificate, then it will be regarded as a second CAC by a second judge, this applies to all certificates, whether CAC or CACIB etc. and is important for you to remember as it is YOUR responsibility to see that this is done. If there is more than three entire 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, where there were more than one in a class, it must have been 1st and if it is an adult, it must have been awarded at least a CAC. It must have 95 points. If there are three or more kittens in either of the kitten classes (classes 11 and 12), it is possible to award a Best in Variety kitten and if there were three in class 11 and three in Class 12, it would be possible to award one at each level. After the judge has completed judging all the Open Classes, he or she must select their Nominations for Best in Show. This means that from each group they have judged, if they have judged more than one group, they select a Best Adult, a Best Kitten and a Best Neuter. 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 in its open class, it is not really worth 97 Points so it cannot be nominated for Best in show (a CAC requires only 93 points). Although this is only quoting conditions for entire cats, exactly the same applies with Neuters although they have separate titles and compete amongst themselves for Best in Variety Neuter or Best Neuter in Group/Show. Sometimes at a special show, like a Maine Coon Speciality a special prize has been donated, for example to the Best Maine Coon in show, this does not necessarily mean that the cat has won Best in Variety automatically, since the Best in Variety is only awarded to an entire cat and a Neuter cannot compete; however, there may be a Neuter of this breed/variety that is better than the entire and it could win the Best Maine Coon award this would be decided by the judge or judges concerned with that breed.Household Pets have their own standard and are judged against this standard; it allows for general condition, care, preparation and temperament. In the FIFe system only judges trained in a particular group are allowed to judge that group. Therefore at a small show, it is necessary to have an all-breed judge and there are not so many of these available. In the same way only an International Judge is allowed to be on the BIS panel and therefore at a small show, there is often one judge deciding all the groups. At a very large show of five hundred or more, there would be three or more judges in any one group and these judges would then make up the BIS panel; naturally this is more satisfactory. The procedure for Best in Show is almost always the same, the only variation being the order of the group. For example, the Longhair Group - Category 1 - all the nominations for this group are collected by the stewards and placed in holding pens round the stage, ready to be presented to the judges. Usually one starts with the Neuters, these are presented to the judges and the best one is selected. If there is to be an overall Best Neuter in show, then the winning Neuter will remain in a holding pen to complete later on with the winner neuters in the other groups - for example the Semi-longhair group. After the neuter, the same procedure is followed with the kittens and then with the adults. One group after the other is judged this way and finally the winning cats of each group will compete against each other for the title or Best Adult in show, Best Kitten and Best Neuter in Show. Thus you have a pyramid:

BEST IN SHOW

Best of Group 1 Best of Group II Best of Group III Best of Group IV Best of Variety
Class winner, cats with a minimum of 95 points etc. This system is applied also to the Household Pets, they compete amongst themselves for the Best Pet in Show, this could also be divided to Best Male
and Best Female or Best Shorthair or Best Longhair, according to the show entries. There are certain rules that you, the Exhibitor, should be aware of and then you too can check that nothing is forgotten. After all judges and show managers are human and also make mistakes. the first is that if your car is awarded a certificate by a judge who has previously awarded that certificate, inform the Show Manager immediately so that the Judge¹s Report can be countersigned by another judge.You award card and report should be on your cat¹s cage before the show has ended and you can then check that it is correct. If there are three or more cats in the same variety as yours, then one of them must have received a BIV, check which one it is an d don¹t forget this does not include neuters. If there are three or more neuters in a variety, then they must have a BIV Neuter. Normally, you can watch the judge select his/her nominations for the BIS panel and you can see if your cat is amongst them, you should also receive a nomination¹ ribbon - if this is the case, make sure you give your cat a last-minute preparation before it is taken to the panel.

THE NUMBER OF CERTIFICATES REQUIRED IN THE UK FOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

CAC/CAP 3 certificates from 3 different judges = Champion (CH)
CACIB/CAPIB 5 certificates from 3 different judges = International
Champion, International Premier (IC/IP)
CAGCIB/CAGPIB 7 certificates from 3 different judges = Grand International Champion,
Grand International Premier (GIC/GIP)
CACE/CAPE 10 certificates from 3 different judges = European Champion, European Premier (EC/EP)

After attaining the required number of certificates, you cat must, under FIFe rules, be place in the higher class the next time it is show, you must also send the Judge¹s Reports together with the Registration Certificate of
the Cat and a small administration fee to the Validation Officer to have the title confirmed and placed on your cat¹s registration document.