show preparations

My poor darling Ozar had his first shower.........

I used to wash Aleksandr always before he went to show. It did have it's effect. He did always look nice and clean for any event..
Ozar does also looks good at the show but the shining part you get after a shower (especially with a stud tail) was missing. It was not bad but (I do always use dry shampoo - a special powder for a show)….. could be better.

Now the spring is starting and the temperature is rising so he had his first shower.

I was very pleased with the cat under the hair. He has a good body structure, long legs (that is mostly masked by his hairs). For me the length of the legs are very important. The Russian blue has long legs according to the standard, but in reality it is sometimes a weakness. For me, the long legs are very important; otherwise you might get a munchkin look. The legs look even shorter with the longhair.

But that is besides the point…… the question is….. how do you prepare your cat for a show? Do you wash your cat?

Regards,

Anke

Et oui...... vaste problème.
Avant les expositions, tous nos chats ( presque tous )sont lavés. Nous employons en premier un shampoing dégraissant "Anju". Ensuite, un shampoing " silver" "Plum White". Après, sèche-cheveux et câlins.
Ce travail est effectué 2 ou 3 jours avant le jour du catshow. Il ne faut pas que le poil soit trop clean. La robe serait ébourifée ( dishevelled ) .
Très peu de gel coiffant est apprécié pour coucher le poil. Je n'en mets pas.
Un des problèmes de la présentation en catshow est la couleur du poil. Nos chat vivant une bonne partie de la journée à l'extérieur, le soleil donne une couleur légèrement "lilac". C'est mal apprécié ( rufus). Un juge m'a dit de les tenir en intérieur parce que "il faut souffrir pour être beau". Certain éleveurs de Persan en France tiennent leurs chats en sous-sol, sans lumière........... J'espère que le poil est beau.........
Quelque fois, je raconte à nos chats ce qui arrive à certains de leurs concurents d'exposition.
Je ne crois pas qu'ils pensent que c'est bien.........

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And yes...... big problem. Before the exposures, all our cats (almost all) are washed. We employ in first a degreasing shampoo named "Anju". Then, a shampoo "silver" "Plum White". Afterwards, hair drier and hugging.

This work is carried out 2 or 3 days before the day of the catshow. It is not necessary that the hair is too clean. The hairs would be disarranged (dishevelled). Very little capping freezing ?hairspay? is appreciated to lay down the hair. I do not put any.



One of the problems of the presentation in cat show is the color of the hair. Our cat living a good part of the day outside, the sun gives a color slightly "lilac". It is badly appreciated (rufus). A judge said to me to hold them in interior because "it is necessary to suffer to be beautiful". Certain stockbreeders of Persan in France hold their cats in basement, without light........... I hope that the hair is beautiful......... Some time, I tell with our cats what arrives at some of their concurrents of the catshow.



I do not believe that they think that it is well.........

Roo lalala va falloir que je prenne des cours ! Je ne lave jamais Beau et Courtoise, je les brosse uniquement et ça va très bien comme ça. J'ai entendu parler d'Anju comme étant un excellent shampoing pour nos bleus !

Pfff I shall have to take lessons! I never wash my cats, I only brush them and it does the trick very well. I have heard of Anju as being an excellent shampoo for our blue cats.

One of my cats is a Turkish Angora girl, named Aygul. We call her Ullie. She has been once to a show as a kitten. Her breeder never washes her cats. A lot of breeders do wash them as I understand from the Turkish Cat Forum. But it is a debate also amongst breeders. It probably depends a lot also on the color of the cat. There are a lot of bright white TUA's around. Some breeders just brush and use dry shampoo or powder. Wet washing results in a more fluffy cat. Some are washed a day or two before the show and some a week or two to leave the hair to get to the right result.

It is very important to start with it when they are very young as a TUA is much more temperamentfull than a RB or Neb. They will bite and scratch if they do not agree!

As a hobby I sometimes make little things like toy animals from sheep wool by felting it. It is a combination of moisture, soap and friction that makes the wool fibres cling together. It depends on the kind of wool you use also. Straight, tough wool is very hard to felt. Curly, fine wool like merino is very easy to felt.

The hair of my TUA Ullie is very different than Bink's. Where Ullie's hair is more like silk with no undercoat and very straight, Bink's hair is more woolly with tiny curls in it. I think therefore it is more prone to matting or felting like real wool. He has sometimes mats under his armpits where the friction is greatest as I told you. I would be very hesitant to wash Bink because of that. But probably you don't have that experience. And probably the right shampoo does the trick.

I can certainly confirm what Bernard is saying about the discoloration by the sunlight of the blue cats. The hairs are tending to be a bit brownish in summer. I see it with Lola and Bink. But I would not keep them inside just for staying the right color. There is a whole exiting world for them to experience out there and they are no showcats anyhow. (Exept maybe next year in Belgium)

Bernard Boucher wrote:A judge said to me to hold them in interior because "it is necessary to suffer to be beautiful". Certain stockbreeders of Persan in France hold their cats in basement, without light........... I hope that the hair is beautiful......... Some time, I tell with our cats what arrives at some of their concurrents of the catshow.



I do not believe that they think that it is well.........

Keeping your cats in the could is also a often heard. Then they get a thicker coat..... BBBRRRRR

No my cats are my friend...... and washing is only done when it is not freesing. And also our boys have a heater....

No suffering no glorie...... but a lot of happy cats

Regards,

Anke

Marleen wrote:I can certainly confirm what Bernard is saying about the discoloration by the sunlight of the blue cats. The hairs are tending to be a bit brownish in summer. I see it with Lola and Bink. But I would not keep them inside just for staying the right color. There is a whole exiting world for them to experience out there and they are no showcats anyhow. (Exept maybe next year in Belgium)

Aleksandr loves the sun and the summer..................... He is alsoa bit brownish in summer......

Regards,

Anke

Same thing at home! My blues turn brown. They so love a sunny day
- Même chose à la maison. Mes bleus virent au bronze. Ils aiment tellement une journée ensoleillée

My male cats have dirty fur now, I mean not really dirty but greasy mostly near tail. The fur on the bottom and around neck joins into many untidy bunches. It doesn't look nice. I wonder how I should prepare their fur. I tried to wash a week before show but after two days fur looked untidy like before. I tried to use powder but I hadn't special one and I used children powder (I saw other breeders using this) It doesn't work too. This time I will try to wash them 2 days before show. I will look for Anju, I do not know If I can buy it in Poland.
On the contrary my females do not need any special special preparation, even brushing.

Could you all try tell what you are using and how? Dry or wet shampoo with name and producer? I'm going for the show at the end of April and I'm not sure what to do.

To clean the base of the tail, me was advised camphorated alcohol. I do not use it.
I use Anju Degrease on all the body. After, the shampoo, rinsed well.
The last time that I washed Ciastek, it made two exposures
For dry shampoo I use "Blow-dry Powder" it is a product manufactured in France. I do not know if it is available by Internet.
It sold 13 Euros. I can send it by post if you want

Thanks Bernard, I ordered already Anju and first I will try this method.

Raezir's first show will be in Antwerp on the 23th of November.

Should I, or should I not shower him? I can't decide.
If it is really necessary, why then? He still has his kittencoat, I don't feel like I should bathe him.

What do you think about the use of a dry shampoo or powder?
Any advice for me?

Shampoing obligatoire. En plus d'un poil plus doux, il aura pris contact avec l'eau. Ce n'est certainement pas ce qu'il préfère. L'emploi d'un dégraissant n'est pas nécessaire, un bon shampoing est suffisant.
Pour être le plus beau Nebelung de l'expo d'Anvers, il aura besoin d'être bien toiletté, nous y serons avec Ciastek, Ölrùn et Dwihilde.
J'espère que nous aurons le temps de nous recontrer.

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Shampoo is needed. Your cat will get softer hair, it will have contacted water. This will certainly not be something he prefers. Using a grease-remover is not necessary, a good shampoo is sufficient. To be most beautiful Nebelung of l' expo d' Antwerp, it will need to be well prepared. We will be there with Ciastek, Ölrùn and Dwihilde. I hope that we will have the time meet.

AAAHHH, You are going to a show!!! Great!!!!!

I do not always wash my cats. It depents on the coat etc. In your case I would also consider the change of sent that happens with using shampoo. Nanno and Reazir took some time to build their relation, and the smell of a cat is important. So be sure about their friendship.

If you go for washing do wash a few days before the show. If the coat is to soft it falls down totally. After a few days it will be fluffy again.

Good luck!

Anke

Wow Bernard, I didn't know you would be in Antwerp with all those gorgeous cats! Now I'm getting even more nervous
So if shampoo is needed, can somebody advice me to buy a certain brand? I'll think about if I'm really going to use the shampoo since it took a long time for Nanno and Raezir to get along. But isn't it so, that by going to this show Raezir will have a different scent anyway?

Pour la douche de nos chats, j'emploie le shampoing Eclat Diamant de Anju ou Plum White. Pour les adultes, il y a un dégraissant Anju qui est très bien. En général, la douche se passe bien. Ils ne sont pas très content d'être mouillés, mais après, ils trouvent le sèchage sur les genoux très agréable. Il faudra l'habituer au sèche-cheveux, c'est plus long. Au commencement, il vaut mieux une serviette. Il faut lui présenter l'eau comme étant quelque chose d'agréable. Il faut être deux. Un qui tient l'autre qui mouille. Si c'est difficile, il faut juste mouiller et sècher, pour ne pas le contrarier.
En règle générale avec les animaux, il faut toujours finir ce qui est commencé.
Il faut aussi savoir ne pas commencer ce qu'on sait ne pas pouvoir finir.......
Si l'emploi de la force est nécessaire, se n'est pas bien.