Training Your Tabby Cat for Show

One important thing to keep in mind is not be harsh when you are training your pet. Sure be competitive but not to the point where you will punish your cat if he/ she doesn’t cooperate with you. What you can do is use rewards to encourage your cat during training time and always be patient to obtain desirable behavior. Cat show judges inspect not only how your entry looks, but also how it behaves and responds. Training your pet Tabby before a show could be of great help in earning better scores in the judges’ books.

One of the first things you need to teach your cat is to stand erect with a good posture. Although it is more difficult to teach cats to sit and stand than dogs, try to train your pet to do these for a few moments. The judges will be impressed. Reward your cat with gentle nose strokes downward whenever it is in good posture. Or you can also ask an expert to train your cat prior to a show. You can also check out the mentorship program of the CFA where newbie keepers can be accustomed to the process in cat shows.

Make sure to play with your cat and offer it treats to keep it as happy and relaxed as possible especially during the show. You can also choose to bring your cat out to a show even if he/she isn’t joining yet, so that your Tabby will be familiar with the sights and sounds of the event.

Below are other training tips that your cat needs to get used to:

• Get your cat used to being carried around. Your pet needs to get used to being carried on your forearms and hands. This can be a bit tricky for Tabby cats because they don’t want to be carried around much unlike other cat breeds but the earlier you start carrying them comfortably, the better they will feel once the show day arrives.

• Make your Tabby confident by placing them on unfamiliar surfaces. This can include a desk or even on the grooming table. Play with them to make them feel confident being in these surfaces. You can also find a toy that your pet likes and teach it to jump up to touch the toy.

• Keep your pet socialized. Make sure to constantly introduce and socialize your pet to new people and friends so that it does not develop a shy or easily frightened attitude.