I began the hobby of showing my Birmans with my very first seal point Birman female, who received her Champion title at the first show I attended.  Despite the rigors of preparing for and traveling to cat shows, I immediately became hooked on showing after an enjoyable first experience!  Showing my Birmans helped me connect to a community of Birman breeders, a vital source of information about bloodlines, health issues, Birman rescue and many other topics.  I have traveled far and wide for cat shows, but I now limit myself to the very occasional "local" show (within a three-hour driving radius of my home).

One of the fun traditions Birman exhibitors have involves the way we name our show cats.  We begin their names with a particular letter of the alphabet, according to the year in which the cat was born.  Each year, we go to the next letter of the alphabet.  For example, the year 2009 was the letter "G" and in 2010 we will begin our show cats' names with the letter "H."  Many pet owners also use this convention when registering their Birmans, although it's not required.

In CFA cat shows, the cats compete in the kitten class starting at four months of age.  When they are eight months old, they begin competition in the adult classes.  Following is a picture of one of my show cats, as a kitten.  He is being presented for a finals award by a CFA judge.  This show was particularly memorable for me, because it was the first time one of my cats made every final at the show!

A CFA judge presenting "Utopia." [June 1997]

GRP Silkencats Xperience The Moment

This is a picture of Expy, one of my favorite showcats.  Expy achieved his "Grand" title at the Huntsville show in Alabama on July 29, 2001.  Expy is an extremely sweet boy and he was always the perfect gentleman in the show ring--a real joy to show!   Most often the judges would comment on his incredibly expressive, deep blue eyes and perfect Roman nose.  Following is a picture of him lounging at his benching area at a show.  To see another picture of him that really shows off his eyes, take a look in my Cattery History section (or click here).

**Expy is now retired from showing and is living with his new family.**

GRC Russpurrz Zophianna of Silkencats

 PEDIGREE

My beautiful blue point female Zophia achieved her Grand Championship at the Southern Dixie show in Richmond, VA on October 26, 2003 at only 10 months of age.

Zophia started her adult show career by first getting her Champion title at the Tropical Cats show in Deland, Florida on August 17.  I was absolutely thrilled when she was awarded a 10th Best Cat and Best Longhair Champion the following weekend at the Sacred Cat of Burma Fanciers' show in Medina, Ohio.

At her next show in Winston-Salem, NC she was awarded a 3rd Best Cat and Best Longhair Champion!  Being a little tired from all the traveling, we took a month off and then went all the way to Kentucky where Zophia made two finals at the Roses For Felines show.  She then "granded" in style at her next show, picking up four finals which included a Best Allbreed Champion and a 3rd Best Allbreed Champion.   Many thanks to Alison Russell for this gorgeous girl!