Durham County Cat Club Show 2009

My thanks to Lorraine & Betty for their kind invitation to judge at their show. A lovely day with beautiful weather to go with it. My thanks also to my steward Wayne Vessey for handling all the exhibits and the judge so well. And for making the effort to travel so far to steward for me today – thank you Wayne.

Class 860 AC Burmese Breeder’s Female

1^st Miss Herrignton’s SUGARBOWL MY DELILAH (27h) F

Lovely broad head for one so young. Medium large eyes with a pleasing expression of muddy golden yellow with an inner chartreuse rim, the upper lids were a little horizontal today and the lower lids could be a little fuller, they are set well apart in her lovely broad head. Face on she has a short wide wedge which tapers well to a nice blunt muzzle with an essentially level bite she has gentle rounding and her ears are set very well for one so young, they are nicely shaped a fraction large for some but her head can take them and they do form a pleasing contour to her head. In profile she has deep skull, pleasing rounded brow, a fair break that I would see a little more definition to; lets hope she is still developing, her nose line is straight and her jaw could be a little deeper for perfection and is set back a fraction. Her body has good muscle tone and substance to it and is quite large for her age but very elegant, having a strong chest and a straight back, she has slender limbs in keeping with her body they have the correct stance; taller hind legs, and they have neat oval paws. Her tail just balanced and tapered nicely from medium thick base to a charming paint brush end. Her coat is a rather soft but lies very closely to her body and has warm milky chocolate tone being mingled well with shades of red. She was shown in excellent condition but was a little grizzly with us today and when upset tends to throw some of her lovely attributes out such as pinching her muzzle and narrowing her eyes; however when relaxed she is delightful to view.

2^nd Mrs Andrew’s ISAJEN MISSMARBLES (27e) F

What an amazing little character, I could have wasted hours playing with her! Her eyes were a little watery today and the left eye particularly so and hence I felt she was not able to show us her eyes to their fullest size; they did have a wonderful slant to her upper lids though, I was very much taken with the shape of her eyes although the lower lids need to be much fuller, they are set well but her head is still rather immature and let’s hope once she reaches full maturity it will be broader as they could benefit from being further apart. Face on she has a short wide wedge which tapers well to a blunt muzzle and she has an essentially level bite she has very gentle rounding to the top of her head and her ears will be better set once her head broadens out in maturity, they appear a little too on top of her head at present though they are well shaped but a little big for her head right now; this of course upsets the balance a little to the contour of her head today. She has very good depth to her skull in profile, gently rounded brow, good definition to her nose break, a straight nose line and a jaw of good depth if set slightly back at present it still gave her chin good depth when viewed face on, however all in all a promising profile. Her medium sized body is growing well, she has a round chest and a straight lower back; her limbs are nicely proportioned, dainty and elegant having oval paws and correct stance. Her tail just balances, is a little thick and has a rounded end, the end of her tail has a slightly tensile feel to it. Her coat was quite short and had a silky feel, she has a warm brown tone which is mingled well with various shades of red. She was shown in super condition and handled very well.

Class 865 AV Novice Male or Female

1^st Mrs Storey’ COUNTRYSTYLE SILVERMAXIMUS (18) M

Large well grown British Lad. Solid well rounded head, quite a short wedge, small ears, large golden eyes that might be called Hazel (inner green rims), chin or reasonable depth and balanced. A large, heavy boned and well grown boy, tail that was really very short. His coat was a trifle long and soft at present but I suspect he has not had a full moult yet. His patter was well defined, oysters to flanks and butterfly wings across shoulders well clearly defined, as well stripes down his back, along his legs and rings to his tail. Shown in excellent condition and handled very well.

2^nd Mr Brash’s RIVANESS MIZ_BELLE (35) F

Sweet if shy Foreign White girl who is not long adult. A little nervous and tending not to show herself off to her best, but the longer we have her out the more she settled down. She initially tended to round her eyes but eventually they settle showing the desirable shape, a slightly light but beautiful blue in colour. Her wedge and head was rather moderate but she is still rather young and developing, her ears could do with being slightly lower which will hopefully come with time. Her body fell solid and much heavier that it looked, her coat was immaculately prepared being absolutely pristine white in colour and clung to her body like it had been glued into place – it might have be a touch longer than desirable. A gentle girl who handled very well despite her own misgivings about come out from under her blankets.

3^rd Mrs Murrish’s DOUBLOON LEONORA (16) F

(Another youngster who’s very soft coat and immature face let her down in this class, but she still has plenty of time to develop. A sweet heart who handled well.)

Class 889 AC Burmese Breeder’s Male Neuter (1 entered)

1^st Mrs Akehurst’s CHIARO LATTICELLO (27f) MN

A sweet lad who is rather well fed – as my granny always said to me, “it’s pleasure to see a boy who enjoys his food!” He has large and lustrous pale yellow-chartreuse eyes, his upper lids are well slanted but give a slightly hooded look but he has super fullness to his lower lids, they are set well apart. Face on he has a wide wedge which is a fraction long, it tapers to a blunt muzzle and has a level bite, he has a gently rounded top of head and his ears are set well giving a pleasing contour to his head; they are shaped well being wide in the base and having rounded tips, but could be a fraction larger for my taste. His skull has good depth in profile, a rounded brow, well defined nose break, his slightly longer nose line is straight, though his jaw requires greater depth and is set back slightly. His large body is rather over weight which leaves him a little inelegant, he has as strong chest and a straight back, neat limbs that have charming spoon shaped paws and correct stance. His tail was too short to balance but tapered nicely to a paint brush finish from a medium thick base. His short coat lies close to his body and was generally very good in texture apart from a slightly harsh texture along his tail, it was a rather intense shade of cream and there was very little powering evident today. A very sweet and gentle giant who handled very well – knowing how hard it is to loose those extra pounds of indulgence piled on during the course of many a pleasurable meal; I won’t state the obvious.

Class 951 Burmese Adult, Kitten or Neuter (5 entered, 3 absent)

1^st Mrs Andrew’s ISAJEN MISSMARBLES (27e) F (see class 860)

2^nd Mrs Akehurst’s CHIARO LATTICELLO (27f) MN (see class 889)