From: Vivian Frawley
Date: Mon Nov 22, 2004 2:07 pm
Subject: ICAT in Novi
I was so excited this past weekend to give cat agility another try (Did a
little in Albuquerque with my maine coon). It is amazing how cats that you
think will be phenomenal at it aren't and those that you think will not be
able to handle it are then able to shine.
Of all the cats I live with the one cat that I KNEW would not be able to handle the ICAT ring would be my big red and white LH HHP Linus. He spent the first 3 months of his life as a feral and still at the age of six he is a very cautious and suspicious cat. At a show where he is on a judging table or grooming space he is confident and comfortable. Not much bothers him as he poses and gives kisses. When he is down on the ground, however, it is a different story. He tends to panic and very old instincts kick in. If you came over to my house you would not see him except in his attempt to skitter down into the basement as far away from you as possible. If you saw him in the show hall, however, he would reach over and give you kiss-kiss. OK he is a fickle boy but he is my feline soul mate. You know if we are lucky we all have one we are especially bonded to.
Anyway because he is so nervous when down on the ground I knew ICAT was not
for him...especially in a big loud Pet Expo venue with dogs barking and
hundreds of people milling around. But I decided on Friday night that I
would give it a try. So I scooped Linus up and took him into the agility
ring for the first time. I talked to him and reassured him before putting
him down in front of the ramp....where he stood with full red tail up and
shouted "Mom, this doesn't look like a judging cage!!!!!!!!!"
Or at least that was my personal interpretation of his very loud yowl. I then knelt down by the ramp and called him. He tentatively looked around and yowled but then suddenly got up and slowly walked to the ramp and up the first side giving me a head butt when he reached me. I then coaxed him down the other side by crawling to the other side of the first jump, whistling "Red River Valley" and calling his name. After looking around and sniffing the top of the first obstacle he then slowly walked down the other side and over the jump and gave me another kiss. He then, on his own, went through the tunnel as I waited for him on the other side next to the ladder. As became a ritual for him he paused at the tunnel exit and gently rubbed it with his face. Still on my hands and knees I continued to whistle and pat the space between the first two rungs in the ladder. When he wouldn't totally leave the tunnel I gently prodded him behind his front leg. He turned toward the ladder and with me tapping along the way he walked over the rungs and through the tunnel on the other side. I, of course, am crawling as quickly as possible along the inside of the course trying to get ahead of him so I can coax him across the next jump which he did smoothly and then straight on through another tunnel.
Now on to the weave poles which he/we mastered very quickly. I tapped the floor on the side away from me so he would weave going away and then made kissing sounds to get him to come through back towards me (and yes giving me a kiss) then away with a tap and back for a kiss. Once we got through the poles he would go through the curved tunnel while I waited by the tables which he got on quickly and would jump easily from one to the other. Then of course he kindly would sit down and wait as I crawled to the other side of the last big jump. I would look at him through the jump and say, "OK Linus...big finish" and tap the floor. He would then jump down off the table and through the last jump where we would then reward each other with cuddles and kisses on the floor.
OK I admit our method is a bit unorthodox but whatever works right??
Over the course of 3 days we went through the course a minimum of 10 times with some rounds smoother than others. No he wasn't the fastest and yes I needed to do some gently prodding at times at the end of tunnels but we weren't competing. I was just interested in completing the entire course and having a good time with Linus. I was very pleased that Linus was able to focus on me and do this silly activity for me (His best time was 2:09). Once when I left the ring after completing 3 rounds a fellow exhibitor came up to me and said, in all seriousness, "You know that cat agility I saw you doing with your cat just now? I was wondering if you are allowed to use a toy to coax your cat around instead?" I smiled and said that is the way you are supposed to do it but unfortunately to Linus I am his toy and motivation. He would not respond to the toy but he would respond to me. He was doing it for kisses.
So with sore knees and blackened hands I go away knowing that Linus can do cat agility and it is something we can have fun with at shows even though we aren't competitive. He may not be the fastest but he always did all of the obstacles and at no time did he run around panicked and out of control. We stayed focused on each other and had a good time. Can't wait until I have another opportunity to try again.
And better yet the show photographer got some great shots of him, and some unfortunately included me not at my best, going through the course. The best was a shot of him going through the last jump. Perfect!!!!!!!!!
Vivian
PS: By the way, in Albuquerque my Maine Coon worked on the course and mastered a few of the obstacles but unfortunately her philosophy is "Big Cats Don't Jump" and she refused to jump through any of the hoops. I took her through the course in Novi once this weekend and not only did she do the tunnels and ramp but I also got her to go over two of the jumps. There is hope for her yet.
From: Jay Bangle
Date: Mon Nov 22, 2004 4:21 pm
Subject: Re: [ICAT] ICAT in Novi
I'm sorry there was no video tape! I would have LOVED to have seen this!
Good job, and put some salve on those knees!
Jay
From: Susan Lee
Date: Mon Nov 22, 2004 6:00 pm
Subject: Re: [ICAT] ICAT in Novi
In a message dated 11/22/2004 5:25:41 PM Eastern Standard Time, ICAT-Events@yahoogroups.com writes:
There was also an ICAT event in Novi, Michigan last weekend at the America's Family Pet Expo in conjunction with the Great Lakes Area Cat Enthusiasts and FantasTICAts.
I haven't heard anything from there yet. Shirley's going home today, so I should have the results and news later this evening or tomorrow, and we'll post it then.
We had problems with the ICAT in Novi. This was a very large Pet Expo, with flyball dogs two halls away and Rock n Roll Canines elsewhere, plus a number of dog show events. While the cats handled very well in the rings and didn't seem to be bothered by the dogs or exotic animals elsewhere in the expo center, the ICAT event was right across from the opening where the dog noise was coming in. Cats who have run ICAT well in other venues seemed intimdated by the noise. Shirley's theory was that they heard the noise and felt that a big dog pack was coming to get them. Cats who liked dogs did especially well on the course however, so go figure.
We also had negative comments from our hosts--the ICAT was in a major walkway between halls and people walked by and much of the time there was nothing going on. This didn't work out well--ICAT had been publicized and nothing was going on. The spectators who had come to see it were disappointed. So on Sunday, we tried to organize our club members and entrants to practice (not much timing going on, just free practice all weekend) the first fifteen minutes of every hour. We had two Ocicats, Speedy and Voodoo, who were great at running the course. We got a head to head competition going between them and had it announced with their times on the PA system throughout the entire Expo Center. This worked out much better.
What we think we will do for next show is try to move the course more within the hall to less the noise to it, emphasize on the schedule that ICAT runs will be on the hour, and encourage our entrants to work the first 15 minutes of the hour as much as we can, have some kittens there to fill in on the course as we can, and have some presentations with a microphone at scheduled times on training cats, what agility is, etc. I think it would help to have a dedicated ICAT official, not one who is also showing cats, to help accomplish this. Or maybe a team of 2, so they can spell each other and have someone always there to keep some activity going in the ICAT arena. This is especially important in the Pet Expo venue, as people aren't coming JUST for the cat show, just want to see agility as they are walking through hundreds of other interesting things like wolves, tiger babies, kangaroos, grizzly babies, petting zoo complete with ducks, geese, chickens, donkeys, goats, & rabbits, and elsewhere in the hall, llamas, birds, alligators, snakes, fish, etc., and maybe a half dozen different dog activities, some pure entertainment.
Susan Lee
From: Vickie Shields
Date: Tue Nov 23, 2004 1:01 pm
Subject: RE: [ICAT] ICAT in Novi
It sounds like ICAT isn't a good match for the pet expos. They expect ICAT to be a source of continuous entertainment. The cats weren't happy (would it have been better with the low drapes around the arena, or was it the overall dog noise?). And if the cats aren't happy, that's not where ICAT should be.
Expecting the cats entered in the regular show to fill every moment in the ICAT ring for the public isn't realistic. At White Plains, with an ocean of visitors, it was much the same, in that the spectators had times when the ring was empty (but comfortable seats kept them there until the next cat came along). The club members and I have had some very preliminary idea tossing about hoping to work it out so the public can be invited to bring their cats (the White Plains show hall happens to be well suited to keeping the cats separate from the show cats), and I would like to have some training demonstrations, a clicker training to target stick, for instance, like Patty Fairchild did on Sunday afternoon with her cat.
I'm feeling there is an important difference between the two shows, however. At White Plains, the spectators' requests are driving it, they want to participate, be involved, learn more, have a chance to try their cats, and so forth, there were many requests and inquiries from them all weekend. At Novi, it sounds like this would need to become a staged entertainment act to keep the pet expo organizers content. I'm more inclined to work on the White Plains content development, since it's coming from the right heart.
I hope to talk to Shirley today and we can review more aspects of the pet expo experience (this was the first time).
Vickie
From: Virginia Padgette
Date: Tue Nov 23, 2004 2:34 pm
Subject: Re: [ICAT] ICAT in Novi
From personal experience at having my dogs involved in Pet Expos, it is no place I would want any of my cats due to noise/music level and lots of human and dog traffic. My cats love my dogs, but a Pet Expo would be asking too much.
Ginny
From: Vickie Shields
Date: Tue Nov 23, 2004 8:50 pm
Subject: Winners - Novi, Michigan!
Congratulations to these calm winners:
CATS:
1st Place -- Linus, Household Pet, Vivian Frawley, 2:07:08, 0
Kisses and whistles are what motivate Linus! Shirley said she hasn't ever seen a bond between owner and cat like between this cat and owner.
KITTENS:
1st Place – Voodoo, Ocicat, Thomas Wagner, 30:16, 0
2nd Place – Speedy, Ocicat, Merrill Babcock, 34:01, 0
3rd Place – Mini Me, British Shorthair, Hisako Yamada, 48:02, 0
This is the first British Shorthair winner!
The pet expo was so big, that even spending a whole day there wouldn't be enough to see all the areas. They announced that the ICAT cats would run every hour on the hour, and loads of people went over to the agility ring. Too much is expected of the cats to do it over and over all weekend, and especially in a crowd like that when they are new.
The environment at the Novi show was very difficult because of the dogs. One dog ran loose into the cat area, dogs were barking all the time, one dog charged a cat in its cage and the cat owner got bitten, the dogs wouldn't stay out of the cat area.
Maybe next year's plans with the different location at the other end of the cat area and better dog security will work out okay.
Vickie
