ICAT - International Cat Agility Tournaments

Rules

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These are suggested Rules for your own cat agility event.

 

Rules

  • Timed runs are scored: Faults Then Time. Thus a slow, accurate run around the course would beat a fast, sloppy run with faults.
  • The courses are run starting with any obstacle.
  • Time starts when the cat’s front feet touch or pass through or over the first obstacle, breaking the plane of the obstacle, and time ends when the cat's front feet touch the floor after clearing the last obstacle.  
  • Clean Runs earned at multiple levels count toward earning the lowest of the level titles if mixed.
  • Maximum time allowed to run the course is 3 minutes. At the end of three minutes, the handler is to stop all action and pick up the cat and exit the ring quietly.
  • Cats may run as many times as they want and keep their best time. Note: usually the best runs are the first attempts, so the agility official should do timing all the time.
  • The group's designated Agility Official is in charge of the ring, and the Agility Official’s decisions are final.

Faults

 

Fault points are considered first, with the lower the better, then time is considered, with the lower the better.

  • Handler knocking down any obstacle or jump.
  • Handler standing, walking, or running on the outside of the obstacles.
  • Cat engaging (going into a tunnel, for example, even if not completed) in the wrong obstacle, out of the course sequence.
  • Refusal or inability to complete an obstacle, and bypassing it, 2 tries required (two faults if second try not attempted), if both tries unsuccessful it is 1 fault (only one fault per obstacle maximum); doing the next obstacle before the second try on an incomplete obstacle is a fault in itself.
  • Stopping more than 10 seconds once the run has started
  • Tension on the leash during an Agility-On-Lease run.

 

Disqualifications

  • Assisting performance over or through the obstacles by touching the cat. Kissing the cat is allowed (no hands).
  • More than three minutes on a timed run.
  • The handler sitting on or breaking any of the equipment will result in dismissal from the agility ring.
  • Cat biting the handler or anyone else, beyond a playful nip.
  • Males or females urinating or defecating in the agility ring.
  • Unsportsmanlike conduct by the owner or handler, in or near the agility ring.
  • Excessively harsh commands or corrections toward the cat will result in dismissal from the tournament at the discretion of the Agility Official.  Physical abuse of the cat or verbal or physical abuse of the Agility Official should result in lifetime ban of the handler from the cat agility group, at the discretion of the designated Agility Official.

Permitted

  • More than one attempt to complete the obstacle correctly, but the second refusal is a fault.
  • Weave poles may be entered from either side first.
  • Taking a long time to do the course, but not more than 3 minutes.

Eligibility

  • Cats must be at least 3 calendar months old on the day of competition.   Kittens 4-8 months old may only do the Basic level course.  
  • Eligible for competition are only those healthy cats whose healthy owners have agreed to the “Waiver and Photo Release and Sign-In Sheet” terms in the U.S. and Canada (a different sign-in sheet is used in other countries, which the AOs provide) at the show, IF the event is an official ICAT event. Other groups may use their own sign-in and waiver forms.
  • Eligibility is not based on pedigree.
  • All cats are eligible, including any cat not registerable for showing in the conformation rings (white locket, tail fault, or and the like), and household pet cats.
  • Cat is defined as being Felis catus in whole or in part with any member of genus Felis. Cat agility eligiblity makes no assumptions on a cat's heritage or eligibility for showing in any other cat association. Just as long as it has an owner who loves it, that's fine for cat agility.
  • Entry fee, if any, should be paid in full before the course is run, or else the run doesn't count. The Agility Official will make the decision if the fee has been paid, should there be a question about it.
  • Cats, owners, or handlers who have been banned from the sponsoring cat agility group are ineligible for ring practice or competition.

Looking around -- your cat will do this the first time in the agility ring, before it wants to playlooking

 

 

 

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