Untitled - Kyina & Talisker Cats Breeders of Russian Blues in ...
Untitled - Kyina & Talisker Cats Breeders of Russian Blues in ...
Untitled - Kyina & Talisker Cats Breeders of Russian Blues in ...
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Thouglhts on Cat ShowsBr. p. M. SODERBERG #,H..#:,1,J"T."1il?andGenerarChairman <strong>of</strong> the Siamese Cat Club.1 'VE been th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g ! I har eI to admit that this mental Pru-I cess does nol alwals lead t'conclusions <strong>of</strong> momenlrrrts impolt.and I am not too certa<strong>in</strong> that thispreseni effort will achieve satishctoryresults. I shall, at least,have ihought, and that is betterthan do<strong>in</strong>g noth<strong>in</strong>g. I do notth<strong>in</strong>k that what I have to sar ishiehlv controversial, for I had nopr"econceived notions when Iitarted. I thought quite objectively,but had arrived at nodef<strong>in</strong>ite conclusions when I hadf<strong>in</strong>ished.My theme this month is cat showscatshows <strong>in</strong> London-for I have littlcknotledge ol the nany that are norv held<strong>in</strong> the prov<strong>in</strong>ces. London has a largerpopulation than any other city <strong>in</strong> theivorld, it has transport facilities secondto none. vet when il r'umc" lo slaglng acat show the <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>of</strong> the public seemspathetically sma1l.Nou'the reason for this apparent lacko1 public enthusiasm is certa<strong>in</strong>lv not ducto the poor qr:alit' <strong>of</strong> our cats. ibr all <strong>in</strong>all British-bred pedigree cats are the l;est<strong>in</strong> the rvorld. If vou ncecl pro<strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong>'thisstatement, 1'ou have onh to read thereports <strong>of</strong> lbreign shorrs. \'ou rrill f<strong>in</strong>clthat cats which har e been erported lromthis countrv hold their ol.n u hcn sholvnaga<strong>in</strong>st those lvhich hale ller:n brecl <strong>in</strong>the countrv wherc the shorv is helcl'France, Holland, ,'\ustralia and theUnited States all possess charlpion catswhich have been bred by British lanciers.and those four countries are not the onl1'ones <strong>in</strong> rvhich our cats havc achievetloutstand<strong>in</strong>g succcsses.I rnirst conlcss that I lravt ttot tlteactual ligures o{ attenclantt at Londonshorvs, but I do know that by comparisonthey generally fall lar short <strong>of</strong> thosereportcd from abroad. In 1949, a onedavshow was held <strong>in</strong> Mclbournc andon this occasion the pay<strong>in</strong>g puficerxceeded l'100. Few English shows cantouch that figurt', <strong>in</strong> fact, I can onlyth<strong>in</strong>k <strong>of</strong> three sholvs s<strong>in</strong>ce the rvar whichhave exceeded 1400 on any one davrvhile the majority har.e ial1en lar belowthis figure. S<strong>in</strong>ce thervar, <strong>in</strong> Switzerlandthere has been a three-day show whichtopped the 15,000 mark, and onlY lastvear a three-day show <strong>in</strong> Copenhagenattracted a public <strong>of</strong> nearlY 13,000.Figures <strong>of</strong> that magnitude make oneth<strong>in</strong>k. At least they make me th<strong>in</strong>k !Surely it is a sound assumplion thatthe f<strong>in</strong>ancial success <strong>of</strong> a show is almostentirely dependent upon the gate.Perhaps it lvould be more precise to saythat for most shou's the gatc is the factorthat tips the balance. If one is to judgtrfrom the f<strong>in</strong>ancial statements issued aftermany shorvs, it is just this factor whichhas tipped the balance the wrong way'Clubs are f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g it difficult to make theirsholvs balance on the right side.Better PublicityI have a l'erv idcas which maY be o1'some r.alue <strong>in</strong> this matter, but, as I havenever run a show and s<strong>in</strong>cerely hope tharI never shall. I put them forward with.urne degrcc ,'i def'erencc'l'he firsr assumption I lvant to makcis that the British public. although anowner <strong>of</strong> cats to the tune <strong>of</strong> someth<strong>in</strong>glike eight miliion, is not on the wholcpedigree-rn<strong>in</strong>ded, and the owners olpedigrec cats form a very small part 01'tht: cat-own<strong>in</strong>g publir: <strong>in</strong> general. I1'voll acccpt this lact, it sec-ms to me that13