Cat Shows Around the World

Judging in FIFe

Satu Hämäläinen, FIFe Allbreed Judge

(editor’s note: last month, Cat Talk took a look at how judges from one organization prepares to judge for a different association, as both show formats and recognized breeds vary by registering organizations. This month, FIFe Allbreed Judge Satu Hämäläinen describes how cats are judged at FIFe shows. FIFe is one of the most popular registering organizations in Europe.)

Satu judging a cat at a FIFe show.

FIFe (Fédération Internationale Féline)  shows differ from CFA shows, in that breeds are divided into four categories:

Category 1: (PER, EXO, RAG, SBI, TUV)
Category 2: (ACL, ACS, LPL, LPS, MCO, NEM, NFO, SIB, TUA)
Category 3: (BEN, BLH, BML, BSH, BUR, CHA, CYM, EUR, KBL, KBS, KOR, MAN, MAU, OCI, SIN, SNO, SOK, SRL, SRS)
Category 4: (ABY, BAL, CRX, DRX, DSP, GRX, JBS, OLH, OSH, PEB, RUS, SIA, SOM, SPH, THA)

Note: the above breed designations are from FIFe’s EMS (Easy Mind System) codes: https://fifeweb.org/app/uploads/2023/12/ems_system_en.pdf

At a FIFe show, cats receive both an individual and a comparative evaluation. The judge fills out a score sheet for each cat, covering these points in their standards: Type, Head, Eyes, Ears, Coat, Tail, Condition and General. The judge also openly discusses not only the cat’s strengths, but where there is room for improvement compared to the standard, and gives a result: Excellent, Very Good, or Good. When the entire class has been judged, they put the best four in order. If the judge feels the winner is good enough, it is awarded a certificate (see below).

A judge writing an evaluation of a cat at a FIFe show.

All colors of the breed are judged this way, and when the entire color/color group has been judged, the “Best in Color” is chosen, with at least three candidates needed to make this award. The judge can combine adults and kittens/juniors to get the minimum of three, but neuters are never compared with cats/kittens.

After this, the judges pick their “bests” for this category: “Nom (nominated) for BIS (Best in Show),” where their best males and females of the adults, neuters, juniors and kittens are selected.
The “Best In Show” nominees are chosen by all the judges who judged a particular category (there can be several judges in one category, as entries can be quite large for certain breeds and there are handling limits explained below). They examine the nominees, and their vote is public. The winning cats are the “Best In Show Male,” and respectively “Female” and “Neuter.”

A cat’s owner is usually allowed to present their cat to the judge in the basic judgement, but the  judge’s steward may also be asked to present it. However, for the “Best In Show” panel, all cats are presented by the stewards.

These are the FIFe show classes (all divided into males and females) and the appropriate certificates awarded:

Class 12 Kitten 4-8 months CACC
Class 11 Young (Junior) 8-12 months CACJ
Class 9 Open (over 12 months) CAC
Class 10 Open Neutered (over 12 months) CAP
Class 7 Champion (cat with 3 CAC certificates) CACIB
Class 8 Premier (cat with 3 CAP certificates) CAPIB
Class 5 Int (International) Champion (cat already has 4 CACIB certificates) CAGCIB
Class 6 IntPremier (cat already has 4 CAPIB certificates) CAGPIB
Class 3 GrInt (Grand International) Champion (cat already has 6/8 CAGCIB certificates) CACS
Class 4 GrIntPremier (cat already has 6/8 CAGPIB certificates) CAPS
Class 1 Supreme Champion (cat already has 9/11 CACS certificates) Prize of Honour
Class 2 Supreme Premier (cat already has 9/11 CAPS certificates) Prize of Honour
Class 13a Novice (cats without pedigree/unknown parents – just for certain breeds)
Class 13 b Control Class for cats that are bred with special permission – breed crosses
Class 13c Determination Class (coat colour or any other trait check  at the request of the FIFe member or the exhibitor)
Class 14 House cat: 1-4 cats placed the rest get joint 5th

In Europe, a judge has a maximum of 40 cats to judge in a one-day show and 80 in a two-day show. In any “Winner” show (e.g. the World Show), the maximum number is 60 cats. This is a very different way of judging and presenting cats from the rules by which cats are judged in CFA, but it makes for a very exciting presentation of the winners when hearing the judges make their comments, sometimes as to why they choose one cat over another.

Every judge has a steward who is responsible to get the cats to the ring by marking them in the list next to judge’s table or putting the numbers up to the cage or screen. The steward cleans the ring cages and also the judge’s table if the judge so wishes. Stewards always present the cats at the “Best In Show” panel. If their own cat is nominated, they are not allowed present their own cat or its competitors in the same class.

https://fifeweb.org/app/uploads/2023/11/show_rules_en.pdf