Competitive Classes in CFA: Kittens

December 16, 2025

AKA Bootcamp For Show Cats

Teresa Keiger

This article is part of a mini-series explaining the classes that cats and kittens compete in at a CFA cat show.

Who doesn’t love seeing a cute kitten playing with a toy and looking adorable? This probably explains why the Kitten class is beloved by both spectators and judges.

The Kitten Class

The Kitten class is usually the start of a cat’s show career in CFA. Kittens must be at least four months old to compete in this class. (Kittens younger than four months old are not allowed in the show hall so as not to compromise their young immune system, as they would not have received their complete series of vaccinations). Although kittens are judged to the same standard as adult cats, judges do not expect their body structure to match that of a fully mature adult cat. And just like human children, kittens’ various body parts do not always grow at the same rate. For example, a kitten’s legs may grow more quickly than the rest of its body, leading to a gangly “teenage” stage. The head on many breeds also takes time to fully develop. Sometimes a cat’s color/pattern may take weeks to months to completely develop.

So, if kittens are not always at their full potential, why would someone want to show them?

Assessment

Even though a kitten may still need to mature physically, we still expect it to have many of the attributes of the breed. Is the kitten the color and pattern as the exhibitor has entered it? Does it have any penalizing or disqualifying features that the breeder or exhibitor has not yet discovered? What potential does the kitten have? Although not as common now, sometimes breeders will enter two or more kittens from the same litter to evaluate which kitten has the best overall potential.

Experience

The show hall is quite a different environment from a cat’s home. It contains strange new smells and sounds, much more activity, and certainly many other cats. Then, there are unfamiliar people handling them, which is another new experience. While the show hall environment is safe, it is also different, so any cat would understandably be nervous. I often refer to the Kitten class as “boot camp for show cats.” They are exposed to all these different stimuli, learn that they do not get hurt, and often there are toys involved and they have fun! The Kitten class helps develop a kitten into a confident show cat. Outside of the show hall, the kitten learns what it is like to travel, then stay with their person in a hotel room, and that they will eventually return safely home.

Exhibiting Kittens

Kittens grow up, so their time in the Kitten class is limited to just four months. When a kitten becomes eight months old, they will go into one of the two adult classes: Championship or Premiership (we’ll cover those classes in upcoming articles). The only title that a kitten is eligible for is top 25 regionally or nationally, and the exhibitor has only four months (and sometimes less) to race for that win. More commonly, their experience in the Kitten class has formed them into a confident, competitive adult who is ready to enter the Championship or Premiership classes and begin earning points towards several other titles.

What about kittens who do not have the temperament to manage the various stimuli of the show ring? Or those who, after further development, do not quite meet the breed standard? Most often, those kittens are altered and placed into a loving pet home. Sometimes the issue is that the kitten just does not handle the show hall experience well, but is otherwise a good example of the breed. The breeder may elect to let the kitten mature and use them for breeding, especially if they want kittens from that lineage.

Growing Up and Aging Out

By about seven months, kittens begin to sexually mature as they reach adulthood. Their bodies are more adult-like, they take more notice of certain “aromas” in the air, and respond to them differently. In other words: they are becoming feline teenagers. Now it is time to prepare for their next class: Championship!