show cat

Question
I have a beautiful show cat who started showing at 6 months and is now a year old.  He is a premier.  Although at first he didn't mind the shows, he has been getting worse and worse with growling. I went to a show last week which ended very badly when he bit me.  This cat is an angel at home except he went through a frenzy of biting me when I introduced him to a new hairdryer. Since then he will not let me use the hair dryer. The other breeders tell me not to show him anymore as there is nothing I can do, but I hate to just quit.  How can I help him get over the fear of the show hall at this stage?  Many thanks.

Answer
Suzanna,

The odds are he will no longer tolerate shows.  This is not uncommon.  Shows are rather chaotic for cats and, if their home life is relatively calm and they are a little spoiled, the show place becomes too much for them.  Usually, by the time they are a year old, they usually love it or hate it.

One thing you might try is to get 100 mg of Vitamin B1 tablets and give your cat 1/2 twice a day starting on Wednesday.  On Saturday make that 1/2 3 times that day.  See if that helps. m IF not, retire your cat and let him enjoy the leisurely home life.  The idea is that the vitamin B1 may mellow them out just a bit. It works with some cats but not others.

Of course, we are assuming you can get him bathed and dried at home!?!?!?

Best regards... Norm.