Cat Planet

Cat Planet has recently discovered from various internet sources that Dawn Porter, a television presenter who owns a Siamese Cat will be judging the Overall Household Pet at Supreme 2010.

Dawn presents Super Slim Me, My Breasts Could Kill Me, Dawn goes Lesbian and All at Sea to name but a few.

Sarah Walker, a Household Pet judge set to perform her duties at Supreme 2010 has posted on a yahoo group that she understood she was sitting on the Best in Show Panel for the Household Pet Exhibit. 

The response from the Household Pet Section has not been good at the point of publication and many are left confused.

Cat Planet has asked the Supreme Committee for their response to the reaction and have been told that we can expect to receive a press release some 24 hours after the intial news was released.

26/09/10 - The following press release was received from Supreme Cat Show Publicity Officer Lisa Aggett on Friday evening in response to Cat Planet's request for a response to the story.

27/09/10 - A Household Pet exhibitor contacted the Show Manager of the Supreme to clarify the situation and was told that Dawn Porter will merely be picking her favourite cat from the line up and that the award means nothing in terms of the Supreme Show. This appears to be in contradiction to the below press release.

The Household Pet Judges will still judge the section winners in a ring and not on the stage.

Cat Planet has asked for clarification of the situation but is yet to receive an official response.

Cat Planet has also learned today from various internet sources that the entry is up on last year with 1049 pedigree exhibits and 73 Household Pets entered.

No more comments will be accepted onto this story, thank you to everyone who has contributed so far 

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carol walker  - A possible solution?   |2010-09-28 07:51:05 OK. Bottom line is this:- a simple but serious misjudgement on the part of the Supreme Publicity Officer of what the HP section wants and is all about has, in one fell swoop, alienated the vast majority of HP exhibitors who always look upon the Supreme as the highlight of their year. This in turn has brought a considerable amount of support from the pedigree section too and the whole thing has now grown to the point where a good number of next year's entries are seriously at risk of being lost. Whether or not you believe the rumours that the Supreme Show manager dislikes the HPs and would like rid is immaterial, no show manager worth their salt, and especially not one working so hard to turn around the fortunes of a show losing vast amounts of money - and, moreover, one who has already had some success in that respect - would want to risk losing any entries at all if they could help it. I also appreciate that any celebrity, "A" or "Z" list, will have their following (whether or not "us oldies" have ever heard of her) and, therefore, may be able to generate some extra visitors and, therefore, gate money so having a celebrity in itself is not a bad thing. What that celebrity does, however, is an entirely different matter. Before it is too late why don't the Supreme Committee go back to what is written in the schedule and what the exhibitors are more than happy with - "There will be three overall BIS winners: the SUPREME NON-PEDIGREE EXHIBIT, the SUPREME PEDIGREE-PET EXHIBIT and the SUPREME HOUSEHOLD PET KITTEN" And, also what I myself have been given in writing will happen - "Group judging (on BOG/BO will be done in the ring as per the pedigree section. The best SH/LH NP (Non-Pedigree) and ditto PP (Pedigree Pet) will go up on stage for Supreme BIS in each." Then let Ms Porter award the prizes by all means, let her do the same for the pedigree section and, if she MUST have a personal favourite cat then give her a "Dawn Porter loves/chose me" rosette to give to ANY cat of her choice, non pedigree, pet pedigree or pedigree. If she is as much a cat lover as is indicated by her being asked to "judge" then surely she will be in her element having over 1100 cats and kittens to choose from, plus this would give her a chance to mingle with her fans, which would be a far more enticing proposition to attract visitors than merely the chance to see her on stage from afar for a few minutes, which, of course, they will get as well. This way everyone is happy, the status quo is restored vis a vis the HP exhibitors, neither they, nor their judges, continue to feel demeaned and devalued and the Supreme has the added atrraction of a celebrity mingling, choosing her favourite cats and awarding prizes. No one loses and, hopefully, bridges are built to breach the ever widening divide appearing bewteen many exhibitors and the Supreme, surely it has to be worth a try? Reply | Quote 7   2

Reynard   |2010-09-27 17:10:10 Aaargh, so it goes on, making idiots of us again... I just can't believe the GCCF and the Show Committee see it in our best interests to go back on a written agreement. It just smacks of self-interest to me, and is hideously unfair. They seem to think that the HP section can be treated with impunity - well it's just not on. In doing this to us, I think they've uncorked a genie that just won't go back in the bottle... Reply | Quote 6   2

Linda Hutchinson   |2010-09-27 15:06:41 I cannot believe that the Supreme Show is planning to do this to the Household Pets. The introduction of the Master Cat titles showed that, at long last, household pets were being taken seriously but this decision to appoint a "celebrity" judge at the Supreme Show has put us back to the bad old days. To have the ultimate prize judged by some-one with apparently no experience will spoil the day for everyone in the Household Pet section, especially those who are fortunate enough to have their cats up for the most prestigious title. We can only hope that the show committee will rethink this decision and use the panel of experienced household pet judges in the normal way. Reply | Quote 8   2

Carol Walker  - Better but   |2010-09-27 14:51:11 Well that is better than it was I suppose, although one is left wondering why on earth they couldn't have put that in the press release in the first place, it would have avoided all the fuss and ill-feeling that it has now generated. Although there still seems to be confusion, one source says that she will merely be presenting prizes and picking her favourite cat, the other still maintains that it will be the Supreme Household Pet she is picking, though this will not mean anything??? In that case, how can it have the title of Supreme Household Pet?????, Crazy and still most unsatisfactory. Whilst the HP section is, obviously, very gratfeul for this , it is also very sad that it is now to be denied its limited few moments of glory on stage as originally (and I have proof of this) it was to be that the Best SH and LH Non-Ped, Pet-Ped and Kitten were to be ring judged with the Best SH and LH in each of the 3 categories then going up on stage to be judged by the panel for Overall Best Non-Ped, Pet-Ped and Kitten. The section has now, it would appear, forfeited their right to this in return for the "glory" of being presented with their prize on stage by a "celebrity" who will then pick the one she likes the best. There was always a good crowsd around the stage for the BIS HP judging in the past, as, let's face it, to the majority of ordinary cat lovers and owners, these are the ones most like their little cat at home, and to remove this to a ring still leaves the section devalued, which makes one wonder if that was not, in fact, the original intention! This outcome is a compromise, nothing more, nothing less. I see the HP section is only up 2 cats, let's just hope for the Supreme Committee's sake that they get a lot more pedigree entries next year as I think they will be missing an awful lot of HPs after this! Reply | Quote 5   3

Debbie Lewis   |2010-09-27 09:23:52 Havin a celebrity judge the Best HP is totally unacceptable - the schedule clearly states who the Non Pedigree BIS Panel are and this should stand. We as Non Pedigree owners put a lot of effort into our moggies being put up for this prestigious title and its an insult to pay some £39 to enter and then not be judged by a professional HP Judge. If this statement had come out before the scheduls were printed I think many of the regulars would have simply not bothered to enter in the first place. What a second class tratement for the HP's for what is meant to be the First Class Show of the Year! Reply | Quote 7   3

sheltie   |2010-09-26 23:09:22 Whilst I understand that everything needs PR,Iam mortified that a"celebrity" is chosen to do what is the highest honour our cats could recieve,why did no one bother to consult people in the section to see what the reaction could be ,and why announce it after entries were safely gathered in.A little forethought goes a long way. Reply | Quote 7   3

Reynard   |2010-09-26 16:41:35 I have to agree about the Powers that Be being seriously out of touch with the HP section. I would rather imagine that the GCCF and the Supreme wish to project a certain public image, and in my books, this is about as wrong image to project as any. I've not a clue as to who thought that this would be a good idea, but given the feelings of the HP section at the moment, said person should truly hang their head in shame. Having looked up Ms Porter on the 'net, I'm of the belief that inviting this sort of celebrity to the Supreme is the wrong thing to do - never mind letting her "judge". Besides, I've no truck with celebrities anyway - they're nearly ALL a waste of time and effort. As for Ms Porter - do you really think that someone of that calibre should be present at a show like the Supreme? I really hope that the show committee come to their senses and put an end to this travesty. Reply | Quote 5   3

karen freeman   |2010-09-29 19:48:20 I take it then that you personally know ms Porter as you feel you can freely and openly publically insult her,maybe you can clarify what you mean by "a person of this calibre"? Reply | Quote 5   2

Carol Walker  - So out of touch   |2010-09-26 19:04:49 Sadly this just shows how out of touch the Supreme committee and their publicity officer(s) are with the HP section and could prove to be a serious error of judgement. I don't disagree with the Supreme wanting to do everything they can to attract visitors and entries but far from encouraging entries they are at risk of losing a shed load next year in case they pull the same stunt again. I also feel that if it HAD been published in the schedule they would not have got as many entries in the HP section as most of the exhibitors I speak to - and, as I show in that section I am very much in touch with their feelings, - are VERY unhappy with this. There is also actually a lot of feeling against it from the pedigree section too - maybe they are wondering what might happen to them next! I do not have an issue with certain celebrities judging non-peds providing they are (a) experienced cat lovers and not just the owner of a single cat who they joke on their Twitter blog about throwing out of the window at 3am due to their constant wowing at them and (b) are actually judging the cats in classes all day at an ordinary show and not just drafted in to pick the top cat at the GCCF flagship show. A special celebrity fun class, yes, or even a "Take Home" cat choice, but please, NOT the year's most prestigious title. This just devalues the competition and is an insult to the HP exhibitors and judges. Also, as far as celebrities go, not sure how many extra visitors at £10 or whatever it is a go this will attract as (a) most people pay that to see the cats and not some minor TV personality spending 5 minutes deciding which cute kitty she likes the most (because that is how she will judge them regardless of which is actually the best cat) and (b) 90% of the people I have spoken to say "Who?". There is also the worry that, looking at some of her sensationalist reporting, she will bring a film crew with her and the next thing we will have is a mad cat woman program that will put many people off visiting next year and will make the Supreme and the GCCF a laughing stock. Also whilst I do appreciate that the HPs may not require the same specialist knowledge as the pedigrees to judge, getting it right is still not easy (you ask any HP judge worth their salt how easy it is!), and it is NOT, as, sadly, many seem to think, merely a beauty contest. The last thing we want is the cutest, the best looking or the most appealing cat winning purely on those grounds, we want a PROPER judgement on all the main criteria so that if they MUST have an Overall BIS (which the exhibitors don't even want) then for goodness sake let's at least have it judged on the right criteria by a panel of judges who know what they are doing and not by one inexperienced person's personal opinion. Reply | Quote 7   3

Debby Richards  - Not right!!!     |2010-09-25 22:33:58 I think this is just wrong!!!! I pay entry fees to have my cat judged be they pedigree or non-pedigree, I did not expect this only days after I had just spent £139 entering my cats!! ( pedigree & HP),as the HP now have certificates & titles to be won this JUST SHOULD not be happening!! what will Ms Porter be judging on?? cute factor, colour, coat length, her own personal preference???? or the published criters for HP's?? sorry to seem bah humbug about this but having to pay full entry fees I expect the same treatmet as the pedigrees, I presume Ms Porter wont be choosing the overall pedigree cat? After working hard to get the same recoginition for the HP's I find this belittles the HP's & I for one would like to have known this before parting with my hard earned cash I would not have entered my HP!! Shame on you Supreme cat show commitee Reply | Quote 8   2

Reynard   |2010-09-24 20:40:02 I really don't agree with a celebrity judging the HP BIS at the Supreme. It's just plain wrong. It's not fair on those of us who show HP and pay the entry fees - and expect to have our cats judged by proper judges. Nothing of this was mentioned in the catalogue - it's just not right to have this dumped on us as a fait acompli *after* the show has closed. It makes a mockery of the whole judging process. Reply | Quote 9   2

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