Showing your Munchkin Cat

There are a lot of questions about showing Munchkins but the number one question is "Can I show my Munchkin" ? I think what most people mean when they ask this is "Is my Munchkin eligible?" So that is what I am going to answer first.

In order for your Munchkin to qualify for Championship status or to be shown as an Alter , the registration numbers MUST HAVE a "0" as the second part of the registration, OR BE SBT, OR SBV. furthermore there must not be an "N" in the third position. There numbers have a meaning in TICA which I will get posted as soon as possible. The first three letters indicate the parentage behind the cat, the next 6 numbers are the cat's birth date and the last three numbers indicate what number of cats was registered on that day

BOP 052604 029

. Ancestry Record Codes:

01 - The cat has at least one unknown or unregistered parent.

02 - The cat has at least one unknown or unregistered grandparent.

03 - The cat has at least one unknown or unregistered great grandparent.

Hybridization Record Codes:

AO - The cat is the product of two cats of different breeds.

BO - The cat has at least one grandparent of a different breed.

CO - The cat has at least one great grandparent of a different breed.

For Munchkins, in particular, there can be no unknowns, or unacceptable outcrosses in three generations for the cat to be eligible to be shown.

Therefore here are the code acceptable for showing:

AOP, AOV, AOT, BOP, BOV, BOT, COP, COV, COT SBT, SBV

Just because your Munchkin has an acceptable number does not mean it is show quality. (See hybrids below) The cat should meet the standard as closely as possible, however, not all cats are perfect in everyway. Look at your cat and read the standard at the same tail. The traits with the highest points should be most important, these are:

Eyes ~ 12 points Medium to large Walnut Shaped

Yes according to the most recent standard the eyes are the MOST IMPORTANT trait on the Munchkin breeds, not the legs nor the body

Head shape ~ 10 points Modified Wedge, rounded contours

Legs ~ 10 points Short, set evenly apart….

Coat and Texture both ~ 10 points Although the coat is not even described in the standard itself, the description at the top, of the standard, indicates medium plush, resilient all-weather coat on shorthairs and semi-long silky all weather coat on longhair.

Torso ~ 9 points Thick semi-foreign body, not compact, back gently slopes upward...well rounded chest (Personal Note: I breed for as straight of a back as I can possible get) ~Terri Harris

Tail ~ 8 points Carried erect when in motion, tapering to a rounded tip;

To see the complete standard click HERE

OLDER MUNCHKINS AND HYBRIDS USING MUNCHKINS

AS FOUNDATION CATS

In the beginning of the Munchkin breed many breeders used the available purebreds that were in residence to create their foundation Munchkins, many pedigrees will reflect this, some pedigrees have purebreds listed as domestics. The early use of purebreds accounts for the interesting colors that we see in traditional Munchkins of today.

Some breeders went on and purposely used other purebreds to enhance their lines, those with dominant traits are easy to tell, such as Kinkalows or Lambkins ; if your cat is a hybrid you will not necessarily be able to tell by looking, the dominant traits (such as curly coats and curled ears) that are not passed on are not recessive, if you don't see them your cat will not produce them. Therefore if you have a cat with numbers eligible to show, with a purebred in the background who has NOT passed on the dominant gene you CAN show your cat, if your Munchkin (as some of them are registered) has the dominant gene it will be disqualified, please don't attempt to show your cat if it has the appearance of being a recognized breed miniaturized.

Recessive traits such as hairlessness and the Devon coat are recessive and your cat's pedigree should reflect those recessives traits. You can not see these traits but they can be passed on to kittens.

For more information please visit The Designer Cat Association