Pardalis Ocicats

This was our first show. We’d entered Fizz and took Lexi along on exhibition to show off her beautiful pattern to her adoring public We got there nice and early and it was well organised. Even at that unearthly hour there was a queue for the vetting in. That went smoothly even though the vet mistook them for Bengals! Fizz was easy to settle, just the standard white exhibition stuff of blanket and bowls and in she went. She gobbled her breakfast down which was nice to see, she obviously wasn’t too bothered about being in a strange place. She endorsed that by visiting the litter tray twice then curling up for a wash and a sleep! Happy that she was content we set about decorating Lexi’s pen with the drapes. Lexi wasn’t so amused with her new quarters and paced up and down and ignored our pleas to eat her breakfast.

We took them both in and out for cuddles and reassurance before we had to leave the hall so the judging could start. Fizz did pretty well, gaining 2nds in 3 out of 4 of her classes. In 2 of them she was beaten by Lexi’s litter sister so we can forgive that Fizz has still got some maturing to do so we’re sure she’ll do well in the future. There was a great deal of interest in the Classic pattern with lots of lovely comments about Lexi’s colour and pattern. Now and again I had to remind her that she was on exhibition and wasn’t allowed to hide under blanket and she came out with an inquisitive ‘what do you want this time?’ look on her face every time I called her out from hiding, she was very good natured about it all. It was a long and tiring day but very enjoyable and we’re looking forward to the next time!

When Fizz was 3 months old we took this photo of her sitting next to a favourite ornament of ours.

The ornament is only 9″ tall
Now, at 6 1/2 months she’s grown considerably!

This was a very easy one to train! I put a square of carpet down and as soon as Lexi or Fizz put a paw on it they got a click and a treat. We progressed quickly to them sitting on the mat to get a treat. This is so useful! The mat goes down when I’m in the kitchen and they’re under my feet, and gone are the days when they were clambering onto the dining table as soon we sat down to eat. Now I just throw the mat down and they both run and sit on it as good as gold! I just give them a treat for the first sit on the mat and then perhaps just once or twice more during the 10-15 minute session. Lexi will sometimes get a bit bored and fed up with waiting for the next treat so she’ll wander off but at least she’s not on the table, while Fizz has been known to sit there for ages after we’ve got up and cleared the table, she’ll do anything for food that one!