My Orange Shorthair won't pose?! Help!
Your new kitten has arrived and settled into their new home and you've got to thinking about showing... But every time you try to take a picture, your oshie goes ballistic, skittering around the screen in a frantic mess of paws and fluff. Your kitten is demonstrating all it's type and breed-specific temperament - but you can't snap a show pose to save your life! What to do?
The Orange Shorthair is one of a handful of breeds that require non-standard methods of posing and where the worried look is not only accepted but required. Luckily, there is a simple method - arguably the only option - for posing your oshie that you can start practising right away!
Enter the Perfume Bottle
The best way to get an Orange Shorthair into a show pose is to use the perfume bottle. One spray of this little potion will produce the desired behaviour. So let out a justified sigh of relief knowing that at least your kitten can pose... But of course there's more to posing than simply getting 'any show pose'.
With experience you will likely develop your own way to set your cat up for photos and every exhibitor ultimately has their own method that works best for them and their cats. Regardless of the exact technique you use, your aim should be to position your cat side-on and facing the opposite direction to the way you want them to pose. For example, if you want your cat to pose to the standard right, you should position them facing left to start with. When you spritz them, they will spin and land to face the opposite direction before assuming a show pose.
Aligning the cat can take a bit of practice. As a tip, consider holding the cat in the air and allowing them to rotate until they are side-on. You can use the eyes to help you figure out when they are just right.
This is trickier if you have a cat with a 'floppy' personality, sometimes called a "floofer". These cats will collapse when you drop them and may even fall asleep! You can tell if you have one of these cats because they will not run in the normal way but instead will take lolloping strides almost like they are moving in slow motion. When you lift them up for more than a moment, they will sag and when you let go they will fall flat!
Aligning the cat can take a bit of practice. As a tip, consider holding the cat in the air and allowing them to rotate until they are side-on. You can use the eyes to help you figure out when they are just right.
This is trickier if you have a cat with a 'floppy' personality, sometimes called a "floofer". These cats will collapse when you drop them and may even fall asleep! You can tell if you have one of these cats because they will not run in the normal way but instead will take lolloping strides almost like they are moving in slow motion. When you lift them up for more than a moment, they will sag and when you let go they will fall flat!
If you have a cat like this or if you simply find it easier to do it differently, another option to determine alignment is to direct the cat to walk across the room until they are positioned how you like. Often exhibitors will do this by clicking ahead of the cat as they come out of the door.
Once you have positioned your cat, quickly stroking them will immobilise them for just long enough for you to grab the potion and give them a squirt!
Once you have positioned your cat, quickly stroking them will immobilise them for just long enough for you to grab the potion and give them a squirt!
When you spray an oshie, they will leap into the air and turn to face in the opposite direction before offering a pose. This means that you have to align your cat when they are facing in the opposite direction to where you want them to end up!
You might think that getting a perfectly-aligned pose is down to aligning the cat perfectly in the opposite direction but this isn't quite right! Depending on what direction you want your pose to be in and your preferences, you may actually want the starting alignment to be slightly off before you go ahead and spray your cat. Here are some examples:
You might think that getting a perfectly-aligned pose is down to aligning the cat perfectly in the opposite direction but this isn't quite right! Depending on what direction you want your pose to be in and your preferences, you may actually want the starting alignment to be slightly off before you go ahead and spray your cat. Here are some examples:
For a RIGHT-facing pose you actually want your starting alignment to be with the cat facing left and very slightly towards the camera. You can see that in this example the cat's starting position is angled slightly towards the camera and the result after the cat has flipped around is for the pose to be turned two pixels away from the camera. The resulting pose is pretty close to what I personally consider ideal, though the tail could be curved over the back just a tad more!
Traditionally the petz community has tended to show petz facing to the right and many files are hexed with this in mind. However oshies are slightly easier to pose to the left!
LEFT-facing poses tend to more closely reflect your starting alignment. A cat that's perfectly aligned to the right will usually produce a nicely aligned left-facing pose. Here are a few examples:
LEFT-facing poses tend to more closely reflect your starting alignment. A cat that's perfectly aligned to the right will usually produce a nicely aligned left-facing pose. Here are a few examples:
But of course there is a lot more to placing in a PKC show than perfect alignment!
A good show pose should be strategically aligned to show off the cat's conformation as best as possible. Traditionally, a good cat show pose has the front paws and legs perfectly aligned, with the hind legs spaced apart. The tail curves over the back and the head is turned to face the camera. You will likely develop your own preferences concerning the exact amount of rotation you like and what you think produces the best result.
Perfect side-on alignment isn't necessarily the best option for showing off an oshie's conformation, though anything extreme will never be favoured in the ring.
Perfect side-on alignment isn't necessarily the best option for showing off an oshie's conformation, though anything extreme will never be favoured in the ring.
Timing the Snap
Timing can be the toughest part of posing!
Ideally, you want your kitten to be inhaling when you snap your photo with the tail curved over the back so that the tip is pointing up and slightly towards the front of the cat's body. If you time the photo badly, your cat might have a 'squirrel tail' where the tail is flicked out and points backwards.
The peak moment is gone in an instant - practice makes perfect!
Attention to Detail
As you take more pose photos, you'll come to appreciate that there are many subtle variations between poses and positioning and that what looks best for one cat might not be the best choice for another.
Some of these variations come down to personal preference. For example, there's a trade-off between perfect front-end alignment and the degree of curvature of the tail and space between the hind legs. Some exhibitors like myself prefer to have slight misalignment in the front end to get a nicer back end but this can look odd when there's a white pattern on the front legs or the front paws are different colours, accentuating the misalignment.
You might need to try different variations before you settle on the one you think looks best for that specific cat! and then observe how your cat is scored in shows to further refine your technique.
You might need to try different variations before you settle on the one you think looks best for that specific cat! and then observe how your cat is scored in shows to further refine your technique.
Another example of a subjective variation is something like a head tilt, which is technically accepted but may not be everyone's cup of tea! A head tilt with the head tilted away from the body (top example) is generally less flattering than a head tilted into the body (bottom example) but both can look cute or quirky and add to the individual cat's appeal. Because PKC conformation shows are not only about the best pose, a nice head tilt that doesn't detract from the overall look of the cat can be a winner! But only if you happen upon a judge who enjoys this pose style! |
There are countless details that can influence the appeal of a pose once you start to notice them!
Here, for example, are two left-facing poses from the same cat. Notice the difference in this cat's jowls:
Here, for example, are two left-facing poses from the same cat. Notice the difference in this cat's jowls:
Jowls will always overlap but the more central the midline, the more attractive the end result! While all these variations are acceptable and will place, the better a job you do at presenting your cat, the more likely they are to achieve their titles quickly and place well.
Another detail that could influence how your cat is judged is whether the cat's front feet are flat underneath. Have a look at these two poses:
This cat has flat feet in both poses but notice the difference in the space between the hind legs, jowl symmetry and tail curve, as well as how much of the left front leg is showing in each image. On the left, the cat is facing the camera more. On the right, the cat is more turned away.
Flat feet are generally considered desirable but there is a trade-off between achieving this and overall alignment so you will have to make case-by-case decisions depending on which pose shows off your specific cat best and what you know about the judge's preferences!
Flat feet are generally considered desirable but there is a trade-off between achieving this and overall alignment so you will have to make case-by-case decisions depending on which pose shows off your specific cat best and what you know about the judge's preferences!
There are certain aspects of a pose that everyone agrees on! Chin roll is probably the most universal no-no. This is when the chin overlaps the jowls. You'll have to look closely to notice this detail but it is a sure turn-off for most judges experienced with cats.
Always reward your cat!
Cats learn from their experiences! Every time your oshie poses in response to the potion, remember to pet them. This will increase the chances that they'll repeat the behaviour in future!
Practice, practice, practice!
Achieving that perfect pose takes time and perseverance but once you have the hang of it, posing an oshie is probably easier than posing a lot of other breeds.
It's also important to remember that the pose isn't always everything! The quality of your cat and their personality shining through also play a role in PKC shows. The conformation ring isn't a pose contest!
Sometimes what makes a winner isn't perfect alignment and flawless timing but a special nameless and elusive quality that just happens to capture the judge's imagination on the day!
It's also important to remember that the pose isn't always everything! The quality of your cat and their personality shining through also play a role in PKC shows. The conformation ring isn't a pose contest!
Sometimes what makes a winner isn't perfect alignment and flawless timing but a special nameless and elusive quality that just happens to capture the judge's imagination on the day!