Originally Posted by Abymummy

Ignoring show cats for the moment since it is obvious that one will HAVE to learn how to groom their own show longhair cat eventually...

It doesn't really matter if the cat is show q or not. What does matter is the amount of care and love that goes into being a responsible cat owner. The two cats I had yesterday were obviously loved to some extent - healthy (good weight), bright eyes, pink gums but that was the end of it. Ears were not cleaned and in the case of the flat faced, neither were the eyes.

Most everyone knows that I prefer Short Hairs to Long Hairs. But, because I DO have a couple of Long Hairs, I've learned the hard way how to groom them to keep their coats in good if not pretty great condition. So much so that I now groom other people's cats on a regular basis and have shown a LH cat to Grand.

My point is, if you own a Longhair cat, it is your responsibility and duty to maintain the cat in good if not great condition or else why own a LH cat in the first place?