Cat agility is a sport in which trained cats are lured through timed obstacle courses by their handlers.

Cat agility contests, like similarly themed dog agility

Dog agility

Dog agility is a dog sport in which a handler directs a dog through an obstacle course in a race for both time and accuracy. Dogs run off-leash with no food or toys as incentives, and the handler can touch neither dog nor obstacles...

 contests, are modeled after the equestrian

Equestrianism

Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...

 sport of show jumping

Show jumping

Show jumping, also known as "stadium jumping," "open jumping," or "jumpers," is a member of a family of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes commonly are seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics...

. Under the rules, cats must complete a course in under 270 seconds, completing each obstacle in a prescribed manner. Lures such as laser pointer

Laser pointer

A laser pointer or laser pen is a small portable device with a power source and a laser emitting a very narrow coherent low-powered beam of visible light, intended to be used to highlight something of interest by illuminating it with a small bright spot of colored light...

s and toys on string may be used, but food treats are not allowed. The obstacles are arranged in a circle and include tunnels, steps, and poles. For a typical contest there are between six and fourteen obstacles, and the winning cats complete the course in about ten seconds.

The first known cat agility contest was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...

 by Vickie Shields and three friends in 2003. By the late 2000s, the contests were popular worldwide, with approximately 40 held each year in connection with cat show

Cat show

A cat show is a judged event where the owners of cats compete to win titles in various cat registering organizations by entering their cats to be judged after a breed standard. Both pedigreed and companion cats are admissible, although the rules differ from organization to organization...

s.

External links

• catagility.com - cat agility page maintained by The International Cat Association
  The International Cat Association
  The International Cat Association, commonly known as TICA, is the world's largest genetic cat registry. Originally a North American organization, it now has a worldwide presence...