CAT REGISTRIES AND CAT CLUBS - A BROAD DEFINITION
A cat registry is an organisation that registers cats for exhibition and breeding purposes. The cats may be pedigree, purebred or neutered household pets.
The British Trading Standards defines a pedigree cat as one whose parents, grand-parents and great-grandparents (3 generations) are registered with a cat registry. They may not necessarily be cats of the same breed. In contrast, a purebred cat is one whose parents and grandparents are all of the same breed.
There are numerous cat registries around the world. Registries wishing to have inter-registry dialogue must belong to the World Cat Congress (WCC), the international co-ordinating body that oversees cat registries. Many of the smaller regional registries are affiliated to a larger national or international registry.
Inter-registry rivalry, including disagreement over what constitutes a breed, dates back to the days of the first 2 registries in Britain. Disputes can be bitter and protracted and lead to breeders leaving one registry, either voluntarily or by expulsion, and joining a rival registry.
Genotypic vs Phenotypic Registries
Some registries operate on "phenotypic" practices while others are "genotypic". Those that register cats based on genotype are concerned with the genetic makeup of a cat i.e. purebred. Generally speaking, those concerned with phenotype will recognise cats from outcrosses to other breeds as long as the cat meets the conformation. An illustration of the difference is the red-point Siamese. Phenotypic registries recognise this as a Siamese because it has identical conformation. True genotypic registries would recognise it under a different name because the red colour has been introduced through outcrosses to non-Siamese breeds.
An exception occurs with new cat breeds where non-pedigree cats with appropriate traits can be registered as "foundation cats". Foundation cats include the F1 hybrids of breeds derived by crossing to wildcats. Other examples are the Munchkin and Sphynx, where random-bred cats with the mutation were registered as foundation cats to widen the gene pool.
Purpose of a Cat Registry
A cat registry stores the pedigrees (genealogies) of cats, prefixes or affixes of catteries, studbooks (lists of authorised studs of recognised breeds), breed descriptions, transfer of ownership; and the standards of points (SoP) for those breeds; lists of judges qualified to judge at shows run by, or affiliated with, that registry. A cat registry is not the same as a cat club or breed society (these may be affiliated with one or more registries with whom they have lodged breed standards in order to be able to exhibit under the auspices of that registry).
Cat clubs and breed societies are groups of enthusiasts or breeders who share a common set of goals and interests and who wish to exchange information and provide a mutual support network related. Many cat clubs are affiliated to one or more registries.
Origin of Cat Registries
The pursuit of cat breeding and exhibiting as a hobby is known as cat fancying. Those involved in the hobby are known as cat fanciers. The whole entity of clubs, registries, shows and individuals is known as the Cat Fancy.
The first cat registry was the National Cat Club, set up in 1887 in England. Until the formation of the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy in 1910, the National Cat Club was also the Governing Body of the Cat Fancy. A rival registry called the Cat Club was set up in 1898, but foundered in 1903 and was was replaced by the Cat Fanciers Association. Cats could only be registered with one or other registry. These two fancies merged in 1910 and became the GCCF.
In the USA, the 1899 Chicago cat show resulted in the formation of the Chicago Cat Club, followed by the more powerful Beresford Cat Club (named after noted British breeder Lady Marcus Beresford). In 1906, the American Cat Association became the main registry. In 1908 this became the Cat Fanciers' Association Inc (CFA). Unlike the European FIFe registry, the CFA allowed members of America's many independent cat clubs to exhibit at their shows providing the cats were registered with the Cat Fanciers Association. Unlike the situation in Britain, cats could be registered with more than one registry.
Today there are a number of registries around the world. Most are regional with a few being international.
Some registries specialise in particular types of cat that are ineligible for registration with a major registry due to low numbers or restrictions on certain genetic traits. For example The Dwarf Cat Association recognises breeds derived from the short-legged Munchkin while the Rare and Exotic Feline Registry specialises in cats derived from (or alleged to derive from) hybrids with wildcat species.
Where a major registry refuses recognition to a proposed breed, a break-away registry may result or a new independent registry may spring up. Some of these later merge with other registries, some dwindle away and some have become major registering bodies. Many independent registries combine the functions of a cat club (information and support) with that of a registry (e.g. studbooks, exhibition and genealogy).
Recognition Levels
Most registries offer several levels of recognition, often called registers. Typical levels of recognition are:
Full - a breed that competes for championship titles at shows organised by, or affiliated to, that registry
Provisional/Preliminary - the level of recognition of cat breeds until they demonstrate that they breed true to their registered standards; there may be several levels of provisional/preliminary recognition e.g. new or advanced as numbers and popularity increase
Experimental - a provisional register for breeds in development; this may be separate from the provisional/preliminary register in some cat fancies
Exhibition only - a new trait, new import or minority variety that does not compete, but is exhibited in order to attract opinion and/or potential breeders
Registration only - cats of that breed can be registered, but do not have permission to be exhibited.
Not all breeds achieve Full (championship) status.
There may also be Active and Inactive registers that denote whether a cat may be legitimately used in breeding and its offspring registered. In breeds known to carry recessive genes (e.g. longhaired cats born from shorthaired parents, colourpointed cats born from non-colourpointed parents), cats that do not meet their breed standard might be registered as variants or they might be registered under a different breed name. These may sometimes be used to maintain a good gene pool, but not exhibited in Championship classes for the parents' breed.
A Genetic Register is used by some registries for breeds where a genetic test is required before cats can be bred from. Cats that have not been cleared through testing remain on the genetic register until negative test results are provided. This ensures that the cat does not carry a harmful trait (e.g. Polycystic Kidney Disease in Persians).
A cat registry is at liberty to refuse to accept breeds if it feels the breed is not genetically sound; does not breed true to the standard put forward by the developer(s) of the breed (with allowances made for known variants); is not represented in sufficient numbers or is not sufficiently distinct from breeds already recognised by the registry. It may also expel breeders who do not conform to accepted standards of behaviour and ethics, with the result that their cats may be disqualified from its shows.
The rules as to what constitutes a new breed vary from registry to registry. TICA is a relatively progressive registry that will recognise breeds derived from crossing existing breeds; mutations of an existing breed; naturally occurring breeds indigenous to a geographical location; a breed already recognised by a different registry and experimental breeds that do not yet have a TICA-approved breed name. the GCCF is a more conservative registry and recognise new colour variations of an existing breed, but do not recognise other mutations of an existing breed e.g. spontaneous rexed fur.
Breed Numbers and Acronyms
Registries allocate a breed number or acronym to the breeds they recognise. Most use a two or 3 letter acronym e.g. MK (Munchkin), JBT (Japanese Bobtail). This may be followed by numbers or lower case acronyms that indicate colour and pattern, these being subdivisions of the breed. For historical reasons, the British GCCF allocate numbers to breeds and the Black Persian Longhair is registered under a different breed number, and effectively as a different breed, to the Blue Longhair. These lists may be found on individual registry websites (or in their printed publications where they do not yet have a website).
Where a breed is already recognised by another registry, it is becoming increasingly common to adopt an existing acronym (with the possible addition or subtraction of a letter) in order to avoid clashes and confusion. Where 2 breeds with different characteristics have the same name, it is usual to prefix the name with the country/area of origin e.g. in the US the "Burmese" and "European Burmese" are different breeds with different conformation. In the UK, "Burmese" always refers to the European form as the "American Burmese" is not recognised.
A single breed may have 2 different breed names in different countries. In Britain, a cat of Persian type with the colourpoint pattern is called a Colourpoint Persian Longhair. In the USA it is called a Himalayan. In Britain a Siamese x Bengal hybrid breed originally called the "Savannah" was renamed "Serengeti" to avoid a name clash with the American "Savannah" (developed from serval hybrids) and align it with an American Siamese x Oriental Shorthair x Bengal breed called the "Serengeti".
Where colours have been added to a breed through outcrossing to another breed, not all registries accept the new colours under the original breed name e.g. Chocolate Persian Persians and Lilac Persian Persians may be recognised under the name "Kashmir" as the two colours were introduced through crossing to Siamese cats during the development of the Colourpoint Persian (UK) and Himalayan (USA).
List of Cat Registries Around the World
Note: Some of the smaller regional registries are affliated to larger national or international registries.
AACE - American Association of Cat Enthusiasts (USA)
ACF - Australian Cat Federation
ACFA - American Cat Fanciers association (USA)
Bahrain Cat Club
CA - Cat Association (Britain, replaced by Felis Britannica)
Capital Cats Inc - Capital Cats Inc (Australia)
CANT - Cat Association of the Northern Territory (Australia)
CAT - Cat Association of Tasmania (Australia)
CATZ Inc - CATZ Inc (New Zealand)
CAV - The Cat Authority of Victoria Inc (Australia)
CCA/AFC Canadian Cat Association / Association Féline Canadienne
CCCA - Co-ordinating Cat Council of Australia
CCCT Cat Control Council of Tasmania Inc (Australia)
CFA - Cat Fanciers Association (USA)
CFCCQ - CFCCQ Inc, Queensland (Australia)
CFF - Cat Fanciers Federation (USA)
CFSA - Cat Federation of Southern Africa
COAWA - Cat Owners' Association of Western Australia
ECF - European Cat Fancy
European Group Cat Association
FANSW - Feline Association of New South Wales Inc (Australia)
FASA- Feline Association of South Australia
FCCQ - Feline Control Council of Queensland Inc (Australia)
FCCV - Feline Control Council of Victoria Inc (Australia)
FCCWAFeline Control Council of Western Australia
Felis Britiannica- Felis Britannica (Britain)
FFFE - Fédération Féline Française (France)
FIAF - Federazione Italiana Associazioni Feline (Italy)
FiFe - Fédération Internationale Féline (originally European, now includes Brazil)
GCCF - Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (UK) (see GCCF)
GCCFSA - Governing Council of the Cat Fancy of South Australia
GCCFV - Governing Council of the Cat Fancy Victoria (Australia)
NRR - Norske Rasekattklubbers Riksförbund (Norway)
NZCF - New Zealand Cat Fancy
NSWCFA (formerly RASCC, Royal Agricultural Society Cat Club) - New South Wales Cat Fanciers Association (Australia)
QFA - Queensland Feline Association Inc (Australia)
QICC - Queensland Independent Cat Council Inc (Australia)
REFR - Rare and Exotic Feline Registry (North America)
SACC - Southern Africa Cat Council
SFF - Russian Selectional Feline Federation
TDCA TDCA - The Dwarf Cat Association
TICA - The International Cat Association (based in USA, affiliated societies around the world)
UFO - United Feline organization (USA)
WCC - World Cat Congress
WCF - The World Cat Federation (a global co-ordinating body)
WNCA - Waratah National Cat Alliance (Australia)
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