Cat registry

A cat registry or cat breed registry, also known as a cat fancier organisation, cattery federation, or cat breeders' association, is an organisation that registers domestic cats (usually purebred) of many breeds, for exhibition and for breeding lineage tracking purposes. A cat registry stores the pedigrees (genealogies) of cats, cattery names, and other details of cats; studbooks (lists of authorised studs of recognised breeds), breed descriptions, and the formal breed standards (a.k.a. standards of points or SoP); lists of judges qualified to judge at shows run by or affiliated with that registry; and sometimes other information. A cat registry is not the same as a breed club or breed society (these are specific-breed organisations that 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 registries each have their own rules and usually also organise or license (sanction) cat shows. The show procedures vary widely, and awards won in one registry are not normally recognised by another. Some registries only serve breeders, while others are oriented toward pet owners and provide individual as well as cattery memberships, while yet others are federations only deal with breed clubs or even other registries as intermediaries between the organisation and breeders.

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 replaced by the [British] Cat Fanciers' Association. Cats could only be registered with one or the other registry. These two fancies merged in 1910 and became the GCCF.

In the United States, the 1899 Chicago cat show resulted in the formation of the Chicago Cat Club, followed by the better-organized Beresford Cat Club (named after noted British breeder Lady Marcus Beresford). In 1906, the Beresford Cat Club renamed itself the American Cat Association (ACA) and rapidly became the dominant North American registry for a short time. In 1908, the [American, and extant] Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) split off, and both organisations continue to the present, with competition from The International Cat Association (TICA), also US-based, as well as more regional associations. ACA today accepts Canadian and Mexican as well as US registrations, but remains primarily active in the northeastern United States. Both TICA and CFA are international, though the bulk of their pedigrees are issued to US breeders.

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