Here is a list of the major cat associations of the world. There are many associations and clubs supporting particular breeds as well, which I have not mentioned. This mini-database was prepared June 2010. Things change. Update December 16th 20222: I have just checked this page particularly the links and they all work and the associations still exist about 14 years after the page was first created. That shows the stability of the cat fancy.
The websites of some of these cat associations are very old but that is not a bad thing as they are entirely functional.
Europe
GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE CAT FANCY (GCCF)
Governing Council of the Cat Fancy 5 King’s Castle Business Park The Drove Bridgwater Somerset TA6 4AG, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1278 427575
Website: http://www.gccfcats.org/
The GCCF was founded in 1910 taking over the role of managing the cat fancy in the UK from the National Cat Club that was founded in 1887 and which is the oldest Cat Club in the United Kingdom. I am not sure but it might be the oldest in the world. The oldest American association is the American Cat Association (see below).
The purpose of the GCCF is to:
- keeping the registers of the purebred cats
- licence and manage cat shows
- overseeing the welfare of purebred cats
- monitoring the rules of the club
The GCCF apparently registers over 30,000 purebred cat per year.
See the registration figures and trends on this page
NATIONAL CAT CLUB
“The oldest Cat Club in the United Kingdom”
The famous Mr. Harrison-Weir founded the National Cat Club 1887.
Well, their website is not that informative to be honest. They have an annual cat show. This is a major cat show in the UK. There are no details on their website as to their stated purposes etc. Membership can be applied for online (PDF file). Members will no doubt come from breeders who wish to participate in the annual show. Update: The National Cat Club do not have a free-standing website of their own. They are incorporated with the GCCF. They have a page on the GCCF website listing cat shows under the National Cat Club. That’s about it as far as I can tell.
FÉDÉRATION INTERNATIONALE FÉLINE (FIFe)
Website: http://fifeweb.org/index.php
The FIFe is composed of 41 members from 39 countries. This is an international association. Its members currently come from:
- Europe
- Americas
- South East Asia
Members are autonomous but follow FIFe rules in respect of breed standards, cattery names, shows and judges. FIFe was founded in 1949. Contact with this cat association is made direct to its members. Although it is based in Luxembourg.
See more registration information on this page: Information about Cats.
USA and Canada
The main North American cat associations are:
- CAT FANCIERS’ ASSOCIATION (CFA)
- THE INTERNATIONAL CAT ASSOCIATION (TICA)
CAT FANCIERS’ ASSOCIATION
CFA Mailing Address as at 2010:
The Cat Fanciers’ Association, Inc. 1805 Atlantic Avenue, P.O. Box 1005 Manasquan, NJ 08736-0805
CFA Telephone numbers:
- Central Office (732) 528-9797
- Fax: (732) 528-7391
- Dial-A-Grand (Herman): (732) 528-6443
Website: http://www.cfainc.org/ (this is the old URL). It has been updated to the following URL: https://cfa.org/
Using peoples’ internet search patterns as a guide this is by far the most important cat association worldwide or at least the association about which most people are interested.
This association was founded in 1906 and is a non-profit making organisation. The CFA published the first stud book and register in the Cat Journal.
It holds about 400 cat shows annually worldwide. In addition, the work of the CFA includes:
- cattery name registrations
- certified pedigrees
- championship and premiership confirmations
- mentoring programme
- breed standards
- transfer of ownership
and much more..
The CFA is considered relatively conservative in outlook and does not register wild cat hybrids even those that are totally domestic such as fifth generation Bengal cats. They register 41 cat breeds compared to TICA’s 64. Although conservatively minded they have allowed and promoted the development of extreme types of purebred cats such as the Modern Siamese and the Ultra (Extreme) Persian. They have a tendency to promote the idea that breeders can improve on nature by “refining” in decades what nature created over eons.
About three years ago I said, “The CFA is declining in numbers registered – why? Probably due to registration policy.” I don’t know of that is still true today.
RELATED: Why does the CFA list 45 cat breeds while TICA lists 73?
THE INTERNATIONAL CAT ASSOCIATION
306 E Jackson Harlingen, Texas 78550
Mailing address:
PO Box 2684 Harlingen, Texas 78551
Tel: (+1) (956) 428-8046
Website: http://tica.org/
TICA was founded in 1979 as a breakaway group from American Cat Fanciers Association (ACFA). It is less conservative than the CFA and accepts a wider range of cat breeds including the wild cat hybrids (64 breeds as far as I remember – this may and probably will change).
Helmi Flick photographs at TICA cat shows.
AMERICAN CAT ASSOCIATION (ACA)
8101 Katherine Avenue, Panorama City, CA, 91402, USA
Tel: +1 (818) 781-5656
This is the oldest existing cat registry in North America. It was founded in 1899. It does not hold cat shows and does not have a website.
AMERICAN CAT FANCIERS ASSOCIATION (ACFA)
American Cat Fanciers Association, Inc,
P.O. Box 1949, Nixa, MO 65714-1949
Tel: 417-725-1530 • Fax: 417-725-1533
Website: http://www.acfacat.com/
They say that they are a friendly association. That might tell you a bit about the cat fancy at large. There appears to be a bit of back biting!
“Originating in 1955, ACFA has grown to be one of the world’s largest cat organizations…”
ACFA were the first to accept altered (neutered) cats for championship competition. They also seem to have raised the bar on the standard of judging by requiring show judges to take written examinations to become licensed. ACFA is the third largest cat association after CFA and TICA.
CANADIAN CAT ASSOCIATION
“Canada’s Only Purebred Feline Registry”
5045 Orbitor Drive
Building 12, Suite 102
Mississauga, ON L4W 4Y4
PHONE: 905-232-3481 FAX: 289-232-9481
Website: http://www.cca-afc.com/
Created in 1961. Stud book for members. Shows mainly take place in Ontario and Quebec. Same or similar stance regarding extreme breeding as for CFA.
CAT FANCIERS FEDERATION (CFF)
They don’t provide an address on their website. However, The Encyclopedia Of The Cat states:
P.O.Box 661, Gratis, OH, 45330, USA as the mailing address but that may be out of date.
Website: http://www.cffinc.org/
This is another one of the cat associations that is a spin off or break away from another cat association. This time a group broke away from the CFA in 1919.
The CFF has about 90 affiliated clubs and members are largely located in North-east USA, which is where the cat shows tend to be held.
World Associations
THE TRADITIONAL CAT ASSOCIATION © (TCA)
They don’t provide an address on their website. The contact page is in fact an email mailto.
The Encyclopedia Of The Cat provides the address as:
18509 NE 279th Street
Battle Ground, WA, 98604-9717, USA
Website: http://traditionalcats.com/
Founded in 1987. I feel that is an important cat association but is either not doing enough or achieving enough.
Their motto is.. “To Preserve, Protect, Perpetuate, and Promote Traditional Cats.©”
In my opinion they are not expansive and open enough. The kind of cat that they are dedicated to promote are the traditional Siamese and Persians. These are the classic examples of where extreme breeding has altered the appearance and health substantially. Other cats such as the Abyssinian have also undergone gradual “refinement”, which is a euphemism for making a cat skinnier! They have a great cause. Let us see more please.
WORLD CAT FEDERATION (WCF)
Geisbergstr.2 D-45139 Essen Germany
Tel.: +49-201-555 724 Fax: +49-201-554 090
Website (in four languages): http://www.wcf-online.de/
Members are clubs and other alliances or associations. They are worldwide but there are none in the UK. There is one member from the USA (Brazilian Shorthair International Cat Society).
An interesting departure from the norm is that the breed standards are much lighter in terms of content allowing for greater interpretation I would image.
The WCF was founded in 1988 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There are more than 540 member clubs.
It is concerned with law making in providing a consultation service to the European Parliament.
Note: Sources:
- Websites of cat associations concerned and
- The Encyclopedia Of The Cat page 105 (Dr Bruce Fogle)
Below are some more articles featuring cat associations:
