In the early 1990s the CFA top ten breeds were as follows:
| Rank | Breed | Registrations % |
| 1 | Persian | 79.4 |
| 2 | Siamese | 5.5 |
| 3 | Abyssinian | 3.6 |
| 4 | Maine coon | 2.8 |
| 5 | Burmese | 1.9 |
| 6 | Oriental Shorthair | 1.6 |
| 7 | American Shorthair | 1.6 |
| 8 | Exotic Shorthair | 1.3 |
| 9 | Scottish Fold | 1.2 |
| 10 | Colorpoint Shorthair | 1.1 |
The Persian completely dominated the purebred cat market in the US in the 1990s and before. I think the shift away from the Persian today is due to the health implications of extreme breeding. Although the short haired version of the Persian tops the chart which undermines that theory.
The Siamese has lost popularity too. This may be due to extreme breeding as well. The extreme modern version of the Siamese is meant to be a more refined and elegant version of the original cat but it is neither refined nor elegant. It is rat-like.
The Sphynx has gained in popularity. It is one of the ‘mutation cats’. The breed may appeal because (1) it is an indoor cat which is useful nowadays (2) there are no standout inherited diseases but there are considerable health concerns which people appear to not know about and (3) they are smart and active (monkey like).
It is worth noting that the Bengal was not registered in the 1990s. It is now accepted by the CFA (as of Feb 3, 2018). Since the breed’s creation it has been popular.
The Turkish Angora should be more popular. Although the American version of this ancient breed bears no resemblance to the original Turkish Angora in Turkey. If the breeders had left the breed alone and relied on the real thing it would have been more popular. The same goes for the Turkish Van.
2017 – Ranking of most popular cat breeds per CFA
| RANK | BREED |
| 1 | Exotic |
| 2 | Ragdoll |
| 3 | British Shorthair |
| 4 | Persian |
| 5 | Maine Coon Cat |
| 6 | American Shorthair |
| 7 | Scottish Fold |
| 8 | Sphynx |
| 9 | Devon Rex |
| 10 | Abyssinian |
| 11 | Oriental |
| 12 | Siamese |
| 13 | Cornish Rex |
| 14 | Norwegian Forest Cat |
| 15 | Siberian |
| 16 | Birman |
| 17 | Russian Blue |
| 18 | Bengal |
| 19 | Tonkinese |
| 20 | Burmese |
| 21 | Ocicat |
| 22 | American Curl |
| 23 | Selkirk Rex |
| 24 | Japanese Bobtail |
| 25 | Egyptian Mau |
| 26 | RagaMuffin |
| 27 | Somali |
| 28 | Balinese/Javanese |
| 29 | Manx |
| 30 | Singapura |
| 31 | Bombay |
| 32 | Colorpoint Shorthair |
| 33 | Turkish Angora |
| 34 | American Bobtail |
| 35 | European Burmese |
| 36 | Chartreux |
| 37 | Korat |
| 38 | Havana Brown |
| 39 | Burmilla |
| 40 | LaPerm |
| 41 | Turkish Van |
| 42 | American Wirehair |
Source: CFA
