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Cat
Breed Informaton
Are you interested in finding a purebred
cat or finding more cat breed information? As you shop for your
cat, you may notice the initials CFA in some advertisements. What
exactly does this mean? CFA stands for the Cat Fancier's Association,
the largest purebred cat registry in the world. The CFA was created to
maintain breed standards and register litters of purebred
kittens. In addition, this association holds cat shows, where cats are
judged to see how closely they adhere to their breed's standard. The CFA
recognizes only forty one breeds of cats.
When a breeder registers a litter of kittens with the Cat
Fancier's Association, he or she has the option of deciding that the
kitten cannot be bred. Only cats with a pin number on their
registration forms will be eligible to have their kittens registered.
This allows the breeders to continue to better their breeds. Once
the litter is registered, each kitten will need to be individually
registered by its new owner.
The CFA has placed the cat breeds it recognizes into three
categories. These groups are the Championship Class, the Provisional
Class, and the Miscellaneous Class. Each of the forty one breeds
that the CFA recognizes is placed in one of these groups. When cats are
shown, they must win first place in their breed and then their class
before they can compete for the title of best in show.
Cats in the Championship Class are those who are solidly
established cat breeds. The breeds in the Provisional Class have been
more recently established and are still being closely watched to be sure
they conform to the new breed standard. Finally, the one breed
currently in the Miscellaneous Class is still having a breed
standard created and cannot actually compete for the best in show title.
If you live in Canada, you have a second option. You can register your
cat in the Canadian Cat Association. This association was formed by
Canadians who did not want to register their cats with an association in
another country. Other popular cat registries are the Traditional
Cat Association, which supports original breed standards and does
not uphold current trends that exaggerate breed characteristics, the
Governing Council of the Cat Fancy, which is the United Kingdom's cat
registry, and the Fédération Internationale Féline, which is the
European cat registry.
Although there are many breeds of cats, they all fit into
one of two categories, short hair or long hair. Short hair cats include
breeds such as the Abyssinian and the British Shorthair, while
Norwegian Forest Cats and Turkish Angoras are representatives of long
hair cats. Of the forty one CFA recognized cat breeds, the most
popular is probably the American Shorthair, which has been in the United
States for over 300 years. Although non-pedigreed pet cats often
resemble this breed, it has actually been carefully and selectively bred
for generation after generation to develop characteristics that would
appear in every kitten. Other popular common cat breeds are the
Siamese, the Rex, the Main Coon, the Persian and the Ragdoll.
Just remember, a pedigree doesn't make your kitten any more loving and
affectionate. There are many wonderful pet cats without a
pedigree. However, a pedigree does enable you to pick out a kitten that
will have certain characteristics.
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