Cat fancy describes the subculture that surrounds cat lovers and their hobbies involving the appreciation, promotion, showing , or breeding of cats. Animal fanciers of cats may refer to themselves as " cat people ", "cat fanciers", or "cat lovers". The term "cat culture" has also been used, though is ambiguous.
32-818: The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy ( GCCF ) is a cat registry , established in 1910 and the largest organisation that registers pedigree cats in the United Kingdom . It was formed from a small number of cat clubs which were registering cats at the time when the modern cat fancy was in its first stages. It is considered to be the original prototype for cat fancy registries. It is an independent body with around 150 member clubs, including specialist breed clubs and area clubs covering particular regions. The GCCF became an incorporated company on 5 November 2010. It licenses cat shows put on by its affiliated clubs with about 135 shows per year. Pedigree cats shown at these shows can gain
64-402: A Silicon Valley studio. According to a 2013 article by Psychology Today , self-identified cat people have more unusual and distinctive personality traits than dog people. The article also speculates that due to the sensitive nature of cats, some people of a similar nature would feel an affinity with cats. In Pasadena, California , there is a cat festival called CatCon Worldwide. In 2018,
96-492: 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
128-409: A cat legitimately may be used in breeding and its offspring registered. 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 recognized by
160-604: A cat museum. It had its first cat festival in 2018. Cat subculture has transferred to and been amplified by the Internet, where it now flourishes. Cats, especially in the form of LOLcats , have long been a staple of Internet meme pictures. Cat fans often engage in a " Caturday " pastime (which originated on 4chan ) of posting cat pictures on social media on Saturdays. There are numerous websites devoted to cats, such as The Catnip Times and The Purrington Post . There are many online cat-themed games, such as Cat-Opoly which
192-454: 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. Cats that have not been cleared through testing remain on the genetic register unless negative test results are provided. There may also be active and inactive registers that denote whether
224-498: A few. Registries may also use different names for the same breed, and the WCF has even been known to assign breed names that conflict with those other registries (i.e. are applied to completely different breeds). Various registries includes breeds not recognized (yet) by any others, either due to differences in relative progressiveness toward breed introduction and establishment, or due to geographical proximity to breeds unknown in other parts of
256-480: A geographical location; a breed already recognized by a different registry; and experimental breeds that do not yet have a TICA-approved breed name. FIFe will register some new breeds imported from other registries but have set procedures for these breeds to gain full recognition. The GCCF is a more conservative registry and recognizes new color variations of an existing breed, but do not usually recognise other mutations of an existing breed e.g. spontaneous rexed fur, and
288-857: A major registry due to breed restrictions or certain genetic traits. For example, The Dwarf Cat Association recognizes breeds derived from the short-legged Munchkin (a cat body type genetic mutation ) which are banned by FIFe and some other registries. The Rare and Exotic Feline Registry specializes in cats derived from (or alleged to derive from) hybridization with wildcat species. Most registries offer several levels of recognition (often called registers). The actual designations differ between registries, but typically these are: Not all breeds achieve full (championship) status. In breeds known to carry recessive genes (e.g. long-haired cats born from short-haired parents, colorpoint cats born from non-colorpoint parents), cats that do not meet their breed standard might be registered as variants or they might be registered under
320-437: A short time. In 1908, the [American, and extant] Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) split off, and both organizations 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
352-535: Is an organization 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 authorized studs of recognized 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
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#1732869914354384-702: Is not the same as a breed club or breed society (these are specific-breed organizations 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 organize or license (sanction) cat shows. The show procedures vary widely, and awards won in one registry are not normally recognized 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
416-440: Is organized on a similar basis to FIFe but has a much more permissive approach to new breed acceptance. Like CFA, WCF provides a cattery registration service (to "reserve" cattery names and prevent others from using conflicting ones). While some cat registries forbid the practice, it is now common to allow a cat to be registered by more than one registry. The World Cat Congress (WCC) is an international coordinating organization of
448-579: Is registered under a different breed number, and effectively as a different breed, to the Blue Persian Longhair. These lists may be found on individual registry websites (or in their printed publications where they do not yet have a website). All FIFe Member cat registries use the EMS (Easy Memory System) breed and variety code which consists of a breed abbreviation followed by pattern and colour letters and digits which are consistent across all breeds. Where
480-422: Is slow to accept new breeds. CFA takes a similar resistant approach, and has a position statement discouraging most attempts at new breed formation or even new coat colour patterns. What constitutes a breed at all also varies widely between registries. Some "permissive" organisations recognise as separate breeds what most "conservative" registries would consider several coat variants of the same breed. For example,
512-742: Is the Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe, founded 1949 in Paris, and presently based in Belgium), which is a worldwide federation of member cat registries, with a large European and South American presence. The World Cat Federation (WCF, founded 1988 in Rio de Janeiro, presently based in Germany), has a strong presence in Latin America, throughout Western Europe, and in countries of the former USSR . It
544-578: The Supreme Cat Show , which is famous for being the world's largest cat show and often referred to as the feline equivalent of Crufts . Special awards of UK and Supreme Champion can be gained at this show only. The GCCF offices are based in Bridgwater and are staffed by people who deal with registrations, publications, show processing & title claims, agendas & minutes and correspondence from breeders, exhibitors, Clubs, Breed Advisory Committees and
576-622: The Moroccan person-to-cat ratio is fairly close to 1:1. Many Moroccans are said to love cats, and around the cities are piles of food and water trays left for the cats. Cat Nation , a film by Tim Delmastro about cat fancy in Japan, features Chris Broad , a British YouTube personality. Broad made his way across the country where he documented the numerous strange and interesting cat-centric activities, including cat bars, cat temples, cat islands, and cat cafés . Singapore has many cat lovers, cat cafés, and
608-522: The POP Cats Convention was held in Austin, Texas . There is a cat-themed cruise in the US (operating out of both Florida and Alaska), named Meow Meow Cruise, on which cat lovers can meet people with the same interest and have cat-themed parties. In Morocco, cats are an inherent part of the country's culture. A 2018 article by Morocco World News suggested that people visiting there could think that
640-552: The UK, "Burmese" 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 . In the USA it is called a Himalayan. The American-bred Serengeti was founded in 1992 by Karen Sausaman from Oriental x Bengal crosses to resemble
672-582: The WCF treats all long-haired and short-haired variants as distinct breeds, and both WCF and CFA recognize a Colourpoint Shorthair breed that others consider a Siamese cat with non-standard colouration. Similarly, the Cymric is recognized as a breed in some registries, considered under that name as a sub-breed of the Manx in some, called simply the Manx Longhair or Longhair Manx in others, and not recognized at all by
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#1732869914354704-407: The bulk of their pedigrees are issued to US breeders. In the intervening years, many cat registries have been formed worldwide. These range from international organizations or federations to national registries in one particular country. In many countries, independent registries have also been formed which may or may not be recognized by the main registries. The internationally broadest organisation
736-657: The feline genome and chronic gingivo-stomatitis in cats. The top three most popular cat breeds registered in the GCCF are the British Shorthair, the Ragdoll and the Maine Coon. The GCCF registers around 20,000 pedigree cats each year, and currently recognises the following breeds: Cat registry A cat registry or cat breed registry, also known as a cat fancier organization, cattery federation, or cat breeders' association,
768-554: The general public. They also deal with complaints and breaches of rules, which can sometimes result in disciplinary action and even suspension from Cat Fancy activities. The GCCF is a member of The Cat Group and the World Cat Congress . The GCCF has set up its own charity: The Cat Welfare Trust, which uses funds raised through the GCCF to find ways of improving the welfare of cats. To date the trust has granted thousands of pounds into key research projects in ringworm vaccination,
800-633: The largest cat registries. WCC operates an "open-door" policy by which cats registered with one WCC registry can be shown under the rules of another WCC registry. Going further, the World Cat Federation , a WCC member accepts half again as many breeds as it publishes standards for, because it accepting the standards of TICA, FIFe, and several other WCC-affiliated federations, though it has also produced some nomenclatural conflicts with some of them. Some independent cat registries specialize in particular types of cats that are ineligible for registration with
832-684: The new colours under the original breed name e.g. Chocolate Persians and Lilac Persians may be recognised under the name " Kashmir " as the two colors were introduced through crossing to Siamese cats during the development of the Colourpoint Persian (UK) and Himalayan (USA). Cat fancy Cat fanciers often wear clothing that identifies the wearer as a cat person. Some of them use cat puns such as meowvalous for 'marvelous', and paw some for 'awesome', among many others. Cat terms such as "porrect" have been used in article titles such as CBS Sacramento's article about two cats living alone in
864-656: The organization 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
896-719: 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
928-471: The registry. It may also expel breeders who do not conform to accepted standards of behavior 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. The International Cat Association (TICA) is a relatively progressive registry that will recognize breeds derived from crossing existing breeds; mutations of an existing breed; naturally occurring breeds indigenous to
960-439: The titles Champion , Grand Champion, Imperial Grand Champion and Olympian. The latter having three levels, Bronze, Silver and Gold. The word Champion is replaced by Premier for neutered cats, and Master Cat for cats competing in household pets. The showing of non-pedigree cats (often referred to as Domestic shorthair and Domestic longhair ) and Pedigree Pets is also popular at GCCF shows. The GCCF also co-ordinates its own show:
992-614: The wild cats of the Serengeti plains but without the introduction of wild cat blood. In Britain, a Bengal x Siamese cross was originally called the Savannah, but was later renamed Serengeti because of an existing American breed called the Savannah. The American-bred Savannah resembles the Serval and the first generation cross is Serval x domestic. Where colours have been added to a breed through outcrossing to another breed, not all registries accept
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1024-529: The world. Registries allocate a breed number, acronym or a Code to the breeds they register. 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
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