The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) was established in the United States in 1906. The CFA is currently the world's largest registry of pedigreed cats. Originally headquartered in Manasquan, New Jersey, the CFA moved to Alliance, Ohio in 2010.[1] The association's stated mission is preserving and promoting pedigreed breeds of cats while also enhancing the well-being of all cats. CFA's first licensed cat shows were held in Buffalo, New York and Detroit, Michigan in 1906. The association today has a known presence in Europe, China, and Japan along with its well-established activity in the United States and Canada.
In 2022, CFA recognized 42 breeds for its Championship Class and three in its non-competitive classes (the Khao Manee, Lykoi, and Toybob). The current president of the CFA is Richard Mastin.
By alphabetical order according to breed division:[2]
The CFA offers a number of services to catteries, purebred feline owners, and the general public. One service the CFA offers is certified pedigree lists for registered cats. Registered cat pedigrees going back from three to six generations are available.
Breeding catteries register their cattery name following the CFA naming standards. Certificates are awarded to Catteries of Excellence[3] that meet strict health codes for the cats and their environment. As of this writing, 40 catteries meet these requirements. Riversiderags[4] is the only Ragdoll cattery at present to make this award from both TICA[5] and CFA.
PaJean Cattery, an iconic cattery devoted to Persian cats, has produced the most long-haired Grand Champions in the world, 2nd in the world for both long hair and short hairs combined, and the most Cat of the Year honors. The cattery was founded by Pamela Bassett and her mother, the late Jean Bassett.
CFA recognizes 42 pedigreed breeds for showing in the Championship Class and three breeds as Miscellaneous (this became effective with the 2016-17 show season). Since 1994, the CFA has hosted the CFA International Cat Show, described as the "Rolls-Royce of cat shows", the largest of its kind in the U.S.. Despite being cancelled in 2007 and 2010, the CFA International made a comeback in 2011 as the CFA World Show in Indianapolis, Indiana and has boasted renewed entries and interest since its re-branding and the acquisition of corporate sponsorships. In 2015, the show's name was restored to the CFA International Cat Show.
Other activities of the CFA include setting breed standards and offering breeding guidelines, training show judges, promoting and inspecting catteries, supporting and publicizing research on cat health issues, influencing legislative issues, providing disaster relief and breed rescue programs, publishing books and magazines and informing the general public on topics relating to cats.
While no two shows are identical, CFA cat shows follow certain procedures and guidelines:[6]
A CFA cat show actually consists of a number of simultaneous cat shows running at the same time within the same place. Depending on the size of the show, there are anywhere from 4 to 12 "rings" (or miniature shows) which generally run 1 to 2 days in length. Each "ring" has its own judge who independently scores cats and awards the top 10 places (or top 15 depending on the size of the show).
Rings are of two kinds:
Points are awarded to cats based on percentages of the number of cats "beaten" in the ring, determined according to their placement in the final (for national/regional points) or out of the number of champions/premiers in show (for grand points).
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