Feline Structure

Registration/Breeding Glossary

AOV- Any Other Variety. Any registered cat or registered kitten, the ancestry of which entitles it to Championship or Premiership competition, but which does not (colorwise; coatwise; sexwise; in the case of the Manx, tailwise; or earwise in the case of the Scottish Fold) conform to the accepted show standard.

BLOODLINE - A group of cats related by ancestry or pedigree.

BLUE SLIP - An application required for individual registration of a cat from a registered litter. Issued to the breeder by CFA at the time the litter is registered. Usually given to the new owner of a cat/kitten by the breeder at the t ime of sale.

BREED TRUE - To produce a kitten exactly the same as the parents.

BREEDER - A person who registers a litter with CFA. The registered owner/lessee of the dam of a cat/litter at the time of breeding.

CALLING - The noise made by a female cat when in season.

CAT FANCY - Refers to the overall group of people, clubs, and registration associations involved with breeding and showing, all having an interest in the betterment of the cat.

CATTERY - A name registered by a breeder to identify their line of breeding. A registered cattery name always appears as a prefix to the name of the cat bred by that cattery/breeder.

CATTERY REPORT - A listing of all individually registered cats bred by a particular cattery/breeder. The computerized print-out gives cat names, numbers, litter numbers, birthdates, CH/GR points, and owner names. The list is guaranteed complete only with those cats that were registered after 1978, and is available only to the registered cattery owner.

CERTIFICATE FOR FRAMING - A large 8-1/2 x 11 certificate that can be issued for a cat that is a champion. The cost of this certificate is in additional to the actual confirmation fee.

CERTIFIED PEDIGREE - A document showing a cat's background for 3, 4 or 5 generations. A 3-generation pedigree is the cat plus three generations back, and gives names, colors, and numbers of each cat in the pedigree. Show titles, if any, are also given.

CROSS-BREED - The allowable mating of two pedigree varieties. The resulting offspring would be considered a hybrid. See HYBRID.

CRYPTORCHID - A male cat whose testicles have not descended.

DAM - The mother of a cat.

DILUTE - A recessive color. See RECESSIVE.

DOMINANT - A characteristic that expresses itself wholely or largely to the exclusion of the alternate recessive characteristic. See RECESSIVE.

FELINE - Of a cat or the cat family.

FOREIGN REGISTRATION - Any application and subsequent registration of a cat from non-CFA registered parentage when the cat is currently registered in any other CFA-recognized cat association, either inside or outside the U.S.

GENOTYPE - The genetic composition of a cat. All individuals of the same genotype breed alike. See PHENOTYPE.

HOUSEHOLD PET - A non-registered altered cat, usually from unregistered stock and of no particular breed.

HYBRID - The result of the breeding of two different breeds. Can also refer to those kittens produced from such a mating that do not conform to the accepted standard for the resulting breed.

INBREEDING - The mating if two closely-related cats; such as, a mother and son or brother and sister. There are no rules in CFA against the registration of kittens produced from such a breeding.

INDIVIDUAL REGISTRATION - See REGISTRATION

INTENSE - A dominant color. See DOMINANT.

KITTEN - A cat up to the age of eight calendar months.

LESSEE - A person who leases a cat from the registered owner.

LITTER - The name given to the product of any one breeding. A litter can consist of one or more kittens.

LITTER REGISTRATION - The recording by CFA of the birth of a litter, giving the date of birth, number of kittens, and the sire and dam. Litter applications are submitted by the breeder of the litter.

MONORCHID - A male cat with only one descended testicle. Does not affect breeding capability, or quality of the cat. Cannot be shown unless altered.

NEUTER - An altered male. See ALTER.

NOT FOR BREEDING - A cat which has been registered as a non-breeding cat per the request of the breeder of the cat at the time of sale to a new owner. No litters will be registered from a cat so registered.

OUTCROSS - To breed one registered parent to another resulting in a registerable hybrid breed. Those breeds allowable in the background of a registered hybrid breed. See also HYBRID.

PAPERS - Usually refers to a cat's certificate of registration and pedigree form.

PEDIGREE - A form on which a cat and its background is recorded for three generations back.

PEDIGREED CAT - Usually refers to a cat whose heritage is known, documented, and registered. Allowable exceptions are those specified under individual breed registration requirements.

PHENOTYPE - The outward appearance of a cat. Two individuals with the same phenotype may not necessarily have the same genotype. See GEOTYPE.

PREFIX - The cattery name of the breeder of a cat, which must always appear at the beginning of a cat's name.

QUEEN - A breeding female cat.

RECESSIVE - A characteristic that is unable to express itself in the presence of the alternate dominant characteristic. See DOMINANT>

REGISTRATION - Initial recording of a cat's individual cat name/owner record in CFA, usually using a blue slip application form. A registration certificate issued by CFA to the registered owner.

REGISTRATION RULES - The rules and guidelines set up by CFA for the registration of cats, litters, catteries, etc.

REVERSE PEDIGREE - A computerized print-out of a cat's offspring for 3 generations forward; that is, the cat plus 3 generations of offspring. The print-out gives cat names, numbers, owners, birthdates, and volume numbers. The list is guaranteed only with those cats registered after 1978.

SIRE - The father of a cat.

SPAY - An altered female. See ALTER.

SPRAYING - A male cat's habit of micturating (urinating) anywhere, probably to establish his territory.

STANDARD- The ideal characteristics for each breed.

STUD BOOK - A book, last published in 1967, listing those cats that became registered parents for the first time during the publishing year. See V NUMBER.

STUD CAT - A breeding male cat.

SUFFIX - The registered cattery name of the current owner of a cat, located at the end of a cat's name preceded by the word "of".

SUFFIX REMOVAL - The removal of an existing cattery name suffix to a cat's name by the new cat owner when the cat is transferred to that new owner or at any time thereafter. A new suffix can then be added, rules allowing, by the new cat owner. See SUFFIX.

TRANSFER - The recording of a change of ownership of a previously-registered cat. A registration certificate issued by CFA to the new registered owner.

V NUMBER - The Stud Book volume number given to a cat when the cat's first litter is registered with CFA. The V Numbers issued prior to 1981 are listed consecutively backwards - V112 = 1980, V111 = 1979, etc. From 1981 forward, the V Numbers correspond to the month and year in which the cat's first litter was registered; such as, V1184 = November, 1984. See STUD BOOK.

Contact CFA | Privacy Policy | Credits | Search | FAQ

Copyright ©1995-2007 The Cat Fanciers' Association, with the exception of the photographic images which are Copyright © by the individual photographers.