How Important Is Registration if 
I Just Have a Simple House Cat?

By Teri Champigny

The CFA (Cat Fancier's Association) reports that only a small number of cats are actually labeled as “pedigree”.  This number is between 3-5% of the entire cat population.  What does pedigreed mean?  The term pedigreed describes a cat that is bred from a particular parentage and conforms to the specific standard of what the breed should look like.  Pedigree breeds are registered with the CFA or another similar type organization called the International Cat Association (ICA).

You could compare these organizations similar to the AKC that pertains to dogs.  However, unlike dog breeds, there are only approximately 50 cat breeds that are recognized by these groups, and these breeds are very rare.

Some of the more popular cat breeds that you have probably heard of are the Persian and Siamese breeds. These fancy cats are typically owned by people who just want to have a nice looking pet and are not interested in entering them in any type of cat shows. These cats just have a certain look that some cat lovers are looking for.

If you are in the market for getting a new cat, you must determine what type of breed you're looking for. Since owning a cat has become more popular, the cat breeding industry has shot up to meet this demand. The need for more cats have caused improper and careless breeding. Thousands of felines are created just to sell to people who are looking for a simple house pet, as opposed to a fancy show cat.

What does this mean for you? It means that you must keep an eye on dishonest breeders trying to take advantage of you. Many people do not realize that having a cat is not like an electronic device. In other words, finding the right one for you is not like finding the perfect piece of stereo equipment or personal computer – you do not have to hunt down the right brand to get the best quality or go to a specific location to get the best price . In fact, if all you want is a simple house cat, then paying extra money to a high-end breeder may not be the best choice.

You are more than likely be inundated with high prices as well as being talked into just how vital it is to get a kitten that is registered. However, with cats, registration is not as important as some breeders would like you to think. Regardless of what you might have been told, registration does not mean much when it comes to cats. The truth is that all it takes for a cat to become “registered” is to mail a simple piece of paper with the appropriate lines of information filled in along with your payment and low and behold – that cat is “registered”.

The lesson here is to be careful that you're not getting swindled out of your money when you shop for a new cat. It is understandable if you want to go to a well-known breeder, but before you pay the extra money for a registered cat, continue your research and understand that unless your cat is one of the fancy 50 breeds of the CFA, then there is no need to pay a high price.