 | |
| Founded | 1972 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Harold Klopper |
| Headquarters | Canning Vale, Western Australia |
President | Judith Jordan |
Vice President | Sandi Gemmell |
Key people | Diana Fagan Davis, Nell Evans, Sandi Gemmell, Margaret Bush |
| Website | www.acf.asn.au |
The Australian Cat Federation (ACF) is an Australian organisation created in 1972. Its goal is to better the breeding of cats, to recognise new breeds, and to keep standards and rules regarding competitions.
The association was created in 1972 under the name Australian National Cat Federation. The first ANCF cat show was organised in 1973 in Adelaide. The ANCF created its bimonthly publication National Cat in the same year, though its first issue would not appear until 1977. The association took its current name Australian Cat Federation in 1975.
In 1982, the association recognised the Somali cat, as well as the lilac and chocolate colours of the Persian cat. In 1984, the AFC adopted the standards set by the Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFé). The Balinese cat was recognised in 1985. In 1986, the ACF began to distance itself from the FIFé, and would not return until 1988. 1986 also saw an important modification in the Exotic Shorthair standard.
In 1991, the ACF recognised the Ragdoll. The 1993 cat show saw the introduction of the Australian method of judging, in which the judges move to the cats' boxes, rather than the other way around (known as Australian open-style judging). The Turkish Van and the Australian Mist (under the name spotted mist) were recognised in the same year. The Cymric was recognised in 1995. The Japanese Bobtail, the long-haired Scottish Fold, the Singapura, the Tonkinese and the Bengal were recognised in 1997, and the Sphynx, the Burmilla and the Ocicat in 1999. [1]
In 2001, the ACF hosted the annual meeting of the World Cat Congress (WCC) [2] and registered the first Selkirk Rex cats. Since the creation of the association, many arguments have been made for the creation of a common breeding registry with the other Australian feline association, Coordinating Cat Council of Australia (CCCA).
The Bengal cat is a domesticated cat breed created from hybrids of domestic cats, especially the spotted Egyptian Mau, with the Asian leopard cat. The breed name comes from the leopard cat's taxonomic name.
The Australian Mist is a breed of cat developed in Australia. It is a cross between the Abyssinian cat, the Burmese cat and Australian Tabby cat.
The York Chocolate was an uncommon American breed of show cat, with a long, fluffy coat and a tapered tail and most of them were mostly or entirely chocolate-brown or the dilute form of brown, known as lavender. The breed was named after New York state, where it was established in 1983. This breed was created by color-selecting domestic long-haired cats of mixed ancestry. The breed was not widely recognized by cat registries. It was not recognized by the major organizations such as The International Cat Association (TICA), the Cat Fanciers' Association or Fédération Internationale Féline. By 2015 there was only one listed breeder of York Chocolates. By 2016, no registry carried its breed standard, there were no breeder websites and the breed is considered extinct. Although similar looking random-bred cats can be found today, without pedigree papers these are not York Chocolate cats.
A domestic short-haired cat is a cat of mixed ancestry—thus not belonging to any particular recognised cat breed—possessing a coat of short fur. In Britain they are sometimes colloquially called moggies. Domestic short-haired cats are distinct from the British Shorthair, American Shorthair, and other standardized breeds with "Short-hair" names recognized by various registries. Domestic short-haired cats are the most common kind of cat in the United States, accounting for around 95% of their number. Other generic terms include house cat and alley cat.
The Cymric is a breed of domestic cat. Some cat registries consider the Cymric simply a semi-long-haired variety of the Manx breed, rather than a separate breed. Except for the length of fur, in all other respects the two varieties are the same, and kittens of either sort may appear in the same litter. The name comes from Cymru, the indigenous Welsh name of Wales, though the breed is not associated with Wales, and the name was possibly given as an attempt to provide a "Celtic"-sounding name for the breed. The breed's Manx bloodline originated in the Isle of Man, though Canada claims to have developed the long-haired variant. The breed is called the Longhair Manx or a similar name by some registries.
The Scottish Fold is a breed of domestic cat with a natural dominant gene mutation that affects cartilage throughout the body, causing the ears to "fold", bending forward and down towards the front of the head, which gives the cat what is often described as an "owl-like" appearance.
The Munchkin cat or Sausage cat is a relatively new breed of cat characterized by its very short legs, which are caused by genetic mutation. The Munchkin is considered to be the original breed of dwarf cat.
The Burmese cat is a breed of domestic cat, originating in Burma, believed to have its roots near the Thai-Burma border and developed in the United States and Britain.
The Snowshoe is a breed of cat originating in the United States of America in the 1960s. Snowshoes were first produced in Philadelphia when a Siamese breeder's cat gave birth to three kittens with white feet. The breeder, Dorothy Hinds-Daugherty, then began a breeding program to produce what were originally called "Silver Laces", crossing the strangely marked Siamese cats with bi-color American Shorthair cats and other breeds. When Hinds-Daugherty left the program, Vikki Olander began working with the cats and recruited new breeders, as well as worked towards full recognition within cat associations. Despite having existed for 45 years, Snowshoes are rare due to the difficulty of reproducing the correct coat markings. The marks are based on recessive genes for color points and on the co-dominant but variably-expressed piebald pattern gene, making it difficult to predict the appearance of offspring.
The Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFé) is a federation of cat registries. There are currently forty-two member organizations in forty countries. Membership spans Europe, South America, and Asia. FIFé is one of the nine members of the World Cat Congress.
A cat registry or cat breed registry, also known as a cat fancier organization, cattery federation, or cat breeders' association, is an organization that registers domestic cats 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, breed descriptions, and the formal breed standards ; lists of judges qualified to judge at shows run by or affiliated with that registry, and sometimes other information. A cat registry is not the same as a breed club or breed society. 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 the organization and breeders.
The Thai or Wichien Maat is a newly renamed but old cat breed, related to but distinct from the Western, modern-style Siamese cat. This natural breed is descended from the cats of Thailand, and, among various groups of breeders in different times and places has also been called the Old-Style Siamese, Traditional Siamese, Classic Siamese; Wichien Maat ; and the Applehead, a nickname that originated in the 1950s. According to The International Cat Association: "The Thai is the breed dedicated to preserving the native pointed cat of Thailand in as close to its original form as possible."
The World Cat Congress (WCC) is an international confederation of the biggest international federations and national associations in the cat fancy.
The Canadian Cat Association is a non-profit organization in Canada whose mission is to promote the welfare of all cats in Canada, maintain a registry of pedigreed cats in Canada, and further the improvement of all breeds of cats in Canada. CCA-AFC is Canada's only globally-recognized national cat registry, with its pedigrees and registrations accepted by major global associations such as the Cat Fanciers' Association, The International Cat Association, and Fédération Internationale Féline. To date, CCA-AFC has registered over 190,000 cats.
Animal fancy is a hobby involving the appreciation, promotion, or breeding of pet or domestic animals.
The Persian cat is a long-haired breed of cat characterized by its round face and short muzzle. It is also known as the "Persian Longhair" in English-speaking countries. The first documented ancestors of Persian cats were imported into Italy from Persia around 1620. Widely recognized by cat fancy since the late 19th century, Persian cats were first adopted by the English, and then mainly by American breeders after World War II. Some cat fancier organizations' breed standards subsume the Himalayan and Exotic Shorthair as variants of this breed, while others treat them as separate breeds.
The Associazione Nazionale Felina Italiana is the Italian official registry association for catteries and cat breeding. It was formed in 1934 and is currently recognized by the Italian Ministerial decree dated 9 June 2005. Every year it organizes cat shows all over the country.