A cat registry or cat breed registry, also known as a cat fancier organisation, cattery federation, or cat breeders' association, is an organisation 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 authorised studs of recognised 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 is not the same as a breed
club or breed
society (these are specific-breed organisations 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 organise or license (sanction) cat shows. The
show procedures vary widely, and awards won in
one registry are not normally recognised 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 organisation and breeders.
