Which Cat Registry Should You Join? A Guide for US and Canadian Breeders

A registry is the organization that records your cattery name, your cats' pedigrees and every litter you produce. It is what turns "a Ragdoll" into "a registered Ragdoll with four generations of known ancestors." In the US and Canada, when a breeder adds a registration, Purry can check it with four of them: TICA, CFA, ACFA and CCA-AFC. Any one of the four earns the Registry Checked chip. Outside North America the accepted registries depend on the country, and Cat Registries Around the World covers them.

This guide is for a new breeder deciding where to register, and for an established one wondering whether to add a second registry. Fees are taken from each registry's published price list and were checked in September 2026. Registries change fees, usually once a year, so confirm before you pay.

The short version

• TICA is the largest by breed count, the most open to new breeds, and the one most small US catteries start with. Cheapest per litter and per kitten.
• CFA is the oldest and the most conservative. Slower to accept breeds, stricter on what counts as a breed. A CFA pedigree carries weight with buyers who know the show world.
• ACFA is small and informal, with the friendliest show scene. Registration fees are not published online, so you have to ask.
• CCA-AFC is Canada's national registry. If you breed in Canada, it is the local show and registration network; if you are in the US, you will rarely need it.

Many catteries register with two. Dual registration lets you show in both circuits and sell to buyers who ask for a specific pedigree, and the second registry usually accepts your first registry's pedigree for a fee.

Fee comparison

All fees are the registry's published price at the time of checking. TICA, CFA and ACFA prices are in US dollars. CCA-AFC prices are in Canadian dollars.

A few things the table hides:

TICA offers new and existing catteries a registration incentive: five individual cat registrations for $15 with additional registrations at $12, which is worth asking about when you register your first litter.

CFA's early-bird pricing is the norm, not the exception. Register the litter within four months of birth and each kitten within 30 days of sale and you pay $20 rather than $25 for each.

ACFA sets its registration fees by board decision and prints them on its forms rather than its website. Its site is dated and some pages do not load; the membership application PDF and the central office (acfa@aol.com, 417-725-1530) are the reliable routes. Members registering 12 or more cats at once get 50 percent off registration fees.

CCA-AFC charges non-members double for almost everything, so if you plan to register more than a litter a year, membership pays for itself quickly.

What each registry is like

TICA, The International Cat Association

Founded in 1979 as a genetic registry, meaning it records the pedigree and genetic background of every cat rather than only its breed status. TICA recognizes 73 breeds, the most of the four, and has historically been the registry where new breeds get their start. The Bengal, Savannah, Munchkin, Pixiebob, Toyger, Highlander and Lykoi all reached championship in TICA first, and some, like the Savannah and Munchkin, are still not recognized by CFA.

TICA was also the first registry to let non-pedigreed household pets compete for titles, which shapes the feel of its shows: bigger, more varied, and less formal than CFA's.

For a new breeder, TICA's practical advantages are that you can register without becoming a member, the per-kitten cost is the lowest, and the online portal handles most transactions. The cattery name is a one-time fee. If you want to appear in TICA's breeder directory you pay $80 a year on top, and only members can list, so the real first-year cost of a listed TICA cattery is around $200 (cattery registration, code of ethics, membership, breed section, listing) and around $115 a year after.

CFA, The Cat Fanciers' Association

Founded in 1906 and the oldest registry in North America. CFA recognizes about 45 breeds, in three classes: Miscellaneous, Provisional and Championship. A breed advances only with a large breeder base, a track record in shows and a board vote, which is why CFA takes years longer than TICA to accept a new breed and why it does not recognize some at all. The Bengal is the recent example: accepted for registration in 2016, championship in 2018, and only for cats five generations removed from the Asian leopard cat.

CFA is also conservative within breeds. The Siamese in CFA is only the four traditional point colors; the same cat in other colors is registered as a Colorpoint Shorthair. On the other side, CFA grants championship to the RagaMuffin, which TICA does not recognize.

CFA has no individual membership. You join a CFA member club, and clubs hold the voting power in the association. Registration is open to non-members. The cattery name works differently from the others: $100 buys five years, renewals are $60, and you can pay $200 more to make it permanent.

For buyers who follow the show world, a CFA pedigree is the traditional mark. If your breed is well established and you plan to show seriously, CFA is worth having even as a second registry.

ACFA, The American Cat Fanciers Association

Founded in 1955 and considerably smaller than TICA or CFA. ACFA describes itself as "more than just a cat registry, your friendly association," and that is a fair summary: a club-sized organization with an active show circuit, mostly in the central and western US, and a reputation for being easy to deal with.

ACFA's registration rules list around 70 breeds eligible for championship, including newer breeds such as the Highlander, Toybob and Scottish Straight, and it accepts pedigrees from other registries it considers to have equal standards. Membership is $65 a year for an individual or $90 for a family, and includes the breeders directory listing, the ACFA bulletin and voting rights.

The drawback is visibility. ACFA does not publish registration fees on its website, the site itself is old, and fewer buyers know the name. It works well as a second registry for showing, or as a first registry if there is an active ACFA club near you.

CCA-AFC, The Canadian Cat Association

Canada's national registry since 1960, bilingual, and the home circuit for Canadian shows. Registration prices are in Canadian dollars and non-members pay double, so Canadian breeders join. You must be a member to register a cattery name.

CCA-AFC accepts pedigrees from other registries at $24 CAD for members, so a Canadian cattery already registered with TICA or CFA can add CCA-AFC cheaply. For a US breeder it is mainly relevant if you sell to Canadian buyers who want a local pedigree, or import from Canadian lines.

How to choose

If you are in the US and starting out, register with TICA. It is the lowest cost to get going, does not require membership, recognizes the most breeds, and the process is online. Add CFA later if your breed is in championship there and you want to show in both circuits or sell to CFA-minded buyers.

If your breed is not recognized by CFA (Savannah, Munchkin, Pixiebob, Toyger, Highlander and several others), TICA is the registry, and ACFA is the second option for showing.

If your breed is a CFA specialty (Persian, Exotic, RagaMuffin, or a traditional-color Siamese line), CFA first, then TICA for the wider show circuit.

If you are in Canada, CCA-AFC plus TICA is the common pairing.

If there is an ACFA club that shows near you, join it. Small circuits are where new exhibitors learn fastest.

Whichever you choose, register the cattery name before the first litter is born, so the kittens carry it on their papers from the start, and keep every registration current. A pedigree with a gap in it is the first thing an experienced buyer notices.

What Purry checks

Every seller on Purry verifies their ID. Breeders can also have their registry checked for the Registry Checked chip: add the registry, your registered cattery name, your registration number and the owner name as the registry record shows it on your Profile, any time, and a person checks it by hand against the registry. The registries we accept depend on the country you breed in: in the US and Canada, any of these four counts. Breeding somewhere else? Cat Registries Around the World lists the registries Purry accepts in each country. You do not need a breeder directory listing or a club membership; the cattery registration is what we check.

Set up your cattery on Purry

Sources and further reading

• TICA, Explore our Price List: https://tica.org/explore-our-price-list/
• TICA, Browse all breeds: https://tica.org/breeds/browse-all-breeds/
• CFA, Price List effective May 1, 2026: https://cfa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/CFA-price-list.pdf
• CFA, Register a Cattery Name: https://cfa.org/register-a-cattery/
• CFA, How breeds get their start in CFA: https://cfa.org/cat-talk/how-breeds-get-their-start-in-the-cat-fanciers-association/
• CFA, Bengal breed page: https://cfa.org/breed/bengal/
• ACFA, About: https://www.acfacat.com/about.htm
• ACFA, Membership application (dues): https://acfacat.com/documents/ACFA%20Membership%20Application.pdf
• ACFA, 2026 Registration Rules: https://acfacat.com/documents/2026%20Reg%20Rules.pdf
• CCA-AFC, Registering a Cat: https://www.cca-afc.com/RegisteringCat
• CCA-AFC, Price List: https://www.cca-afc.com/Publications/PriceList
• Purry guide: How to become a registered cat breeder in the US: /guides/how-to-become-a-cat-breeder
• Purry guide: How much does it cost to breed cats: /guides/how-much-does-it-cost-to-breed-cats

Fees were checked against each registry's published price list in September 2026. ACFA registration fees are not published online and are set by its board; contact the ACFA central office for current amounts. CCA-AFC prices are in Canadian dollars.