Cat's World

In many countries cats have taken the place of dogs' long time ago. In Australia or France, for example, proportion is one cat per every three homes. In Great Britain there are more than six millions domestic cats, and in the United States there more than five times that number, which means that in one of every five British and American homes there is at least one cat per family.

Cats without pedigree: Most cats are not pedigreed. This means they do not belong to any of the established pure breeds taken into account by the cat friends national organizations. They are what you call "alley cats", name with which they are known everywhere. The typical domestic cat is the result of generations of casual breeding, although sometimes the characteristics of certain established breeds predominate. Nothing suggests that cats without pedigree are inferior to their high class peers, and in fact proves point out to the contrary. It is highly probable that evolution might have made weak individuals to disappear and that excessive litters and genetic manipulations are responsible for much of their health problems. A stunning example is that of the Persian Pekinese, acknowledged in North America, whose breeding to reduce the size of the snout and to give it the typical flat shape has caused the animal to have breathing problems in its lachrymal conduits and the bad closing of the denture, which prevents his normal feeding.

Pedigreed cats: It is estimated that approximately one of every fifteen domestic cats are pedigreed. To be pedigreed, the inscribed family tree members of the animal have to go back to four generations or more, and they all have to be the same race in the corresponding genealogical register. But it is quite common for most cats not to be identified with absolute certainty, sometimes its even difficult to determine who their parents are. In general most countries count with a unique institution that establishes and gathers the recognized breeds found there. In the case of the United States this is more complex, due that there are several registering institutions and a different concept on which breeds should be accepted.

Many breeds considered as different in one country may be considered as a variety of the same breeds in another and otherwise. Nevertheless, many associations have grouped under the sponsoring IFF (International Feline Federation) in an intent to standardize the breeds and the rules for exhibitions at an international scale.