TICA is a cat registry which truly honors the Household Pet. In TICA, the household pets are all "registered" with an individual number. The numbers are part of they entry forms and records. In this way TICA can track all the wins in the Household Pet rings in shows through out the show season.
TICA awards International Cat and Kitten titles to the top winning 20 cats and kittens in Household Pets.
TICA's Top International Winning Household Pets 2003 |
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 Best International HHP 2003 Nicole Owners: Wayne & Gloria Mahan Photo Credit: Jim Brown |
 Best HHP Kitten 2003 Twist Of Fate Owner: Shawne B. Vaught Photo Credit: Chanan |
While they can be shown in CFA, sadly, CFA doesn't register, score, track or award titles to HHP. In theory, they are prevented from doing so by the CFA Constitution.
There are however three Regions in CFA who do score and award prizes and titles to their household pet exhibitors every year - Regions 2, 5 and 8 (plus the HI division). Because the household pets do not have registration numbers, a volunteer in each region has to obtain the results from their region's shows and track the points by hand, working from show catalogs. As you can imagine, tracking the points is an awesome task and these three regions of CFA should be applauded.
Every Household Pet Is Welcome In TICA
Compared to other cat registries, TICA welcomes all Household Pets, without exception.
TICA (and ACFA) permits declawed cats to be shown. TICA also allows cats with physical handicaps, such as three legs or one eye, to be shown. CFA does not permit declawed cats or cats with missing appendages.
Longhair or Shorthair
To determine if a Household Pet cat should be shown as a longhair or shorthair, look at the fur on the tail. If the hair on the tail is a minimum of 1.5 inches and is fluffy, the cat is usually a longhair. If the tail hair is less than 1.5 inches, the cat is a shorthair. NOTE: The length of the tail hair on a longhair kitten may be shorter.
Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder
In household pets the standards for judging are very broad. Basically the judge is looking for a "nice cat". Is the coat clean? Is it free of flea dirt? Are the corners of the eye clean? Are the ears clean inside? Is it a good weight for its size, or is it overweight or scrawny? How does it handle? Is it purring, or scared or somewhere in between? Is it beautiful or have some unusual marking? (Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.) It does not have to do any tricks (this is not a talent competition), but it is helpful if it doesn't try to bite the judge!
What Color?
The importance of the cat's color depends on the association. In CFA it really doesn't matter. In TICA, HHPs are judged within color groupings and it is quite important. In TICA, the Household Pets have 10 Color Divisions:
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Solid
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Tabby
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Tortie
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Shaded
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Pointed
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Solid and White
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Tabby and White
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Tortie and White
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Shaded and White
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Pointed and White
To decide which division your can should be entered in, follow these rules:
- A solid colored cat with a white locket is shown in the Solid Division.
- If the cat looks like a tabby, it is shown in the Tabby Division.
- Silvered and non Silvered Tabbies are shown in the Tabby Division.
- All Tabbies\Torbies are shown in the Tabby Division.
- If the cat has chinchilla, shaded, or smoke tipping (may be silver or golden), it is shown in the Shaded Division.
- If the cat's the extremities (face, ears, feet, tail) are darker than the body, the cat is shown in the Pointed Division.
- The basic five divisions are combined with 'And White' to give the 10 Divisions.
In Conclusion
One of the most admirable features of the cat fancy is how it makes room in their shows for the unpedigreed kitty. Many shows in most associations encourage Household Pets by providing classes for their exhibition. Amongst all the associations, TICA places the greatest value on their Household Pet Division by providing registration numbers and awarding the same titles to the top winning HHPs each year as they due to their pedigreed breeds. Bravo TICA!