The Cat Fanciers’ Association, Inc.
Importing pets from Macau to Hong Kong
There is an official announcement of new arrangement to import pets from Macau to Hong Kong.
AFCD, Hong Kong government Department of Animal Import & Export Control, review and will start the new policy December 1, 2025, to shorten the quarantine duration from 4 months to 1 month under condition eg. rabies titre test, full vaccination for pets from Macau entering Hong Kong.
This is the first revision and a positive sign at least, the government willing to revise the traditional strict rules. Reviews of China and other countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Russia import requirement are also in progress.
We've been communicating with the regarding parties for the special waiver on upcoming CFA show in August, 2025 in conjunction with the WCC annual meeting. Hopefully, the approval will be granted to encourage overseas exhibitors.
2024: Off to a Busy Start
It has been a busy year for CFA, with the usual highs and lows, but accentuated each weekend with the beautiful cats who bring us all together.
Humanitarian Aid: To date, CFA has provided over €20,000 in food, supplies and equipment aid throughout Ukraine. CFA has been fortunate to work hand in hand with FIFe, WCF, Rolandus Union in Ukraine to provide crucial support to all breeders, regardless of association, in addition to supporting stray and abandoned cats in Odessa and Dobrokit. Our breeders have helped to evacuate cats for placement in new and temporary homes and we assisted in the relocation of 96 Abyssinians.
CFA honors outstanding achievement in the cat fancy with our “Star Award” and “Diamond Star Award”. Several individuals were acknowledged with this high award for their humanitarian work, including:
• Andy Valles (USA) for Burmese rescue in Ukraine.
• Dr. Oleksa Kailash Puri Chyzhenko (Ukraine), Veterinarian and Coordinator of the team of 6 Veterinarians and Vet Surgeons who provide medical and surgical treatment to all cats in need.
• Pam DelaBar (Finland), CFA Allbreed Judge & Region 9 Director, who has spent untold hours fund raising, procuring supplies and coordinating distribution efforts for the cats & animals of Ukrainian evacuations.
• Adrian Alexandru Drogota (Romania), President, Romanian FIFe, who has been responsible for the purchase and arranging the transportation of food and supplies to CFA breeders and owners in the Odessa, Ukraine area.
• Olga Grebneva (Ukraine), CFA Allbreed Judge and former Rolandus Union International Judge, for her service to CFA clubs when faced with the fact that her home was under attack when the war started in February. Olga rescued cats and dogs in the area that had been left behind by evacuating people.
• Dmitriy Gubenko (Ukraine), Rolandus Union International Judge, for his work in providing needed cat food and supplies to breeders and owners in Ukraine.
• Satu Hämäläinen (Finland), FIFe Category 1, 2, 3 and 4 judge, who volunteers her time for rescue efforts in Ukraine.
• Olga Korotonozhkina (Ukraine ) CFA Allbreed Judge and former Rolandus Union International Judge, for her service to CFA clubs when her home was under attack when the war started in February. Olga is a veterinarian, and in addition to assisting in rescue and relief, is providing ongoing free veterinary care to those animals now left homeless.
• Aneta Makowska (Poland), FIFe Judge, for her on-going work as the center point for collection of donated food and supplies for cat and dog breeders and owners in Ukraine.
• Olga Rakitnyh (Ukraine), Vice President and Judge for Rolandus Union International, for identifying urgent needs for cat breeders and owners throughout the massive area in and around Kyiv, Ukraine when the war started and her ongoing efforts to provide support.
• Yana Tyabut, President of Dobrokit, who coordinated the rescue operation from A-Z in the Ukraine. She works with a team of volunteers and acts as the spider in the center of the web.
• Andrew Ustinov (Ukraine), President and Judge for Rolandus Union International, who assisted rescue efforts in Ukraine.
• Peter Vanwonterghem (Belgium), CFA Allbreed Judge, for his on-going fund raising activities for Felinus and Dobrokit Cat Rescue and determination to assist the cats and animals affected by the Ukrainian evacuations.
• Yanina L. Vanwonterghem (Belgium), CFA Allbreed Judge, who is the coordinator, promoter, inspirer and motivator of the Felinus and Dobrokit Cat Rescue project.
CFA Annual Meeting
The 2023 CFA Annual Meeting was held June 22-25, 2023, at the JW Marriott Tucson Star Pass Resort and Spa, Tucson, Arizona. The event featured a Thursday night symposium and hospitality hosted by EveryCat Health Foundation (formerly Winn Feline Foundation) featuring Dr. Brian Murphy, Dr. Brian Holub, Dr. Drew Weigner, and Peter Cohen. EveryCat is the world’s only nonprofit focused solely on feline health. Since 1968, EveryCat has awarded grants for groundbreaking research that benefits every cat, every day. From disease prevention and veterinary treatment to healthy home habits, EveryCat advances the science of better medicine for millions of cats and their cat-loving owners just like us. EveryCat has funded over $9 million US in feline health research grants, supported 200 million cats, and has funded over 200 health studies.
Also held on Thursday was a judges’ workshop featuring general topics, such as the British Shorthair Corin mutation and the Siberian BiMetallic. Executive Director Allene Tartaglia provided a PowerPoint of good and not so good judges book markings, and Kathy Calhoun had a presentation on the International Division, including the requirement to have mandatory Bay Check-in anywhere in the ID in April 2024. Breed presentations were done via zoom (8/15/23 Maine Coon, 9/21//23 Lykoi. Judges from all associations are always welcome at our workshops.
A Friday hospitality party was hosted by the home region, which was enjoyed by a large crowd. The event was topped off by the Saturday night cocktail hour, followed by the Awards Dinner and Ceremony, at which we honored our National Winners from the three award areas. The following cats in one of those areas (Regions 1-9 – U.S., Japan and Europe), along with their breeders and owners were recognized, as well as the top 24 other cats in each of the categories (Kitten, Championship, Premiership, Household Pet) and the top 3 winners in each breed.
CFA Cat of the Year
GC, BWR, NW Gemquest Olive You Forever
CFA’s Regions 1-9 Cat of the Year was GC, BWR, NW Gemquest Olive You Forever, a Black Persian female born December 29, 2021. Olive’s breeder is Eric Simpson, and owners are Eric Simpson and Robert Selman of North Carolina. The Championship competition is for unaltered pedigreed cats over the age of eight months. Olive was highest scoring kitten in her last 5 kitten shows before continuing her winning ways as an adult.
CFA Kitten of the Year
NW Babyray’s Elon Musk
The Regions 1-9 Kitten of the Year was NW Babyray’s Elon Musk, a Blue British Shorthair Male. The Kitten competition is for unaltered or altered, pedigreed kittens between the ages of four and eight months.
CFA Premiership Cat of the Year
GGC, GP, NW Cinema’s Copperfield of Calcat
The Regions 1-9 Premiership Cat of the Year was GC, GP, NW Cinema’s Copperfield of Calcat, a copper-eyed white Persian. The Premiership competition is for altered pedigreed cats over the age of eight months.
CFA Household Pet of the Year
GH, HNW, AW Guimauve Grillee
The Regions 1-9 Household Pet of the year was GH, HNW, AW Guimauve Grillee, a Chocolate Lynx Point Neuter.
Delegate Meeting
The delegate meeting was chaired by President Richard Mastin. 530 qualifying member clubs voted for five directors at large, with the follow results:
DIRECTORS AT LARGE:
Dr. Marilee Griswold - Blythewood, South Carolina
Pauli Huhtaniemi - Viiala, Finland
Carol Krzanowski - Manahawkin, New Jersey
Anne Mathis - Fowlerville, Michigan
Darrell Newkirk - Las Vegas, Nevada
The October meeting features changes to our Show Rules. Notable actions include:
• The replacement of “Winn Foundation” with “EveryCat Health Foundation” and the addition of “Breeder Assistance Program”; the addition of the “CFA Foundation, Inc” to the list of suggested donation recipients.
• Add “Guest Judges at the Approved Guest Judge level” to the list of persons who may be called upon for judging engagements without prior approval of the Judging Program Guest Judge Administrator.
• Limit to guest judges at the Guest Judge Level the requirement that a guest judge must serve as a specialty judge in CFA shows unless a specialty-only CFA judge would be serving as the required specialty judge.
• Delete the requirement that guest judges at the Guest Judge Level be scheduled to judge on the second day of a two-day show.
• Make the use of the CFA entry clerk program mandatory for all entry clerks.
• Provide an exception to the requirements for judging cage sizes for shows in Japan.
• Add rule governing power outages and other unsafe situations.
• Harmonize the language of the rules governing judging fees paid to Approval Pending and Apprentice judges and clarify the judging fee to be paid to Associate Judges.
• Clarify the number of shows in which a cat or kitten can be entered or shown on a given weekend.
The 2024 CFA International Cat Show and Expo
The 2024 CFA International Cat Show and Expo will be held October 12/13, 2024 at the I-X Center, Cleveland, Ohio. The 1,000 entry show has 16 judges and includes Cat Agility and Household Pets. The two-day event will come to a colorful conclusion on Sunday with the selection of Best-of-the-Best Winner. We invite you to come celebrate over 1,000 famous cats, fancy cats, adoptable cats, athletic cats, and influencer cats. 15,000-20,000 feline enthusiasts will enjoy two full days of cat competitions, performances, adoptions, shopping, contests, and more!
Changes to Breed Standards or Registration Rules
In February, the Board will consider previously balloted items regarding changes to breed standards or registration rules which receive a favorable recommendation from each of our 42 Breed Councils. The Breed Councils are comprised of qualified individuals experienced in their chosen breed/division section, and serve as an advisory body on breed standards to the CFA Executive Board.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, we wish all of the members of the World Cat Congress success in bringing our beautiful cats onto the show bench and showing them off to the world!
Regards,
Rachel Anger, Secretary
The Cat Fanciers’ Association, Inc.
Governing Council of the Cat Fancy
New GCCF Videos
The original GCCF List of Defects was passed by Council in June 1985, and became a preface to the SOP Booklet.
We have now produced two videos to illustrate the possible defects that may be found in any cat breed, to assist Judges, breeders, exhibitors, and pet owners.
Luna the Cat's Intriguing Tales
Luna the Cat's Intriguing Tales
Introducing a fantastic rhyming children’s picture book, by Jay Walternash, now available to purchase online!
Inspired by the author’s British Shorthair cat, Luna. In this delightful picture book, Luna the cat's attention is caught by something quick and mysterious that races past. Luna eagerly gives chase, but will she find out what it was that sped by? A fun and engaging picture book for children, with a lovable cat character.
