If you own a pedigree cat, and I imagine that includes most readers of this article, then you will probably have received a copy of the pedigree for your cat from the breeder.  To a breeder, this information is very important, but to the cat owner it may just be of passing interest, perhaps only to see how of the cat’s ancestors were champions etc.

But there’s quite a lot of other information there, so lets explore a bit deeper.

A pedigree certificate usually shows 4 or 5 generations of ancestors for the cat concerned, i.e. parents (referred to as the Sire & Dam), grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents etc.  For each generation we would see as a minimum the name of each ancestor, and maybe also any titles held (like Champion, possibly abbreviated to Ch.) which are often highlighted in red.  You might also see the word Premier (Pr.), which is a title equivalent in stature to Champion, but awarded to neutered cats instead of entire ones.  Obviously the cat would have been neutered after playing its part in the ancestral progression, and this is often seen paired with Champion, i.e. Ch. & Pr., which shows that the cat became a Champion, was later neutered, and subsequently earned the title of Premier.  A Grand Champion or Premier is the next level up, and is harder to earn because the competition is much stiffer.

Also on the pedigree would expect to see the variety of each ancestor, either written out in full, e.g. blue-eyed auburn & white Turkish Van, or in the form of a breed code, e.g. 13d od, which indicates an odd-eyed (od) auburn & white Turkish Van (13d).  Other examples are 13d7 bl, and 13d, the former being a blue-eyed (bl) cream & white Turkish Van (13d7), and the latter being the default amber-eyed (no eye-colour code) auburn & white Turkish Van.  Other variations are possible too, and different breeds of cat will have a different breed number instead of the 13d.

What else might we find on our pedigree certificate?  Well, we should see the registration number for the cat in question, and maybe also for some of its ancestors.  In the UK most Turkish Vans will be registered with the GCCF, who allocate a unique number to every cat.  In addition to this number, you will see some letters in front of it, for example CSSR.  This indicates that the cat has been recorded on the Supplementary Register, although it should be noted that cats can progress to other registers without the registration code being updated.  We won’t discuss what the different registers are here, suffice to say that it is a means of classifying cats based on the strength of their pedigree (i.e. purity of breed).

Other registration bodies exist, and use completely different numbering systems, both for the breed code and the registration number, so if it doesn’t follow the pattern described above, then don’t worry!

One final point to note is the prefix for the registered (pedigree) name of the cat.  This is generally the first word in the cat’s official name, and is a name applied for and reserved for use by an individual breeder.  Nobody can use that prefix apart from the breeder who owns it, who in turn must use it to prefix the name of every cat that they register with the GCCF.  In this way it instantly identifies the breeder of every cat in your pedigree, and helps to highlight the progression of various lines of breeding.  There is an exception to this, since it is possible to register cats even if you don’t have a prefix assigned to you.  In this case an administrative prefix, determined by the GCCF and changed annually, will be assigned.

I’ll now leave you to go away, dig out those pedigree certificates, and explore them with renewed interest!

Steve Lloyd