The Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFé) (in English "International Feline Federation") is a federation of

cat registries A cat registry or cat breed registry, also known as a cat fancier organization, cattery federation, or cat breeders' association, is an organization that registers domestic cats (usually purebred) of many breeds, for exhibition and for breeding ...

. There are currently forty-two member organizations in forty countries. Membership spans

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. FIFé is one of the nine members of the

World Cat Congress The World Cat Congress (WCC) is an international confederation of the biggest international federations and national associations in the cat fancy. Purpose The purpose of the WCC is to promote better understanding and co-operation among the worl ...

History

Founded by Marguerite Ravel, the federation was unofficially started in 1949 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France, at a meeting between the '' Fédération Féline Française'' (French Cat Federation), the Royal Cat Society of Flanders and the ''Società Felina Italiana'' (Italian Cat Society). At the organisation's first general assembly, in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, the federation was officially founded. For the occasion, all participants received a cat shaped statuette, in pink sandstone, that Marguerite Ravel had commissioned from the sculptor Jean Martel. The original name was or FIFE. In 1972 the

Brazilian Cat Club Brazilian commonly refers to: * Something of, from or relating to Brazil * Brazilian Portuguese, the dialect of the Portuguese language used mostly in Brazil * Brazilians, the people (citizens) of Brazil, or of Brazilian descent Brazilian may also ...

joined, making it necessary to change the Euro-centric name of the federation. The "d'Europe" was dropped, and the abbreviation was changed to FIFé.

Organisation

FIFé is organized into national sub-federations (e.g.

Felis Britannica ''Felis'' is a genus of small and medium-sized cat species native to most of Africa and south of 60° latitude in Europe and Asia to Indochina. The genus includes the domestic cat. The smallest ''Felis'' species is the black-footed cat with a he ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

) which handle pedigree registrations, cat shows and awards in each country. FIFé's Executive Board and General Assembly are supported by five commissions: *Judges & Standard Commission *Breeding & Registration Commission *Show Commission *Health & Welfare Commission *Disciplinary Commission

Members

* Asociación Felina Argentina
(1988) * Klub der Katzenfreunde
(1950) * Österreichischer Verband für die Zucht und Haltung von Edelkatzen,
(1979) * Felis Belgica vzw,
(1949) * National Federation of Felinology
(2006) * Federação Felina Brasileira
(1972) * Felinolog
(1994) * Fédération Féline Helvétique
(1949) * China Cat Union
(2018) * Asociación Club Felino Colombiano
(2009) * Český svaz chovatelů – Sdružení chovatelů koček
(1968) * 1. Deutscher Edelkatzenzüchter Verband e.V.
(1951) * Landsforeningen Felis Danica
(1950) * Eesti Kassikasvatajate Liit
(1994) * Asociación Felina Española
(1978) * Suomen Kissaliitto r.y.
(1961) * Fédération Féline Française
(1949) *

(2005) * Feline Federation of Greece
(1999) * Savez Felinoloških Društava Hrvatske
(1994) * Felis Hungarica - Magyar Macskások Egyesülete
(2008) * Indonesian Cat Association
(2007) * Kynjakettir Kattaræktarfélag Íslands
(1995) * Associazione Nazionale Felina Italiana
(1949) * Verein der Katzenzüchter Liechtensteins
(1981) * Lithuanian Felinology Association
(1994) * Cat Fanciers Clubs Association
(1995) * LUX-CAT-CLUB Fédération Féline Luxembourgeoise
(1983) * Association Feline Felis Moldova
(2015) * Federacion Felina de México A.C.
(1982) * Kelab Kucing Malaysia
(1985) * Felikat
(1949) * Vereniging Mundikat
(1979) * Norske Rasekattklubbers Riksforbund
(1951) * Polska Federacja Felinologiczna - Felis Polonia
(2007) * Clube Português de Felinicultura
(1987) * "Felis Romania"
(2007) * Felis Russica
(1989) * Zveza Felinoloških Društev Slovenije
(1981) * Federácia Felis Slovakia
(1993) * Ukrainian Felinology Union
(1998)

Recognized breeds

FIFe currently recognizes 48 official breeds of cats for championship competitions. All breeds are divided into four categories and identified with a three-letter code, according to the EMS. The EMS is a system used by FIFé, and all its members, to easily identify cats by alphanumeric codes.

References

External links