I have kept a record of my correspondence to the "International Cat association(TICA)" requesting them to start a "Registered cat club " in India. Having got a reply directly from the President of the "International cat Association" , a complete transcript is available for other cat enthusiasts to follow-through and help in establishing a "REGISTERED CAT CLUB" in India.
The Marketing Director,
Sir,
India is emerging as one of the World's fastest developing economy's as also "Pet Ownership".
Cats have become popular pets in India and it surprises me that there is no "Cat association" for conducting "Cat shows" or issuing "Pedigree Certificates" in the country.
Whats the reason for any Indian city not having a "REGISTERED CAT SOCIETY?"Dog Shows" are very popular in India with almost every major city conducting "Dog Shows" affiliated to various registered "Dog clubs". I live in Mumbai and a cat owner, having bred "Traditional Persian Cats", also blogging about cats on various sites.I request your organization to start a "Cat Fanciers Association " in India for the professional breeding and showing of cats in the Country.I have attached a photo of my 2 year old tom-cat "Matata" whom i would have loved to exhibit in a "Cat-Show".
Thanks,
Yours sincerely,
Rudolph.A.Furtado
Below is the reply from Vicky.Fisher, President of International Cat Association.
Hi Rudolph: Our Marketing Manager forwarded your email to me for response. First, let me say the picture you sent was great. He's a pretty handsome fellow.
OK, so what you are asking is not as simple as it sounds. Cat shows are organized and put on by clubs. The clubs are sanctioned by the registering bodies. Where there is not already an established cat fancy, you would need to find a group of people who are willing to form a club and assume the financial responsibility for a show. The major expense is flying judges in for the shows as you have none currently in your country.
As to simply registering cats, that can be done now. TICA has a central registry. The biggest problem is that you need a pedigree to register a purebred cat. Cats that can't be registered as purebred cats can be registered as Household Pet cats and still be shown, earn titles and awards. However, Household Pet cats must be spayed or neutered.
If you think you would like to try and form a club, we'd be happy to help. I'm happy to answer any other questions you might have.
Best wishes,
Vickie Fisher, President
The International Cat Association, Inc.
Here is my reply to the letter from the President of International cat Association.
Dear Vickie.Fisher,
Thanks for the prompt response to my query.As an individual i can just create an awareness for the establishment of a "Cat Fanciers Club" in India akin to the "Dog Show Club" which is booming .I write articles for various blogs , most prominent being "Pictures of cats" owned by Mr Michael.Broad from London. He guided me to your organization and hence the suggestion for installing a Cat Club and Competitions in Indian city's. I don't have the finances nor the wide reach that an organization like "TICA" possesses, hence hope you'll can approach other Indian cat owners and help in forming a "Cat Club" in India.I would definitely volunteer to be an active member of any "Cat Organization" once formed in India.I was formerly a dog owner and relished the days at "Dog shows" in Mumbai with my dachshund "Lucky" winning numerous prizes in the 1990's. Hope i see the formation of a "Cat Show Club" in Mumbai during my life-time, perplexed for the reasons of the same being non-existent although cat owners are numerous.
Thanks,
Rudolph.A.Furtado.
Received a reply from Vicky.Fisher and the same on view for cat fanciers to start a "Cat Club" in India.
Hi Rudolph. I did a little bit of "googling" and found a couple websites where there was interest in a cat fancy in India. Again, without a group of people who are willing to do the work of forming a club, getting people to enter a show, and financing a show, we are pretty limited in what we can do. I'd be happy to help you but am also limited. We can search animal related websites in India and see if they would like to link to the TICA website and offer information about cats. I would suggest that, if you are associated with the dog fancy, that there might be cat lovers in the group that would be interested in forming a cat club. We find many dog lovers in the United States also like cats.
I can ask the Executive Office to run a report to see if we have any TICA members in India. If so, we can contact them and perhaps offer you as a contact.
As to why there is not a cat fancy in India, I'm not sure. The cat fancy usually follows the dog fancy; even from the very beginning. The dog fancy is much, much older than the cat fancy. Dogs have always had more value attached to them than cats. Some countries have superstitions about cats; some countries have not had an economy that supports the fancy. Korea, for example, the older people in Korea are afraid of cats, so the cat fancy has been slowly developing as the younger people have come along. In Columbia, once the cities became safe from the drug lords and a class of young professionals began developing, there was an interest in a cat fancy. They are now working very hard to convince people that cats are valuable, supporting public education and spay/neuter efforts, and putting on cat shows. It has been slow and difficult for them.
The fancies started as a European thing and you'll find that those countries support the strongest fancies. The fancy started in Great Britain, spread to Europe and, of course, to the U.S. Japan picked up the cat fancy because of the U.S. influence. Argentina/Uruguay/Brazil started their fancy because of the European influence in those countries. Columbia didn't have the same degree of influence from Europe and were limited by their economy. In South Africa, the cat fancy there is because of the influence of the Dutch and British. Even in China, the fancy started in Hong Kong, and basically followed the British show formats. Australia follows the formats of the British. Not sure what happened in India - economy? Maybe you have some thoughts on that.
If you have some specific ideas of how we can help, let me know.
Vickie Fisher, President
The International Cat Association, Inc.
WEDNESDAY 17-8-2011 :- LETTER RECEIVED FROM Vickie.Fisher AFTER ANOTHER MEMBER Naznin OF SOCIAL GROUP "PERSIAN CATS, BREEDING AND UPKEEP", A SITE STARTED BY ME ON "FACEBOOK" WROTE TO HER.
Rudolph and Naznin: Meet each other! You are both interested in cat shows in India. Maybe you can work together to find others. We do have one member in India and I have written to her about interest in shows. I will continue to look for others.
It would be very exciting to have a cat fancy in India, but I have to tell you, it will not be easy. We are here to help, however.
Vickie Fisher, President
The International Cat Association, Inc
Letter from Vickie.Fisher after reading my blog on "HOW TO START A "CAT CLUB" IN INDIA".(Friday 19-8-2011).
Hi again, Rudolph. I'm not sure if I can post to your blog, but you might refer people to the two TICA websites. www.tica.org and www.ticau.com Our TICA website has videos from cat shows around the world and information about all of our breeds. TICA U has more general information about cats and things for children to do, too.
Vickie Fisher, President
TICA
Above Photo:-My Traditional Persian cats at home in Mumbai.(Sunday 25-3-2012)
CAT WHISTLEBLOWER ON INDIAN CAT BREEDING INDUSTRY.
CAT BREEDERS IN INDIA MIGHT GET ANTAGONIZED BY THE FACT THAT NO "INDIAN BRED CAT" IS RECOGNIZED BY ANY INTERNATIONAL "CAT FANCIERS ASSOCIATION" NOR ALLOWED TO COMPETE IN "CAT SHOWS" CONDUCTED IN FOREIGN COUNTRY'S.AKIN TO DOGS, CATS HAVE TO BE REGISTERED AT BIRTH WITH A "INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED CAT CLUB" PROVING 3 GENERATIONS OF ITS LINEAGE AND HENCE THE TERM "PEDIGREE".THE BETTER THE PEDIGREE LINEAGE OF THE CAT, THE COSTLIER IS ITS PRICE.IN INDIA SINCE THERE ARE NO CAT SHOWS NOR "CAT PEDIGREE CERTIFICATES" THE RIDICULOUS HIGH PRICES QUOTED FOR PERSIAN CATS ARE ON PAR WITH BUYING A "PEDIGREE CERTIFIED CAT" IN THE U.S.A,AUSTRALIA OR lONDON, COUNTRY'S WITH HIGHEST PET CAT DENSITY."NON-PEDIGREED CATS" COULD BE AVAILABLE "FREE" IN U.S.A FROM "CAT SHELTERS", WHERE MOST ARE "EUTHANISED" IF NOT ADOPTED. SURE MANNY CAT OWNERS IN MUMBAI AND MAJOR METROPOLITAN CITY"S WOULD BE JET-SETTERS TRAVELING WITH THEIR PETS AND WOULD LIKE TO COMPETE IN LOCAL CAT COMPETITIONS IF INTERESTED, QUITE COMMON IN EUROPE AND AMERICA.INDIAN CAT BREEDERS PLEASE LEAD THE EFFORTS IN CREATING A "CAT REGISTRY AND CAT CLUB" IN INDIA WHICH IS BENEFICIAL TO EVERYONE, THE BREEDER, THE CAT OWNER, CAT ENTHUSIASTS AND THE "CAT ECONOMIC INDUSTRY".TILL NOW ALL INDIAN CAT OWNERS PURCHASING CATS AT RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE PRICES SHOULD REALIZE THAT THEIR PETS, ALTHOUGH PRECIOUS TO THEM ARE NOT internationally RECOGNIZED BY ANY "CAT CLUB" AND ARE OF "DISCARD QUALITY" AS FAR AS "CAT SHOWS" ARE CONCERNED.AS A "PET" ANY CAT WOULD BE SUITABLE, HENCE ALL INDIAN BRED CATS ARE ONLY SUITABLE AS "PETS" AND CAN NEVER COMPETE IN ANY INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED CAT COMPETITION.PLEASE LET'S CREATE A "CAT CLUB" AT THE EARLIEST.
BELOW ARE THE DIARY'S THAT I HAVE MAINTAINED FOR MY CATS ON "CATSTERS" SITE,AKIN TO A HUMAN DIARY.CLICK ON THE PHOTO FOR ACCESS TO THE CATS DIARY.
This first diary is of my first pet cat "TRIXIE", an albino Siamese that i had rescued from certain death from a pet-shop in Mumbai in 1995.
THIS DIARY IS OF MY QUEEN PERSIAN CAT, "MATAHARI" THAT I PURCHASED ON THE DEMISE OF "TRIXIE" IN 2007.
THE THIRD DIARY IS OF "MATATA" THE KITTEN OF MATAHARI.
ONLY HOPING THAT A "CAT CLUB" IS STARTED IN INDIA AT THE EARLIEST.I HAVE DONE MY BEST IN TRYING TO CREATE "CAT PET AWARENESS" AMONG CAT OWNERS.
The Marketing Director,
Sir,
India is emerging as one of the World's fastest developing economy's as also "Pet Ownership".
Cats have become popular pets in India and it surprises me that there is no "Cat association" for conducting "Cat shows" or issuing "Pedigree Certificates" in the country.
Whats the reason for any Indian city not having a "REGISTERED CAT SOCIETY?"Dog Shows" are very popular in India with almost every major city conducting "Dog Shows" affiliated to various registered "Dog clubs". I live in Mumbai and a cat owner, having bred "Traditional Persian Cats", also blogging about cats on various sites.I request your organization to start a "Cat Fanciers Association " in India for the professional breeding and showing of cats in the Country.I have attached a photo of my 2 year old tom-cat "Matata" whom i would have loved to exhibit in a "Cat-Show".
Thanks,
Yours sincerely,
Rudolph.A.Furtado
 |
| Tomcat Matata and Queen cat Matahari at home in Mumbai awaiting to display themselves at a "CAT SHOW"(Sat 29-9-2012) |
Below is the reply from Vicky.Fisher, President of International Cat Association.
Hi Rudolph: Our Marketing Manager forwarded your email to me for response. First, let me say the picture you sent was great. He's a pretty handsome fellow.
OK, so what you are asking is not as simple as it sounds. Cat shows are organized and put on by clubs. The clubs are sanctioned by the registering bodies. Where there is not already an established cat fancy, you would need to find a group of people who are willing to form a club and assume the financial responsibility for a show. The major expense is flying judges in for the shows as you have none currently in your country.
As to simply registering cats, that can be done now. TICA has a central registry. The biggest problem is that you need a pedigree to register a purebred cat. Cats that can't be registered as purebred cats can be registered as Household Pet cats and still be shown, earn titles and awards. However, Household Pet cats must be spayed or neutered.
If you think you would like to try and form a club, we'd be happy to help. I'm happy to answer any other questions you might have.
Best wishes,
Vickie Fisher, President
The International Cat Association, Inc.
Here is my reply to the letter from the President of International cat Association.
Dear Vickie.Fisher,
Thanks for the prompt response to my query.As an individual i can just create an awareness for the establishment of a "Cat Fanciers Club" in India akin to the "Dog Show Club" which is booming .I write articles for various blogs , most prominent being "Pictures of cats" owned by Mr Michael.Broad from London. He guided me to your organization and hence the suggestion for installing a Cat Club and Competitions in Indian city's. I don't have the finances nor the wide reach that an organization like "TICA" possesses, hence hope you'll can approach other Indian cat owners and help in forming a "Cat Club" in India.I would definitely volunteer to be an active member of any "Cat Organization" once formed in India.I was formerly a dog owner and relished the days at "Dog shows" in Mumbai with my dachshund "Lucky" winning numerous prizes in the 1990's. Hope i see the formation of a "Cat Show Club" in Mumbai during my life-time, perplexed for the reasons of the same being non-existent although cat owners are numerous.
Thanks,
Rudolph.A.Furtado.
Received a reply from Vicky.Fisher and the same on view for cat fanciers to start a "Cat Club" in India.
Hi Rudolph. I did a little bit of "googling" and found a couple websites where there was interest in a cat fancy in India. Again, without a group of people who are willing to do the work of forming a club, getting people to enter a show, and financing a show, we are pretty limited in what we can do. I'd be happy to help you but am also limited. We can search animal related websites in India and see if they would like to link to the TICA website and offer information about cats. I would suggest that, if you are associated with the dog fancy, that there might be cat lovers in the group that would be interested in forming a cat club. We find many dog lovers in the United States also like cats.
I can ask the Executive Office to run a report to see if we have any TICA members in India. If so, we can contact them and perhaps offer you as a contact.
As to why there is not a cat fancy in India, I'm not sure. The cat fancy usually follows the dog fancy; even from the very beginning. The dog fancy is much, much older than the cat fancy. Dogs have always had more value attached to them than cats. Some countries have superstitions about cats; some countries have not had an economy that supports the fancy. Korea, for example, the older people in Korea are afraid of cats, so the cat fancy has been slowly developing as the younger people have come along. In Columbia, once the cities became safe from the drug lords and a class of young professionals began developing, there was an interest in a cat fancy. They are now working very hard to convince people that cats are valuable, supporting public education and spay/neuter efforts, and putting on cat shows. It has been slow and difficult for them.
The fancies started as a European thing and you'll find that those countries support the strongest fancies. The fancy started in Great Britain, spread to Europe and, of course, to the U.S. Japan picked up the cat fancy because of the U.S. influence. Argentina/Uruguay/Brazil started their fancy because of the European influence in those countries. Columbia didn't have the same degree of influence from Europe and were limited by their economy. In South Africa, the cat fancy there is because of the influence of the Dutch and British. Even in China, the fancy started in Hong Kong, and basically followed the British show formats. Australia follows the formats of the British. Not sure what happened in India - economy? Maybe you have some thoughts on that.
If you have some specific ideas of how we can help, let me know.
Vickie Fisher, President
The International Cat Association, Inc.
WEDNESDAY 17-8-2011 :- LETTER RECEIVED FROM Vickie.Fisher AFTER ANOTHER MEMBER Naznin OF SOCIAL GROUP "PERSIAN CATS, BREEDING AND UPKEEP", A SITE STARTED BY ME ON "FACEBOOK" WROTE TO HER.
Rudolph and Naznin: Meet each other! You are both interested in cat shows in India. Maybe you can work together to find others. We do have one member in India and I have written to her about interest in shows. I will continue to look for others.
It would be very exciting to have a cat fancy in India, but I have to tell you, it will not be easy. We are here to help, however.
Vickie Fisher, President
The International Cat Association, Inc
Letter from Vickie.Fisher after reading my blog on "HOW TO START A "CAT CLUB" IN INDIA".(Friday 19-8-2011).
Hi again, Rudolph. I'm not sure if I can post to your blog, but you might refer people to the two TICA websites. www.tica.org and www.ticau.com Our TICA website has videos from cat shows around the world and information about all of our breeds. TICA U has more general information about cats and things for children to do, too.
Vickie Fisher, President
TICA
Above Photo:-My Traditional Persian cats at home in Mumbai.(Sunday 25-3-2012)
CAT WHISTLEBLOWER ON INDIAN CAT BREEDING INDUSTRY.
CAT BREEDERS IN INDIA MIGHT GET ANTAGONIZED BY THE FACT THAT NO "INDIAN BRED CAT" IS RECOGNIZED BY ANY INTERNATIONAL "CAT FANCIERS ASSOCIATION" NOR ALLOWED TO COMPETE IN "CAT SHOWS" CONDUCTED IN FOREIGN COUNTRY'S.AKIN TO DOGS, CATS HAVE TO BE REGISTERED AT BIRTH WITH A "INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED CAT CLUB" PROVING 3 GENERATIONS OF ITS LINEAGE AND HENCE THE TERM "PEDIGREE".THE BETTER THE PEDIGREE LINEAGE OF THE CAT, THE COSTLIER IS ITS PRICE.IN INDIA SINCE THERE ARE NO CAT SHOWS NOR "CAT PEDIGREE CERTIFICATES" THE RIDICULOUS HIGH PRICES QUOTED FOR PERSIAN CATS ARE ON PAR WITH BUYING A "PEDIGREE CERTIFIED CAT" IN THE U.S.A,AUSTRALIA OR lONDON, COUNTRY'S WITH HIGHEST PET CAT DENSITY."NON-PEDIGREED CATS" COULD BE AVAILABLE "FREE" IN U.S.A FROM "CAT SHELTERS", WHERE MOST ARE "EUTHANISED" IF NOT ADOPTED. SURE MANNY CAT OWNERS IN MUMBAI AND MAJOR METROPOLITAN CITY"S WOULD BE JET-SETTERS TRAVELING WITH THEIR PETS AND WOULD LIKE TO COMPETE IN LOCAL CAT COMPETITIONS IF INTERESTED, QUITE COMMON IN EUROPE AND AMERICA.INDIAN CAT BREEDERS PLEASE LEAD THE EFFORTS IN CREATING A "CAT REGISTRY AND CAT CLUB" IN INDIA WHICH IS BENEFICIAL TO EVERYONE, THE BREEDER, THE CAT OWNER, CAT ENTHUSIASTS AND THE "CAT ECONOMIC INDUSTRY".TILL NOW ALL INDIAN CAT OWNERS PURCHASING CATS AT RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE PRICES SHOULD REALIZE THAT THEIR PETS, ALTHOUGH PRECIOUS TO THEM ARE NOT internationally RECOGNIZED BY ANY "CAT CLUB" AND ARE OF "DISCARD QUALITY" AS FAR AS "CAT SHOWS" ARE CONCERNED.AS A "PET" ANY CAT WOULD BE SUITABLE, HENCE ALL INDIAN BRED CATS ARE ONLY SUITABLE AS "PETS" AND CAN NEVER COMPETE IN ANY INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED CAT COMPETITION.PLEASE LET'S CREATE A "CAT CLUB" AT THE EARLIEST.
BELOW ARE THE DIARY'S THAT I HAVE MAINTAINED FOR MY CATS ON "CATSTERS" SITE,AKIN TO A HUMAN DIARY.CLICK ON THE PHOTO FOR ACCESS TO THE CATS DIARY.
This first diary is of my first pet cat "TRIXIE", an albino Siamese that i had rescued from certain death from a pet-shop in Mumbai in 1995.
THIS DIARY IS OF MY QUEEN PERSIAN CAT, "MATAHARI" THAT I PURCHASED ON THE DEMISE OF "TRIXIE" IN 2007.
THE THIRD DIARY IS OF "MATATA" THE KITTEN OF MATAHARI.
ONLY HOPING THAT A "CAT CLUB" IS STARTED IN INDIA AT THE EARLIEST.I HAVE DONE MY BEST IN TRYING TO CREATE "CAT PET AWARENESS" AMONG CAT OWNERS.
