World Cat Congress Members

Governing Council of the Cat Fancy

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In the early 1900s various cat clubs in the United Kingdom organised their own shows and held their own registers of cats but systems varied and not all clubs recognised the registration systems of their rivals. After meetings and discussions, in 1910 the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy was formed with the aims of keeping the registers, licensing and controlling cat shows, looking after the welfare of pedigree cats and ensuring that the rules set up were not broken.  Today it maintains an office with a dozen staff who, in addition to registering over 30,000 cats a year, issuing certified pedigrees and dealing with the day to day running of the Cat Fancy, are also responsible for the various GCCF publications.

The GCCF is a democratic organisation with 143 Affiliated cat clubs - its members. These clubs send delegates to Council meetings where matters relating to the Constitution, Rules, appointment of judges, recognition of breeds, Standards of Points and Registration Policies are voted on. The members of the various GCCF Committees are also elected from among these delegates.

Individual cat breeders and owners may be members of as many area clubs or specialist breed clubs as they wish and elect their club committees and delegates. These clubs may then put forward proposals regarding the Constitution and Rules.

Specialist Breed Clubs send representatives to the relevant Breed Advisory Committee for their breed. BACs monitor the progress of candidates through the GCCF Judge Appointment Scheme for their breed group and propose to Council meetings the candidates for appointment as Probationer Judges and for promotion to Full Judges. They also propose amendments to the Standards of Points and Registration Policies, including health policies, for their breeds when necessary and are responsible for seeking the recognition and progression of new colours or patterns of their breeds.

The Executive Committee of the GCCF considers all proposed amendments to the Constitution, Rules, Standards of Points and Registration Policies, plus all applications for the recognition or promotion of new breeds and, when they are satisfied that there are no anomalies, propose these to Council for approval. They are also responsible for the granting of show licences and for decisions on the routine running of the Cat Fancy. They rely on their Genetics and Veterinary Sub-Committees for additional information.

With the exception of fixed penalties for breaches of certain rules, rule breaches and complaints on welfare grounds etc are considered by the GCCF Investigation Committee who, if they decide there is a genuine case, take the matter before the Disciplinary Committee for a decision. Any appeals against such decisions are heard by the separate Appeals Committee.

The GCCF has its own charity—the Cat Welfare Trust—that is currently supporting research into feline chronic gingivo-stomatitis, a common problem in all cat breeds as well as in domestic cats.