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FAQs All

FAQs All

This page has answers to our most frequently asked questions. You can scan the list of questions, or click the links below to see the questions for each topic.

Membership FAQ

How do I become a TICA member and what kind of memberships are available?

The most convenient way to join TICA is to first create an Online Service Account. As soon as you have an account, simply choose “Join TICA” from our Online Services. This will guide you through the necessary steps to apply and pay for your membership. TICA offers one year, five year, family and life memberships. View our current price list for more information.

Simply choose “Membership” from our Online Services. This will show you your current membership information and also let you renew or extend your current membership.

For an online membership, you can pay by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express & Diner’s Club) or PayPal.

  • Right to vote
  • Right to belong to a breed section choice
  • Complimentary subscription to the TICA Trend
  • Allows your cat(s) to earn points at TICA shows for titles, Regional and International Awards.

No matter when in a membership year (i.e., May 1-April 30) a person joins TICA, he/she must renew that membership on May 1 in accordance with By-Laws 113.1, 113.1.1 and 113.1.2. A new member paying membership dues anytime in April must indicate to which membership year the dues apply – to the current year ending April 30 or the following year beginning May 1. Membership dues are not prorated. See Standing Rules 103.

View our regions page.

All changes of any kind to a membership must be received in writing from the member.

Please check with the executive office to make sure your address is current and you are a member in good standing.

All requests for membership lists must follow the Standing Rules 103.1. No membership data will be sold or otherwise provided to any TICA member by the Executive Office except as follows: The TICA member must currently be in good standing; The TICA member must agree that the Membership Data will be used only for a stated purpose, which is related to TICA’s business, such as a mailing to members about shows, a pending election, a proposal to amend the Show Rules, a new TICA club, or the like; The member must agree not to copy or reuse the Membership Data, or to transfer the Membership Data to any other person or organization; If the Membership Data is provided on a form other than one-time use labels, all copies of it will be returned to TICA when the intended use is finished; The Membership Data provided will contain only names and mailing addresses, unless specifically approved by the Board of Directors.

Standing Rules

  • 1018.2 Amendments. Proposals to amend Standards shall be considered by the Board of Directors at annual or semi-annual meetings and must be in writing and received in accordance with ARTICLE EIGHTEEN, 118.2 of the TICA By-Laws. Proposals must be received by the Genetics and Rules Committees no later than 120 days prior to the opening day of the meeting. Proposals received after the 120-day deadline will be placed on the following meeting agenda.
  • 1018.2.1 Proposals must be on the approved form, R-4023 Proposal to Amend Standards (available from the Executive Office or tica.org).
  • 1018.2.1.1 Notification. Members are to be notified of action taken at the Board Meeting on proposals submitted by them with a target date of 10 working days after completion of the minutes.

By-Laws

  • 118.2 Amendment of Existing Standards. Proposed Standard amendments including but not limited to the addition or deletion of colors or the adoption of a new Standard for a recognized breed shall be submitted by the Breed Committee Chairperson to the Genetics, and Rules Committees 120 days prior to the Board meeting at which the changes are to be considered. The Genetics and Rules Committees shall act on the proposal within 15 days of receipt. Upon approval of the Genetics and Rules Committees, the Executive Office shall issue a ballot to all bonafide voting members of the Breed/Breed Group Section(s) no less than 100 days prior to the Board Meeting at which the changes are to be considered, to be counted by the official TICA Ballot Judge. Financial responsibility for said poll shall rest with the requesting party(ies).

Owners FAQ

Where are last years award-winning cats?
TICA cannot generally control statements made by individuals. However, TICA does not consider that it is in the best interest of TICA, the cat fancy as a whole, or to be to the benefit of cats in any way for complaints or allegations against TICA members, exhibitors or breeders to be posted to email lists or otherwise distributed.

View our catteries page.

View our publications links on the Resource menu at the top of the page.

Please see the official show calendar here: TICA Show Calendar.

Please see the official show calendar here: TICA Show Calendar

Under the Events menu, select Board Meetings

Refunds may be requested in writing from the Executive Office. See Contact Us on the Quick Menu below and email the Executive Office with the issue.

You can also submit a ticket to submit.work@tica.com

Refunds may be requested in writing from the Executive Office. See Contact Us on the Quick Menu below and email the Executive Office with the issue.

You can also submit a ticket to submit.work@tica.com

The fee for filing a complaint is $75.00, plus $2.00 for each page over 10 pages. The response fee is zero for up to 10 pages, plus $5.00 for each page over 10 pages. You may not reduce pages or text to reduce the number of pages you submit.

You may file either a formal or informal complaint against a judge. An informal complaint may be sent directly to the Judging Administrator. There is no filing fee for such a complaint and TICA will take no direct action based upon a informal complaint. However, this information is placed in the judge’s file and is reviewed when the judge seeks advancement. A formal complaint may be filed against a judge using the general complaint guidelines and by paying the appropriate fee. Such a complaint is handled as provided in this FAQ.

Your complaint or response, and all attachments, must be submitted on 8 1/2 x 11 paper (or standard size paper for those from outside North America), single sided. No post-its, small pieces of paper, or other under or oversized attachments are allowed. The text must be clearly legible. Your complaint must contain the specific TICA rules that you contend were violated.

Any supporting documentation and information must comply with the applicable rules. Any person providing supporting documentation that is not a party must be identified by full name, address and telephone number. The location of the originals of any documents submitted must be provided. Government records submitted by complaining parties must be certified.

All supporting declarations, as well as the complaint, should be sworn before a notary public or the equivalent.

You should submit all the pertinent information with your complaint or response. Please do not submit supplemental documentation or information after you have filed your complaint or response, as it will not be considered.

If you have filed or received a complaint, please obtain consent for email communications with Legal Counsel by contacting submit.work@tica.org. Please do not contact Legal Counsel by email to “file reports” about breeders, you will need to file a formal complaint.

Neither the TICA office or the legal committee provides status reports of any kind regarding pending complaints. If you have received a receipt from the TICA office for your filing fee, your complaint is being processed.

Phone: (+1) (956) 428-8046

Fax: (+1) (956) 428-8047

Email: inquiries@tica.org

The International Cat Association
P.O. Box 2684, Harlingen, Texas 78551

If your complaint was filed less than 120 days prior to a meeting of the board of directors (held 2 times a year – in May and the week before Labor Day), it is likely that your complaint will not be reviewed at that meeting, but at the following meeting. You may expect information of the initial action taken on your complaint approximately four to six weeks following the board meeting at which your complaint is reviewed.

Each complaint is reviewed individually, and therefore it is impossible to indicate what the outcome will be until that complaint is reviewed. Generally, TICA does not take any action on disputes between breeders or get involved in any sort of contractual disputes. However, if a written agreement provides that a TICA registration will be provided with a pet cat, generally the breeder is expected to comply with that agreement.
If you have a dispute with a breeder, some breeds have breed-specific organizations which may deal with those types of disputes, for example, MCBFA (the Maine Coon Breeders and Fanciers Association) and TIBS (The International Bengal Society).

  • The initial action taken by the board of the directors is usually either no action, at which point the complaint is closed, or the matter is set for hearing at the next board meeting. However, other action can be taken at the initial review.
  • Please note, TICA does not take “reports” on health issues.
  • Generally, TICA does not take any action on health issues. This is generally more suitable for a civil action.

If a response to your complaint is received, a copy will be forwarded to you.

Please do not submit a rebuttal to that response without a request by the legal committee that you do so.

Information provided in complaints and responses is not confidential; the entire complaint is forwarded to the responding party, and the entire response is forwarded to the complaining party.

TICA cannot generally control statements made by individuals. However, TICA does not consider that it is in the best interest of TICA, the cat fancy as a whole, or to be to the benefit of cats in any way for complaints or allegations against TICA members, exhibitors or breeders to be posted to email lists or otherwise distributed.

Upon receipt, email submit.work@tica.org and provide info regarding the date you received the complaint. A new date for your response will be set.

Upon receipt, email submit.work@tica.org and provide info regarding the date you received the complaint. A new date for your response will be set.

Exhibitors FAQ

How do I find out if all of my cat's shows have been scored?

Email scoring.questions@tica.org and request a CSR (Current Scoring Record).

  • Provide the cat’s name and registration number.
  • The fee is $5.00 (US) per report.
  • This report will show the points earned in each ring at each show.
  • You must be the registered owner of the cat in order to request a CSR.

The Executive Office will not provide the total points on cat’s standings for regional and international awards by phone. You can find this information by browsing through every category listed on: www.ticamembers.org/estimated_standings

  • You may request a CSR (Current Scoring Record) by emailing scoring.questions@tica.org.
  • Provide the cat’s name and registration number.
  • The fee is $5.00 (US) per report.
  • This report will show the points earned in each ring at each show.
  • You must be the registered owner of the cat in order to request a CSR.

First, browse through every category listed on: www.ticamembers.org/estimated_standings If you cannot find your cat, email scoring.questions@tica.org and request a CSR (Current Scoring Record).

  • Provide the cat’s name and registration number.
  • The fee is $5.00 (US) per report.
  • This report will show the points earned in each ring at each show.
  • You must be the registered owner of the cat in order to request a CSR.

Titles are different from scoring (different department). If you submit an application for recognition of wins and do not specify that your cat was shown pending or with a wrong registration number, the confirmation department will not notify the scoring department

  • The TICA Standing rules state: 601.1 Unregistered Cats. Unregistered cats may be shown only once in TICA without a registration number. All points and/or wins for Annual Awards acquired by an unregistered cat in the second and/or subsequent shows shall be irrevocably lost. The exhibitor is obligated to furnish the registration number to the entry clerk or master clerk and the Executive Office. In order to obtain credit for any points and/or wins received at the first show where the cat, kitten, alter, household pet adult or household pet kitten was shown as unregistered, the owner must notify the Executive Office in writing requesting the first show to be credited and stating the name, date and location of the show, and the name of cat, breed (if applicable), registration number, and entry number.

According to TICA Standing Rule: 901.2 Color Awards.

  • In order to receive a color award, cats must be registered in the correct color (color in which they were shown) by May 7th.
  • Return the original registration certificate to the Executive Office, along with a $7.00 correction fee. (Please specify the correct color)
  • In TICA, cats are registered genetically and shown phenotypically. Therefore, if your cat shown looks different from its genetic color, you must inform the Executive Office to receive a color award.

Email the Executive Office with the correct registration number. Provide a list of all shows to include the name and date for any needed corrections.

These show reports are compiled by volunteer show reporters on the TICA mailing list. These show reports are not an official publication of The International Cat Association. The show results in this archive are compiled from marked catalogs that have not been verified by the TICA Executive Office and, as such, may not be construed as official results. Official scoring is done in the TICA Executive Office, independently of these reports.

These show reports are compiled by volunteer show reporters on the TICA mailing list. These show reports are not an official publication of The International Cat Association. The show results in this archive are compiled from marked catalogs that have not been verified by the TICA Executive Office and, as such, may not be construed as official results. Official scoring is done in the TICA Executive Office, independently of these reports.

The mission of the Feline Welfare Committee is to assist TICA members with feline welfare issues, to make recommendations to the Board of Directors regarding programs to promote feline welfare and responsible breeding, to create and assist in programs that will aid TICA members with feline welfare issues and to assist in the resolution of complaints made to TICA regarding the welfare of cats.

This Committee Is Currently Inactive.

The mission of the Legislative Committee is to identify legislation and areas affected; to coordinate with other animal organizations to defuse any negative action that would endanger the continuation of owning, breeding or showing cats; to solicit support of the Regional Director in a target area who will appoint two regional members for the purpose of encouraging attendance at meetings and/or writing letters to the people responsible for passing laws/ordinances.

This Committee Is Currently Inactive.

Register My Cattery

Outstanding Cattery Program