CFA Medal of Honor Recipients

April 30, 2020

©Karen Lawrence, 2020. Updated April, 2026

The CFA Medal of Honor, a highly prestigious award recognized throughout the cat world, was established in the early 1970’s by the CFA Board of Directors to honor those people who have had a profound effect on the cat fancy, be it in the area of medical research, the humanities, or outstanding contributions to CFA and the Cat Fancy.

At the June 14, 1970 board meeting, President Richard Gebhardt established a new committee to consolidate the handling of all awards presented annually by CFA. Mr. Will Thompson was named as Chair of the newly formed CFA Awards Committee. At that same meeting, Mr. Gebhardt suggested that CFA initiate a new award, the ‘CFA Medal of Merit’:

“Mr. Gebhardt requested that in the interest of good will and distinguished recognition, CFA authorize a medal of its own, a medal that might well be ordered from the Jefferson Mint. This medal would constitute a high honor award for service to cats in the Fancy and at large, a medal to promote sound public relations. This subject did not go beyond the discussion stage.”

Mr. Thompson, as Chair of the Awards Committee, was tasked with establishing the protocol for this new award. At the September 12, 1971 Board of Directors meeting, he reported:

“In looking into the CFA Award Medal for meritorious service, he had learned that the die for such a medal would cost from $250 to $300; the medals themselves would cost from $12 to $15, plus $3.00 for a presentation case. Mr. Will Thompson now moved that he be instructed to proceed and have a design ready for the Board at its next stated meeting. Carried unanimously.

“Mr. Thompson then moved after discussion to accommodate an earlier suggestion of Mr. Sanftner that the award be for outstanding service to CFA or to the feline world, above and beyond the call of duty. The question was now raised about the percentage of Board votes necessary to give the award – 90%. Dr. Peltz expressed the opinion that people in three (3) categories be considered worthy of this award: a person who had been an outstanding humanitarian; a person who had established a reputation in research, preferably feline; or a person who had been outstanding in his work for the Cat Fancy itself. The Secretary felt that the award should demand a 100% vote of the Board rather than the percentage mentioned earlier, 90%. There was general agreement.“

The discussion about the medal was continued at the March 18-19, 1972 Board of Directors Meeting:

“Mr. Thompson stated that the CFA Medal of Honor was the sole subject of his report – he had a two-dimensional rendering of a three-dimensional medallion. The Board’s task would be to accept or to reject the description of the design. If the rendering was accepted, then the next step would be a die. The design shows a cat on the medallion, said cat an interpretation of the ancient Egyptian cat – a likeness of which in bronze rests in the Louvre – it has prestige but represents no particular breed of cat.

“Mr. Will Thompson went on that the Board must decide, too, how recipients of this medallion were to be decided upon. He was suggesting that nominations be sent to the Central Office and then screened by the Executive Committee of the Board before being finally presented to the Board. Furthermore, anyone currently receiving a salary from CFA for any job should not be eligible for the medallion in question while he or she was on the payroll. Mr. Will Thompson so moved, and the Motion was accepted unanimously.”

Currently, there has only ever been one change to this original Medal of Honor criteria – nominations may now come from members of the CFA Board only, rather than being open to all. A unanimous vote of the CFA Board of Directors is still required in order for a person to become a recipient. To date (May 2020), there have been only 17 recipients, with the first medal awarded in 1973.