Household Pet Class

March 10, 2026

The Class for the Other 95%

Teresa Keiger

The Cat Fanciers’ Association has a class named “Household Pet” (HHP) for non-pedigreed cats as well. I often refer to this as the “class for the other 95%,” as most domestic cats in the world are of no particular breed whatsoever. The history of feline breed development is very different than that of their canine counterparts, as historically cats were never purposely bred for specific jobs. They excelled at the one job they had: killing vermin. Until the mid-nineteenth century, the breeds that did exist developed in geographic isolation, such as the Norwegian Forest Cat, the Chartreux, the Siberian, etc. All other domestic cats existed in their glorious catness, and charmed their way into people’s lives.

Some cats of known pedigree are also shown as Household Pets. They might have a disqualifying fault which would exclude them from being shown in their pedigreed classes: visibly kinked tail, color or pattern fault, etc. Some Household Pets might be the result of an “Oops!” breeding if the breeder works with more than one breed and has an escape artist in residence. Some breeds have (or have had) allowable outcrosses, and subsequent breedings have produced undesirable recessive traits from those outcrosses. For example, Havana Browns and Russian Blues have Siamese generations back in their pedigrees, and sometimes produce a pointed cat if both parents have the recessive gene. Ocicats sometimes have completely ticked patterns from the Abyssinians used to initially produce the breed.

Can Any Cat Be Shown as a Household Pet?

The class does have a few disallowances. The cat must not be declawed, and if eight months age or older, it must be altered. No cat with any wild cat ancestry can be shown. Just as in the championship classes, any Bengal shown in the Household Pet class must be five generations removed from any Asian Leopard Cat breeding. All Household Pet cats must be able to stand on their own, and none may have more than one physical mutation.

As Cats In This Class Have No Breed Standard To Be Judged Against, How Exactly ARE Household Pets Judged?

Condition: the cat should be neither overweight, nor underweight; be free of fleas, ringworm, and other disease; be in good physical health.

Appearance: the cat should be clean and well-groomed, just as in any class. In the Household Pet class, all patterns and colors are celebrated.

Personality: All cats new to the show ring may be understandably apprehensive, but they should not be threatening or aggressive. However, a cat with a charming personality has a distinct advantage in this class! I often note that it’s the one class where “suck up points” really do count!

Why Show Household Pets?

The Household Pet class is a celebration of the cats who choose to spend their lives with their humans. (Note that I said the cat chooses the human …). We celebrate their appearance – both the beautiful and the unusual. We celebrate their personalities, from the somewhat shy to those cats who could rival Madonna in a “Vogue-off” competition. I often note as a judge that it’s the one time during the show where I get to select as best the cat that appeals to me personally. Some shows have local shelter with adoption booths at the show and enter amiable cats in HHP competition to increase their chances of getting adopted (and it works!)

The Household Pet exhibitors are also a very supportive of each other and their cats. You will certainly hear all exhibitors enthusiastically shout each cat’s name as the judge awards their final rosettes.

This class is also great for someone wanting to learn more about the sport of showing cats, but is not sure quite what it is all about. Many of our breeders got their start showing HHPs, and it gave them time to discover a breed to fall in love with.

So, the next time you attend a CFA cat show, do check out the Household Pet competition. You may discover a new hobby that suits you and your companion cat “purr-fectly.”