Scoring FAQs
What do the various title abbreviations in a cat's name mean?

CH – Champion
GC – Grand Champion
GCD – Grand Champion of Distinction, earned by receiving at least 30 finals for each of 3 show seasons
PR – Premier
GP – Grand Premier
GPD – Grand Premier of Distinction, earned by receiving at least 30 finals for each of 3 show seasons
RW – Regional Winner, earned by being one of the top 25 kittens, cats, or cats in premiership in a region for a show season
DW – Divisional Winner, earned by being one of the top kittens, cats, or cats in premiership in the International Division for a show season
NW – National Winner, earned by being one of the top 25 kittens, cats, or cats in premiership world-wide for a show season
BW – Breed Winner, earned by being the top cat in a breed for a show season. This award ONLY applies to cats being shown in championship, and is only awarded to one cat in each breed in a given year
BWR – Breed Winner in Regions 1-9
BWC – Breed Winner in China
BWI – Breed Winner in the International Division
DM – Distinguished Merit, earned by a female cat producing 5 grand champion/grand premier offspring, or a male cat producing 10 grand champion/grand premier offspring (** prior to April 30, 2021, 15 offspring were required for a male cat to earn the title)

GH – Grand Household Pet
GHD – Grand Household Pet of Distinction, earned by receiving at least 30 finals for each of 3 show seasons
HRW – Household Pet Regional Winner, earned by being one of the top household pets in a region for a show season
HNW – Household Pet National Winner, earned by being one of the top household pets world-wide for a show season

What is the procedure to score grand points?

Grand Points and Regional/National Points are automatically awarded based on wins achieved at cat shows. Grand Points are accumulated throughout a cat’s show career until s/he achieves the points required to be awarded the title of Grand Champion, or Grand Premier for the altered class.

A cat eligible for and shown in the Champion or Premier Class will compete for Grand Championship or Grand Premiership points in any type of ring, such as Allbreed, Longhair/Shorthair or Breed specialty. A cat must have at least one win of Best Champion/Premier or Second Best Champion/Premier or or Third Best Champion or a final award of Best through Tenth Best Cat in either a CFA Allbreed or Specialty final in order to qualify for the title of Grand Champion/Grand Premier. Points must be won under at least three (3) different judges. Wins made in Championship competition may not be transferred to Premiership records.

Awarding of Points in a Final
  • Any Champion or Premier placing in the top ten (or five) Bests in Show will receive points towards Grand Championship or Grand Premiership. The highest placing Champion or Premier will receive one point for every participating or “benched” Champion or Premier defeated. The second highest placing Champion or Premier will receive 90% of the points awarded the highest placing Champion or Premier, third highest 80%, fourth highest 70% and 5th highest 60%, etc. In all cases, fractional points .5 and greater will be rounded to the next higher number.
  • Best Champion or Best Premier will receive one point for every benched Champion or Premier defeated.
  • Second Best Champion or Premier will receive 90% of the points received by the Best Champion or Premier, rounded to the nearest whole number.
  • Best Longhair Champion and Best Shorthair Champion in Allbreed rings will receive one point for every benched Champion defeated in that specialty.
  • The Second Best Longhair Champion and Second Best Shorthair Champion in Allbreed rings will receive 90% of the points received by the Best Longhair or Best Shorthair Champion, rounded to the nearest whole number. The Third Best Longhair Champion and Third Best Shorthair Champion in Allbreed rings will receive 80% of the points received by the Best Longhair or Best Shorthair Champion, rounded to the nearest whole number.
  • Best Longhair Premier and Best Shorthair Premier in Allbreed rings will receive one point for every benched Premier defeated in that specialty.
  • The Second Best Longhair Premier and Second Best Shorthair Premier in Allbreed rings will receive 90% of the points received by the Best Longhair or Best Shorthair Premier, rounded to the nearest whole number.
Breed and Division Points
  • Cats which receive the award of Best Champion/Premier in each of the Breeds/Divisions currently recognized for Championship/Premiership competition will receive one Grand Championship/Premiership point for every benched Champion/Premier defeated within the Breed/Division.
  • In all cases, an entry will receive the points from only one award per ring – that which carries the most points.
Number of Points Required

Two hundred (200) points are required for Grand Championship; seventy-five (75) points for Grand Premiership, in Mainland U.S., Canada (with the exception of the Maritime Provinces), Japan, Europe and the International Division. For cats residing and competing In Hawaii, Israel, Russia (East of the Ural mountains), Asia (except Hong Kong and Japan), Mexico, Central America, South America and the Maritime Provinces of Canada, seventy-five (75) points are required for Grand Championship; twenty-five (25) points are required for Grand Premiership. In Hong Kong and Ukraine one-hundred twenty five (125) points are required for Grand Championship. In Hong Kong fifty (50) points are required for Grand Premiership; in Ukraine and Russia twenty-five (25) points are required for Grand Premiership.

How do I know how many grand points my cat has?

Once the show has been scored by Central Office (usually by Friday of the following week), grand points will be available through the CFA web site – see “Herman” online.

Can you explain how to score points for Regional and National awards?
How to determine Regional/National Points

Points are awarded based on the wins achieved in each ring and the official show count of cats/kittens in competition. Regional/National Points are only accumulated during a single show season (first weekend in May to last weekend in April), except for split season kittens who are shown at the end of one season and the beginning of another season, do not carry over into the next season.

Eligible Wins

Best cat/kitten – one point for each cat/kitten defeated.
2nd Best cat/kitten – 95% of the points awarded to best cat/kitten, 3rd best cat/kitten 90%, 4th best 85%, 5th best 80%, etc
Best of breed/division – one point for each cat defeated within the breed/division.
2nd best of breed/division – 95% of the points awarded to best of breed/division.

Points achieved in individual rings are added to determine an entry’s total points for the show.

Regional/National Points Scoring

At the completion of the show season, a cat/kitten will be credited with the points from its highest 100 individual rings (40 for kittens). A kitten will be credited with the points from its highest 40 individual rings earned as a kitten, to be credited in the show year in which its last full weekend of kitten eligibility falls, regardless of the show year in which it begins showing as a kitten.

If a cat is exhibited in shows totaling 100 rings or less (40 rings for kittens) total credited points will be the sum of total points earned.

All points credited must be earned while competing as a particular color. Cats/kittens that have earned points under more than one color description will only receive those points earned under the color description for which they were eligible and last shown (see show rule 2.08).

In order to be eligible for a regional award, a cat/kitten must be shown at least once in the region of final assignment. Breed/Color specialty rings which provide a judging(s) beyond the number of judgings available to other entries will not be scored for National/Regional points.

Regional & National Awards

At the end of each show season, each CFA region holds a Regional Awards Banquet. In conjunction with the Delegate’s Annual Meeting, CFA also hosts an Annual Awards Banquet to present the National Awards.

Regional Awards

Regional definition: regions are based on the regions listed in CFA’s By-Laws. To the extent not already provided in the bylaws, regional assignments for scoring purposes may be made from time to time by the CFA Executive Board. To date, the CFA Board has ruled that exhibitors whose principal residence is in either Puerto Rico or the Bahamas will be scored in the Southern region.

All regional awards given in Regions 1-7 are based only on points earned in Regions 1-7 by exhibitors residing in Regions 1-7. Cats may be shown in more than one of these regions and the points earned in shows outside the owner’s region of residence will be included in the scoring process. No cat/kitten may receive awards in more than one of these regions.

All regional awards given in Region 8 are based on points earned in Region 8 by exhibitors residing in region 8, Taiwan, or Singapore by exhibitors residing in Region 8.

All awards given in Hawaii or Region 9 are based only on points earned in Hawaii or Region 9 division by exhibitors residing in those areas, respectively.

Awards given in the International Division are based solely on points earned in the International Division with the exception that cats whose residences are in Taiwan or Singapore may earn points in Region 8 as well.

A cat whose owner changes residence or whose ownership changes and is otherwise eligible, may receive awards in a region within regions 1-7, Region 8, Region 9 and/or Hawaii, and/or the International Division. These multiple awards are not prohibited.

The awards presented each year in regions 1-9 are: Best-25th Best Cat, Best-20th Best Kitten, Best-25th Best Cat in Premiership, best, second and third best of breed/division and best and second best of color wins. The minimum point requirement to receive a breed/division and/or color award differs from region to region. The title of “Regional Winner (RW)” is limited to cats receiving top 25 cats in championship, top 25 kittens or top 25 cats in premiership awards.

What happens if I move to another region during the show season?

A cat/kitten whose owners’ residence moves from one region to another after the first full show weekend in January, will be assigned to the region where its owner(s) maintained a residence prior to or on the first full show weekend in January.

What are "E-points" and how do I get them?

Epoints are a digital reporting of point standings from CFA cat shows. Reports include national standings, regional standings, and individual breed standings.

Epoints are updated weekly throughout the show season.

 

Purchase an Epoints subscription

Cat Shows
Where can I find a cat show in my area?

The CFA show schedule contains listings of upcoming cat shows, including the sponsoring club(s), date, show hall and other pertinent information. The complete show schedule page can be found at CFA Show Calendar

What is involved in showing a cat?

The competitive sport of cat shows include many different ways you can participate, from showing a pedigreed or household pet cat to feline agility and more. Whatever your age or interest level, there is a place for you and your family in the exciting world of CFA!

I'd like to show my household pet cat. Where do I start?

There are many CFA shows which include Household Pet competition. The Household Pet class is a good way to begin in CFA. Household Pet competition is great fun and many exhibitors of pedigreed cats began showing in the Household Pet class. We have information available on showing your household pet, and there is a listing of shows, with entry clerk information on the CFA Show Calendar

What is Household Pet Recording?

CFA now gives you the opportunity to record your Household Pets. Recording your Household Pet with CFA is proof that you take pride in your cat’s well-being and demonstrates that you are committed to serving as a responsible cat owner throughout your cat’s life span.

Where can I find an entry form to enter a show?

Here is a CFA entry form in PDF format – Note: The form is a PDF form and you will require the Adobe Reader program on your computer. You can type in the required information and print the form for submission to the entry clerk. The completed form cannot be saved unless you have the full Adobe Acrobat program installed on your computer. The CFA online entry form can be found at http://entries.cfa.org/

Who supplies cages at a show, and what size are they?

Cages at a cat show are supplied by the sponsoring club. The size of show cages depends upon where in the country you are exhibiting. Be sure to consult the show announcement for any show you plan to enter. It is required by Show Rule that the cage size be printed on the show announcement.

On the east coast, full cage size is 44″ wide x 22″ deep x 22″ high for a cage that either holds two entries, or can be divided for two single entries with a size of 22″ wide x 22″ deep x 22″ high. If you enter only one cat, you will be benched in a cage that is 22″ wide x 22″ deep x 22″ high. You will normally have the option, when entering the show, to purchase the “double cage” space for a set fee, in which case the cage size for one entry will be 44″ wide x 22″ deep x 22″ high. You may occasionally find cages that are 27″ high instead of 22″.

There are some shows on the west coast  that use large singles that are 36″ wide x 24″ deep x 27″ high. In this instance, double cages are not available for purchase.

Security Cages: Many exhibitors find it easier to purchase their own security cages. Normally, a double cage space is required to accommodate a security cage and you will be required to purchase the double cage if you enter only one cat. Note that the 36″ wide cage space does not allow room for a security cage and a groom space normally must be purchased to accommodate the security cage. To purchase your own security cage, go to http://sturdiproducts.com/

How do I determine my region of residence?

A region of residence is determined by the descriptions in Article VIII of the CFA By-Laws. Regional boundaries are explicit and can be found on our Regions page.

In order for your cat to be scored correctly, it is important to indicate your region of residence on the show entry form. If you need help determining your region of residence, please enter your zip code or city on this latitude-longitude site or email cdunham@cfa.org

Can you help me understand the ribbons awarded at shows?

We have a very detailed description with corresponding images of the ribbon colors awarded in CFA along with an explanation of the judging process behind each ribbon awarded