The International Cat Association Inc. (TICA), USA

TICA (The International Cat Association) is another American ring system. Its history is not that long. Its origination is due to the ACFA (American Cat Fanciers Association) General Assembly in 1979. The AVFA government had many inner problems and during the meeting one its part decided to get separated and found a new felinological association. The first TICA cat show followed in two weeks. TICA came to Europe in the late 1980s. First shows were in France and included traditional (European) refereeing. Then TICA spread all over Europe. Nowadays there are two TICA regions in Europe – Northern and Southern Europe. Russia belongs to the Northern Europe, the largest TICA region.

The main TICA’s principle is the ring principle as in CFA. All the animals are divided into two groups according to the hair length (long - short). Kittens and adult cats are examined separately as well as altered, domestic animals or those of unrecognized breeds. The cats are not divided into sexes.

The title system differs a bit from CFA’s. It is necessary not only to get certain points for a title but to participate in a final contest that is a Top Ten Cat selection from the animals that were examined by a judge during a day in a certain age group. One can imagine that a Top Ten can be selected from 50, 70 or 100 participants. It depends on their total number at the show.

TICA has much more titles:

CHAMPION / CHAMPION ALTER / MASTER (domestic cats) – CH/ CHA/CHM with 150 points from 2 different judges plus 1 final.

The next step is:

GRAND CHAMPION / GRAND CHAMPION ALTER / GRAND MASTER – GCH/GCA/ GCM with 500 points plus 3 finals from 2 different judges, one of them is to be in the Top Five of the Specialty Ring or in the Top Ten of Allbreed.

If your cat has gained this title, it won’t be difficult to receive the next three titles:

DOUBLE GRAND CHAMPION / DOUBLE GRAND CHAMPION ALTER / DOUBLE GRAND MASTER – DGC/DGCA/DGM with 1000 points plus 1 final in the Top Five of the Specialty Ring or  in the Top Ten of Allbreed as GRC/GRCA/GRM.

If you have this title, you move to the next:

TRIPLE GRAND CHAMPION / TRIPLE GRAND CHAMPION ALTER / TRIPLE GRAND MASTER – TGC/TGCA/TGM with 1500 points plus 1 final in the Top Five of the Specialty Ring or in the Top Ten of Allbreed as DGC/DGCA/DGM.

The next step:

QUADRUPLE GRAND CHAMPION / QUADRUPLE GRAND CHAMPION ALTER / QUADRUPLE GRAND MASTER – QGC/QGCA/QGM with 2000 points plus 1 final in the Top Five of the Specialty Ring or in the Top Ten of Allbreed as TGC/TGCA/TGM.

The last but the most significant tile in TICA:

SUPREME GRAND CHAMPION / SUPREME GRAND CHAMPION ALTER / SUPREME GRAND MASTER – SGC/SGCA/SGM with 3000 points plus only the first prize in the final in the Top Five of the Specialty Ring or in the Top Ten of Allbreed as QGC/QGCA/QGM.

Thus, if compare to other organizations, to become a   SUPREME GRAND CHAMPION TICA is a question of quality, not of time.

To learn more about the titles and points calculation follow the link (…).

According to TICA:

*The Burmese are examined within one breed. There are two color divisions: Solid and Tortoiseshell. The best animal is chosen in each color division. The best animal in the breed is chosen from all the ring participants.

*The Bombays are examined within the breed accordingly. The standard in color for the breed is only black.

The Asian are not recognized and can’t participate at the shows of the system.