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Secret Cat Codes...Plus!

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For this article, special care must be taken to distinguish from the zero (0) and the capital letter O.
While we got a thorough indoctrination about Bengals, we didn't get the picture of how they fit into the
cat fancy, as a whole. It took a while to figure out what F1s were, but we persevered, and learned.
Bengals are recognized by several different Breed Associations, foremost of which is TICA (The
International Cat Association). A mission of TICA is to maintain a data base (Stud Book) for purposes of
registration of all cats which qualify for registration as defined within the rules laid out in the TICA
document, "REGISTRATION RULES." Cats registered by TICA that do not qualify for stud book status
are registered in a "Foundation Registry" and not the Stud Book Registry. The certificates are marked
"Not Eligible for CH Competition."

All cats registered by TICA are given a registration number. This number is designed in such a way that
no two cats can have the same number. The number is formed of three elements: The Status Code, the
cat's birthday, and a final number indicating its position in the cat count for cats registered that day (the
cat's birthday). SBT 010194 001 .................. The 001 indicates this cat is the first cat registered for Jan
1, 1994 ...........The 010194 is the short numeric form of Jan 1, 1994 SBT is the Status Code
Cats in the Stud Book Registry will have a Stud Book status code. In order to understand this, you have
to understand what a breed group is. Some breeds stem from the common ancestors and are virtually
identical, with the exception of one highly distinguishing characteristic. Persians, Himalayans and Exotic
Shorthairs form a Breed Group. The Himalayan is a pointed cat, the Persian is not pointed, and unlike the
other two of this group, the Exotic Shorthair is not long haired. Other examples of breed groups are Manx
(shorthaired) and Cymrics (medium length double coat), and Abyssians (shorthair) and Somalis (long
haired). Cats carrying a full three generation pedigree, which are the product of two or more members of
a breed group will be designated by the SBV (variant) prefix, whereas cats with only a single breed within
a standard three generation pedigree will be designated by the prefix SBT. This does not affect
acceptability for competition. Quoted from the TICA Manual. For a cat to be eligible for stud book status,
either both parents must be have stud book status, or either parent or both parents
have registration status no lower than 3 or C This will be explained later in the text of this article.
Some breeds are still in the process of developing. Either their gene pool is yet too small, or breeders of
that breed are still bringing in the traits or characteristics that render that breed distinct. In doing so,
frequently outcrosses are done to other breeds, or sometimes, in the case of Bengals, to feral cats. During
the generations of cats required to obtain a three generation pedigree with no outcrosses to other breeds or
unregistered cats, these animals are registered in and tracked with the Foundation Registry, and not the
Stud Book Registry. TICA keeps track of non-SBT cats either by Ancestry Record, or Hybridization
Record, or Combined Ancestry and Hybridization Record. Ancestry Record : A cat is eligible for the
ancestry record of TICA if it is a breed recognized by TICA and no cats of other breeds appear within its
three generation pedigree, but within that three generation pedigree appear cats of its breed that aren't
registered. (TICA has a provision which allows an unregistered cat which meets a breed's standard to be
used in a breeding program. Letters are required from 3 Allbreed judges stating cat and it sufficiently
meets the criteria for the breed to be used in a breeding program.

Ancestry Record codes start with O:
O1T The cat has at least one unknown or unregistered parent.
O2T The cat has at least one unknown or unregistered grandparent.
O3T The cat has at least one unknown or unregistered great-grandparent
In the Ancestry Record, the number of generations back to the unregistered cat is indicated by the number
in the second position.
Hybridization Record: A cat is eligible for the hybridization record of TICA if it is of a breed recognized
by TICA, there are no unknown or unregistered cats in the three generation pedigree, but there are
registered cats of other breeds recognized by TICA.

Hybridization Record Codes start with A, B, or C:
AOT The cat has a parent registered as another breed.
BOT The cat has a grandparent registered as another breed.
COT The cat has a great-grandparent registered as another breed.

In the Hybridization Record, the number of generations back to the outcrossing to another breed is
indicated by the progression of letters in the first position, i.e. A=1st, B=2nd and C=3rd.
Combined Ancestry and Hybridization Record: A cat shall be eligible for the combined ancestry and
hybridization records of TICA if it is of a breed recognized for registration by TICA or is the product of
breeds which are recognized for registration by TICA and either has unregistered or unknown cats in the
three generation pedigree and one or more cats in the three generation pedigree is of another breed. This
occurred during the early development of the Bengal Breed. An Asian Leopard Cat is given the status of
00T, when registered. An Asian Leopard Cat can be registered by sending in photos or other proof that
the animal is indeed, an Asian Leopard Cat. TICA does not register litters of Asian Leopard Cats.
No matter how many generations of breeding of Asian Leopard Cat you have, the Status Code remains
00T. Bengal Breeders use the designation F1, F2 and F3 to indicate how many generations back was the
ALC used in the original breeding. The "F" is not part of any TICA registration status, but the early
breeders had to have some method of distinguishing between the different generations.
Early breeders of Bengals bred the Asian Leopard Cat to a domestic cat, sometimes registered, sometimes
not. The first generation Bengal that resulted was identified with a code of O1T (If the ALC was bred to
an unregistered female, or A1T if the ALC was bred to a registered female of a different breed.) The
number in the second position indicates the number of generations back to the feral ancestor. You always
have to keep in mind that the offspring of these breeding are Bengals, because that is what you are
breeding for. Because the males from the early crosses were sterile, it was necessary to breed
back to a cat of another breed (not a Bengal or ALC Hybrid, because early in the development of the
Bengal breed, there were no fertile Bengal males!). This litter has an unregistered or feral grandparent,
and a parent of another breed. The proper status code would be A2T. Because the males were still sterile,
it was necessary to breed back to another domestic male for
yet another generation. This litter would have a status code of A3T. The A shows a parent of another
breed, and the 3 shows the feral great grandparent. Because we are now three generations from the
original ALC outcross, the males are frequently
fertile. Breeding two individuals from this generation would be the first Bengal to Bengal breeding, but the
kittens have a grandparent of another breed. This makes them BOT. Their kittens would be COT, and
the final, next generation would be SBT. The thing to keep in mind with a combined
ancestry-hybridization pedigree is the first letter is ancestry and the second is hybridization. If the second
position is a number and not a letter, that indicates a feral outcross. Currently, the trend is to breed a good
SBT Bengal to an ALC. When this is done, the kitten is tracked in the Hybrid registry, and is a A1T. The
"A" indicates the parent of another breed, the number 1 in the second position indicates that the other
breed is a feral cat, and is one generation back, a parent. The "T" indicates that this is not a breeding to a
cat in another breed part of a breed group. The next generation, male would be a B2T, the third
generation would be C3T, and the next generation wouldbe SBT.
A1T The cat has a parent of another breed, and/or a feral parent. This would hapen when an SBT Bengal
is bred to an ALC. B2T The cat has a grandparent of another breed, and/or a feral grandparent. This
would happen if an A1T Bengal is bred to an SBT Bengal. C3T The cat has a great-grandparent of
another breed, and/or a feral great-grandparent. This would happen when a B2T Bengal is bred to an
SBT Bengal. As these breedings occur, the percentage of genetic heritage that can be traced back to the
ALC is (at least statistically) greater, and the body type, the color and the rosetting of the ALC will be
more prominent. The most obvious advantage to breeding an SBT back to the ALC, rather than breeding
to another breed is you eliminate the several generations required to arrive with a fertile male.
As far as TICA is concerned whenever you breed cats of different breeds the offspring's are AOT, unless
either or both parents are unregistered, then you get an O1T I wrote this article several times, and drove
Leslie Bowers, the Business Manager of TICA half batty with my questions. Thanks Leslie, for your
patience in walking me through all this.

Reprinted by permission of Jim Smith Tejas Bengals

The following codes apply to the THIRD position of the pedigree status code:

1. T-(Traditional)-Only the breed in question within a three generation pedigree

2. V-(Variant)-Crosses outside the breed but within the group within a three-generation pedigree

3. P-(Permissible)-Crosses outside the breed or breed group which are permitted by the breeding program which has been
established for the breed

4. N-(Non-Permissible)-Crosses outside the breed or breed group which are not among those which are specifically allowed
by the breeding program which has been established for the breed

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