Fédération Internationale Féline
The Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFé) (in English "International Feline Federation") is a federation of cat registries. There are currently forty-two member organizations in forty countries. Membership spans Europe, South America, and Asia. FIFé is one of the nine members of the World Cat Congress. History. Founded by Marguerite Ravel, the federation was unofficially started in 1949 in Paris, France, at a meeting between the "Fédération Féline Française" (French Cat Federation), the Royal Cat Society of Flanders and the "Società Felina Italiana" (Italian Cat Society). At the organisation's first general assembly, in Ghent, Belgium, the federation  was officially founded. For the occasion, all participants received a cat shaped statuette, in pink sandstone, that Marguerite Ravel had commissioned from the sculptor Jean Martel. The original name was "Fédération Internationale Féline d'Europe" or FIFE. In 1972 the Brazilian Cat Club joined, making it necessary to change the Euro-centric name of the federation. The "d'Europe" was dropped, and the abbreviation was changed to FIFé. Organisation. FIFé is organized into national sub-federations (e.g. Felis Britannica in the United Kingdom) which handle pedigree registrations, cat shows and awards in each country. FIFé's Executive Board and General Assembly are  supported by five commissions: Recognized breeds. FIFe currently recognizes 48 official breeds of cats for championship competitions. All breeds are divided into 4 categories and identified with a three-letter code, according to the EMS. The EMS is a system used by FIFé, and all its members, to easily identify cats by alphanumeric codes.