Kat Karson Official Mascot of Wild West Cat Fanciers
The Wild West Cat Fanciers (WWCF) is a chartered cat fancy of The International Cat Association (TICA) and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. WWCF is an Internal Revenue Service registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; membership fees and donations to the club are eligible for tax exemptions.*
The club was founded by TICA members Tristan Anderson and Chase Long in 2016, after learning that a previous TICA club in Salt Lake City had folded once the leadership had either retired or moved out of state. Having no local representation in TICA, Anderson and Long decided that getting a new cat fancy organized in Salt Lake City would renew interest in cat/kitten ownership and responsible pet advocacy.
In 2017, WWCF hosted their inaugural cat show, the Rocky Mountain Roundup and was a huge success. Word spread throughout the general membership of TICA and in 2018, the show had a 57% increase in participation and spectator attendance. Current polling among TICA members suggests that buzz about the 2019 Rocky Mountain Roundup is reaching a fever-pitch.
Our Mission
WWCF takes on the mantle of cat fancy representative for The International Cat Association, and our mission actively reflects the basic fundamental values of TICA:
- To encourage our members to be caring, responsible owners and breeders of cats; and to work together to promote the preservation of pedigreed cats plus the health and welfare of all domestic cats.
- To have the most accurate and comprehensive certified pedigree registry in the world.
- To provide sanctioned cat shows which promote both pedigreed and non-pedigreed cats in a professional manner, and which are both enjoyable and educational for exhibitors, judges and the general public.
- To encourage our members to take an active role in the community, to foster responsible spay/neuter awareness through public education, to become active in voluntary service at local animal shelters or outreach programs for schools and/or senior or disabled citizens, and to become involved in citizen advisory groups to foster responsible legislation regarding the health and welfare of cats.
- To promote friendly relations between breeders in this country and other countries around the world.
- To disseminate information to breeders, owners, exhibitors, and the general public concerning breeding, exhibition, improvement of breeds, the care and welfare of all cats; and to provide materials and information regarding feline issues of regional or national importance.
- To set up a foundation to encourage research on feline health issues, and to provide readily available lists of resource materials on health issues to our members.
WWCF is an active benefactor to the Community Animal Welfare Society (CAWS), a locally run animal rescue organization operating up and down the Wasatch Front. CAWS is WWCF’s Official Pet Adoption group and they are given space at our annual cat show to exhibit their current rescue charges and offers them the opportunity to arrange adoptions right at the show.
WWCF is open to all interested parties who become active members in TICA. Members are NOT required to own a cat/kitten, and each member is encouraged to get educated and participate in the club’s activities, including our annual cat show.
For more information about TICA Membership, visit the TICA website here: TICA MEMBERSHIPS