Why Your Breeder Won't Share Their TICA Certificate (And Why That's Actually a Good Sign)

If you've ever asked a breeder for a copy of their TICA certificate and been told no, your first instinct was probably suspicion. After all, wouldn't a legitimate breeder be happy to prove they're registered? It's a reasonable assumption — and it's wrong. After speaking directly with TICA, we learned that the registry itself advises breeders not to share their certificates publicly. The reason is simple and unsettling: scammers steal them.

This isn't a hypothetical risk. TICA confirmed that there have been documented cases of scammers obtaining legitimate breeders' certificates and using them to impersonate those catteries. One case involved a scammer who took another cattery's registration certificate, posted it on their own fraudulent website, and used it to collect deposits from buyers who believed they were dealing with a verified, registered breeder. The victims did their due diligence — they asked for proof of registration, they received what looked like authentic documentation, and they still got scammed. The certificate was real; the person showing it to them was not. This is exactly why TICA now advises its registered breeders to keep their certificates private. A breeder who follows this advice isn't being evasive — they're protecting themselves and their buyers from identity theft.

There's a second misconception that trips up even well-informed buyers: the belief that every registered TICA breeder appears in TICA's online directory. They don't. TICA's online breeder directory is a pay-to-list service. Breeders who want to appear on the TICA website pay an annual fee for that listing. Breeders who don't pay simply don't show up — but they're still fully registered, still in good standing, and still producing kittens under TICA's framework. The directory is a marketing tool, not a complete registry. This means that "I searched TICA's website and couldn't find them" is not evidence that a breeder is unregistered. Many perfectly legitimate, small-scale catteries choose not to pay for the online listing because they already have a full waitlist through word of mouth and don't need the additional exposure. Treating the online directory as a comprehensive registry leads buyers to dismiss good breeders and, paradoxically, can push them toward scammers who have paid for a listing using stolen credentials.

So if you can't rely on certificates and you can't rely on the online directory, what should you do? The answer is straightforward: call the registry directly. TICA's phone number is 956-428-8046. CFA can be reached at 330-680-4070. Give them the cattery name and the breeder's name, and they will confirm whether the cattery is registered and in good standing. This is the most reliable way to verify a breeder, and it's the method TICA themselves recommend. It takes five minutes, it's free, and it gives you a definitive answer that no certificate photo or website listing can match. If a breeder is legitimate, they'll have no issue with you calling the registry — in fact, they'll encourage it. If a breeder discourages you from contacting TICA or CFA directly, that is the real red flag.

The broader lesson here is that scam prevention isn't as simple as "ask for papers." Scammers have adapted to buyers' verification habits, and the tactics that felt safe five years ago — demanding to see a certificate, checking an online directory — can actually give you a false sense of security today. The most effective verification is direct contact with the source. Call the registry. Video call the breeder. Visit the cattery if possible. These are the steps that scammers cannot fake, and they're the foundation of the verification process we use at GoodCattery for every breeder in our directory.