Cat pedigree software: building a pedigree database you can actually use

What pedigree software does that a spreadsheet cannot

Pedigree data is tree-shaped and a spreadsheet is flat. You can fake the shape with merged cells for two generations; by the fourth it no longer fits on a page and no longer lines up. That is a structural mismatch, not a lack of effort.

The deeper problem is duplication. One stud appears in the pedigree of every kitten he has ever sired. In a spreadsheet, that is a dozen copies of his name and registration number, and correcting a typo means finding all of them. In pedigree software he is one record that every descendant points at, so you fix him once and every chart is right.

A working tree then does three jobs at once. It supports planning, because you can see whether a proposed pair shares ancestors before you commit a season to it. It supports selling, because buyers read a chart far faster than a paragraph. And it supports paperwork, because registered names, numbers and colour codes are sitting there ready to be copied onto a registration form.

Fields to store on every ancestor

Fill these in for your own cats without exception, and for ancestors as far back as you can document. A node with a name and nothing else adds depth to the chart without adding trust.

Inbreeding coefficient: read the depth before the number

The coefficient of inbreeding (COI, Wright's coefficient) summarises how closely two parents are related through the ancestors they share. Any pedigree tool that computes one is doing arithmetic on the tree you gave it, which means the number inherits every gap in that tree.

This is why two COI figures are often not comparable. A COI calculated over five generations and one calculated over ten are answering different questions, and the deeper calculation is almost always higher because it can see more shared ancestors. A tool should state the depth alongside the number; if it does not, the number is not usable for comparison.

Missing ancestors work in the flattering direction. An incomplete pedigree looks cleaner than a complete one, because unknown ancestors cannot be shown as shared. Before you trust a low figure, check how many ancestor slots are actually filled at the depth you calculated.

None of this makes COI unimportant — it is a useful input, and watching the trend across your own program is more informative than any single pairing. It is simply not a verdict. Breed-specific screening, the health history of the line and your vet's advice carry more weight than hitting a target figure; consult your veterinarian for health decisions.

• Compare COI figures only at the same generation depth.
• Check pedigree completeness at that depth before you trust the result.
• A low COI over an incomplete tree is not evidence that two cats are unrelated.
• Watch the trend across your program over several generations, not one pairing in isolation.
• Treat COI as one input alongside screening results, temperament and type.

Your database is not the registry

Keep the boundary sharp, because buyers will test it. A pedigree you produce is your working record and a sales aid. Registration papers are issued by a registry — TICA, CFA, GCCF, FIFe or another — under that registry's current rules, and only the registry can issue them. Presenting your own chart as though it were registration paperwork damages exactly the trust it was meant to build.

In practice most registries expect the breeder to register the litter first, with individual kittens registered from that litter afterwards. Rules, forms and deadlines change and vary by registry and country, so check the current requirements with yours rather than relying on any article, including this one.

What software does well here is preparation. Names, numbers, colour codes, dates of birth and parentage are already recorded, so the form is transcription rather than research, and deadlines can carry reminders. Mark clearly which entries came from papers you have seen and which are unverified — that distinction is worth keeping visible on the record itself.

Getting a tree standing without a week of typing

Build downward-out from the present, not upward from the oldest ancestor you have heard of. The cats you are planning with this year are the ones the tool has to know about; everything else is enrichment.

The mechanism to understand is that the chart is generated from links, not drawn. You never lay out a pedigree by hand — you create a record for each cat and tell it who its sire and dam are, and the chart follows. In FanMeowy Cattery Manager, for instance, linking each kitten to its dam and sire as you record the litter is what makes the family tree appear, and it stays current because it is built from the same records you use daily.

• Start with the cats you currently breed from, plus any stud you use regularly.
• Add each of those cats' sire and dam as records, even minimal ones — the tree grows upward from links, so a sparse ancestor record still connects the chart.
• Transcribe names and registration numbers from the papers themselves, not from memory or a chat screenshot.
• If time is short, complete the queen's line first; it is the line you will plan against most often.
• Flag unverified ancestors as unverified rather than leaving them looking confirmed.
• Export once as soon as the tree stands, and confirm the export preserves sire and dam links.