The oldest cat registry association in the United States is the American Cat Association (ACA), formed in 1904 as the offspring of a cat club in Chicago.
Typical of any human organization, disputes arose among members over various rules, and, inevitably, the dispute led to the founding of another group, the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA). Generally speaking, the CFA is considered the most prestigious of the various cat registry groups, but (obviously) the rival associations would not agree with that.