Cat breed popularity statistics depend on what is being measured. The Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) rankings below use registrations, rather than a count of every cat living in homes. Across the reported periods, Ragdoll, Maine Coon Cat, Persian, Exotic, British Shorthair, Devon Rex, Abyssinian, and other pedigreed breeds repeatedly appear near the top.
Table of contents
- How to read these popularity statistics
- CFA’s 2015 registration ranking
- What changed in the 2020 and 2021 rankings
- The 2021 registration ranking
- The 2023 and 2024 snapshots
- Breed rankings across the reported years
- What the rankings show about cat breed popularity
How to read these popularity statistics
The source for these rankings is the Cat Fanciers’ Association’s “Most Popular Breeds” reporting. Each ranking is tied to a registration period: the CFA report published in 2016 describes registrations from 2015; the 2021 report describes registrations from 2020; the 2022 report describes registrations from 2021; and the 2024/2025 report describes registrations from 2024. The 2023 report discusses its 2023 registrations.
These are therefore snapshots of CFA registrations, not a complete census of household cats, shelter cats, mixed-breed cats, or cats registered by other organizations. A higher position means a breed ranked higher in the reported CFA registration list for that period. It does not provide a percentage share, a population total, or a direct estimate of how many cats of that breed exist.
The CFA said in its 2021 report that it registers 45 pedigreed breeds. Its 2023 report also said it registers 45 pedigreed breeds and focused on the 15 most popular breeds. The supplied rankings include top-10 lists for several years and a top-15 reference for 2023.
CFA’s 2015 registration ranking
The CFA’s 2016 “Most Popular Breeds” report ranked the following breeds by registrations made in 2015:
| Rank | Breed | Registration period |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Exotic | 2015 |
| 2 | Persian | 2015 |
| 3 | Maine Coon Cat | 2015 |
| 4 | Ragdoll | 2015 |
| 5 | British Shorthair | 2015 |
| 6 | American Shorthair | 2015 |
| 7 | Scottish Fold | 2015 |
| 8 | Abyssinian | 2015 |
| 9 | Sphynx | 2015 |
| 10 | Oriental | 2015 |
Exotic held the first position in this snapshot, followed by Persian and Maine Coon Cat. Ragdoll was fourth, while British Shorthair occupied fifth. The remainder of the reported top 10 consisted of American Shorthair, Scottish Fold, Abyssinian, Sphynx, and Oriental.
This list establishes an earlier reference point for the later rankings. Exotic, Persian, Maine Coon Cat, Ragdoll, British Shorthair, American Shorthair, Scottish Fold, Abyssinian, and Sphynx all appear again in at least one later CFA list supplied here. Oriental is present in the 2015 top 10 but not in the later top-10 snapshots included in this comparison.
What changed in the 2020 and 2021 rankings
The CFA’s 2021 “Most Popular Breeds for 2021” report ranked Ragdoll first based on 2020 registrations. Maine Coon Cat was second, Exotic third, and Persian fourth. Devon Rex entered the reported top five at fifth place.
British Shorthair ranked sixth, followed by Abyssinian in seventh and American Shorthair in eighth. The ninth position was listed as Companion Cat, described in the data as a most popular category rather than a specific breed. Sphynx completed the top 10 in tenth place.
Compared with the 2015 registration ranking, Ragdoll moved from fourth to first, while Maine Coon Cat moved from third to second. Exotic moved from first to third, and Persian moved from second to fourth. Devon Rex appeared at number five in the 2020-registration snapshot, while Scottish Fold and Oriental were not in this reported top 10. Companion Cat appears as a category in ninth place.
The CFA also reported that registrations of all cats increased substantially during the pandemic era. That statement describes a change in registration activity, but the supplied information does not give a numerical increase or a breed-by-breed percentage change. The ranking should therefore be read as an ordered list, not as evidence of a specific market share.
The 2021 registration ranking
The CFA’s 2022 “Most Popular Breeds for 2022” report ranked registrations from 2021. Ragdoll remained first, and Maine Coon Cat remained second. Devon Rex rose to third, ahead of Exotic in fourth and Persian in fifth.
British Shorthair ranked sixth and Abyssinian seventh, matching their respective positions in the preceding reported list. Scottish Fold returned to the top 10 at eighth. Sphynx ranked ninth, and Siberian entered the list at tenth.
| Rank | CFA-listed breed or category | Registration period |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ragdoll | 2021 |
| 2 | Maine Coon Cat | 2021 |
| 3 | Devon Rex | 2021 |
| 4 | Exotic | 2021 |
| 5 | Persian | 2021 |
| 6 | British Shorthair | 2021 |
| 7 | Abyssinian | 2021 |
| 8 | Scottish Fold | 2021 |
| 9 | Sphynx | 2021 |
| 10 | Siberian | 2021 |
The 2021 list shows a stable leading group but movement inside it. Ragdoll and Maine Coon Cat held the first two positions, while Devon Rex moved from fifth in the 2020-registration ranking to third in the 2021-registration ranking. Siberian was listed in tenth place, replacing Companion Cat in the reported top 10. The supplied facts do not include registration counts, so the size of those changes cannot be calculated.
The 2023 and 2024 snapshots
The CFA’s 2023 report said that it registers 45 pedigreed breeds and focused on the 15 most popular breeds in its 2023 registrations. The supplied facts identify six breeds as being within that top 15: Ragdoll, Maine Coon Cat, Devon Rex, British Shorthair, Exotic, and Persian.
Because only inclusion within the top 15 is supplied for this year, a precise 2023 order cannot be reconstructed here. The available information supports a top-15 presence for those six breeds, but it does not supply their individual ranks, registration totals, or the other nine positions.
The CFA’s “Most Popular Breeds for 2025” report ranked registrations from 2024. Maine Coon Cat took first place, followed by Ragdoll in second. Persian ranked third, Exotic fourth, and Devon Rex fifth. Abyssinian was sixth, British Shorthair seventh, Siberian eighth, American Shorthair ninth, and Russian Blue tenth.
This 2024-registration snapshot differs from the 2020 and 2021 snapshots at the top: Maine Coon Cat moved into first, while Ragdoll ranked second. Persian and Exotic also remained in the first four positions, and Devon Rex stayed in the top five. Siberian moved from tenth in the 2021-registration list to eighth in the 2024-registration list. Russian Blue appears in the 2024 top 10 among the supplied facts.
Breed rankings across the reported years
The repeated appearances are more informative than any single position. Ragdoll ranked fourth for 2015 registrations, first for 2020 registrations, first for 2021 registrations, was included in the 2023 top 15, and ranked second for 2024 registrations. Maine Coon Cat ranked third, second, second, within the 2023 top 15, and first across those same periods.
Exotic ranked first in 2015, third in 2020, fourth in 2021, was included in the 2023 top 15, and ranked fourth in 2024. Persian ranked second, fourth, fifth, within the 2023 top 15, and third. British Shorthair ranked fifth, sixth, sixth, within the 2023 top 15, and seventh.
| Breed | 2015 | 2020 | 2021 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ragdoll | 4 | 1 | 1 | Top 15 | 2 |
| Maine Coon Cat | 3 | 2 | 2 | Top 15 | 1 |
| Exotic | 1 | 3 | 4 | Top 15 | 4 |
| Persian | 2 | 4 | 5 | Top 15 | 3 |
| British Shorthair | 5 | 6 | 6 | Top 15 | 7 |
| Devon Rex | — | 5 | 3 | Top 15 | 5 |
| Abyssinian | 8 | 7 | 7 | — | 6 |
| American Shorthair | 6 | 8 | — | — | 9 |
An em dash means that the breed was not included in the supplied top-10 facts for that registration period; it does not establish that the breed had no registrations or ranked below a particular position. “Top 15” is used where the 2023 facts identify inclusion but do not provide an exact rank.
What the rankings show about cat breed popularity
Across the supplied CFA snapshots, Ragdoll and Maine Coon Cat are the most consistently prominent breeds. Each ranked in the top four for 2015, the top two for 2020 and 2021, and the top two again for 2024. Their positions changed, but their presence near the top remained steady.
The next recurring group includes Exotic, Persian, British Shorthair, Devon Rex, and Abyssinian. Exotic and Persian were the top two breeds in the 2015 list and stayed within the top five in every later exact-ranking snapshot supplied. British Shorthair remained between fifth and seventh in those snapshots. Devon Rex first appears in the provided 2020 top 10, reaches third for 2021 registrations, and is fifth for 2024 registrations.
Other breeds show a more intermittent pattern in the supplied lists. American Shorthair appears in 2015, 2020, and 2024. Scottish Fold appears in 2015 and 2021. Sphynx appears in 2015, 2020, and 2021. Siberian appears in 2021 and 2024. Russian Blue is listed in the 2024 top 10, while Oriental appears in the 2015 top 10.
For readers comparing these figures, the clearest limitation is the measurement itself: CFA registration rankings describe registrations recorded by CFA during specific periods. They do not measure every cat or every organization’s registrations. They also do not include the numerical totals needed to calculate shares or percentage growth. The rankings are best used to compare reported order over time and to identify breeds that repeatedly appear among CFA’s most popular pedigreed cats.