Evidence register · Version 2.1
A source register for the Transylvanian Breed Project: official WCF records, peer-reviewed research, institutional research pages, recovered laboratory reports, project-held documents and independent media.
How this register works
Each item is labelled so readers can distinguish an official institutional source from peer-reviewed research, a laboratory record held by the project, a project submission, or independent journalism. A project-held document can establish what the project recorded or submitted; it is not presented as independent scientific validation.
01 · WCF record
Official World Cat Federation sources are preferred whenever a public WCF record exists.
Records that the breed was presented for assessment in Bucharest on 10 October 2021 and describes the Transylvanian as a new breed in the recognition process.
The current public EMS document lists Transylvanian under Provisionally Recognized Breeds with code TRA-non.
The project-held WCF General Assembly agenda contains “Recognition of the breed Transylvanian”. It states that the WCF Judges- and Pedigree Registration Commission proposes full recognition and that the breed is provisionally recognized at the time of the agenda.
The site publishes a two-page extract containing the WCF General Assembly cover and agenda item 17.3.8. The official post-vote WCF record will remain the controlling source once published.
02 · Research & genetics
The research record is kept narrower than the breed story: what a source actually demonstrates is stated explicitly.
The Feline Genetics and Comparative Medicine Laboratory lists “Transylvanian cats – defining the Karpati coloration and pattern” among active projects.
In guidance published on the University of Missouri laboratory website, Dr. Leslie A. Lyons explicitly names Transylvanian among new breeds for which genetic tests should be monitored to document healthy foundation lines. The page states that these recommendations are Dr. Lyons’s personal opinions.
The paper genotyped one Karpati-pattern domestic cat from Romania and one from the UK and found the newly identified salmiak allele wsal absent in both. Prof. Leslie A. Lyons is a co-author. The paper does not identify the cats as Transylvanian or validate the breed.
A TVR report includes Prof. Lyons discussing genetic testing and genome sequencing carried out on the cats. This is direct public testimony, distinct from peer-reviewed publication.
VetAgro Sup identifies Prof. Marie Abitbol as a genetics teacher-researcher at its Lyon Veterinary Campus. Her published institutional profile includes feline whole-genome sequencing among highlighted projects.
A public sampling notice requested DNA from cats showing the Karpati phenotype for Prof. Marie Abitbol’s research to identify the gene. It described her as working “in tandem” with Prof. Leslie Lyons and encouraged owners to send samples to both teams. The notice was posted by Anthony Nichols; GCCF records independently confirm Nichols as a Genetics Committee member in the relevant period. The notice is evidence of an active coordinated research effort, not of a published causal-gene result.
03 · Project & laboratory documentation
The recognition submission and the original laboratory certificates are presented separately. The laboratory reports support individual test results; they do not independently validate the breed.
The presentation states that all foundation cats were tested for more than 120 genetic traits and health conditions and identifies the programme’s health and preservation objectives.
A rights-cleared public edition is in preparation.
The public standard page records conformation, coat, accepted Black and Blue Carpati expressions, faults, disqualifications and scale of points.
Twelve original seven-page CatScan certificates from 2022–2023 have been verified and prepared as public copies. Human owner names and cat microchip numbers are redacted; laboratory number, cat identity, report date and all test results remain visible.
View the 12 reportsPaw Print Genetics · CatScan
All twelve reports identify Paw Print Genetics, Spokane WA. All twelve report C/C — Non-pointed coat at the C locus. The full PDFs are provided so the complete health and trait results — including any carrier or “no result” entries — remain visible and cannot be reduced to a selective summary.
| Cat | Report date | Lab # | C-locus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azuga | 30 May 2022 | 308406 | C/C · Non-pointed | Open PDF |
| Cozia | 30 May 2022 | 308405 | C/C · Non-pointed | Open PDF |
| Dunareana | 30 May 2022 | 308404 | C/C · Non-pointed | Open PDF |
| Negoiu | 30 May 2022 | 308425 | C/C · Non-pointed | Open PDF |
| Nemteana | 30 May 2022 | 308401 | C/C · Non-pointed | Open PDF |
| Silva | 30 May 2022 | 308424 | C/C · Non-pointed | Open PDF |
| Timisoreana | 30 May 2022 | 308407 | C/C · Non-pointed | Open PDF |
| Ursus | 30 May 2022 | 308426 | C/C · Non-pointed | Open PDF |
| Engel Gold | 6 Mar 2023 | 383933 | C/C · Non-pointed | Open PDF |
| Erstreller | 6 Mar 2023 | 383932 | C/C · Non-pointed | Open PDF |
| Focal Banger | 6 Mar 2023 | 383930 | C/C · Non-pointed | Open PDF |
| Skol | 6 Mar 2023 | 383931 | C/C · Non-pointed | Open PDF |
Laboratory boundary: Paw Print’s reports state that results relate only to the items tested, are not diagnostic tests and are not breed-identification tests. The 2026 project presentation’s “120+” count remains attributed to that presentation rather than independently recalculated from the certificates.
04 · Geographic & breeding field record
The project keeps anecdotal geographic observations and public breeder activity separate from scientific evidence. These records can document reported occurrence and an active breeding population; they do not establish prevalence, population structure or genetic causation.
Breeders, owners and collaborators have reported or observed cats showing the Carpati phenotype in Romania, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Croatia, Czechia and Slovakia. The project currently interprets these reports as consistent with a broader sub-Carpathian distribution. This has not been tested through a systematic geographic or population-genetics survey.
GreyHeart publicly documents Transylvanian breeding in Hungary and dated appearances with its cats at WCF shows including Rijeka and Timișoara in February 2025. It is cited here as evidence of documented breeding and show activity outside the founding cattery, not as a scientific or breed-authority source.
05 · Independent public record
The Media & Press archive links directly to original TVR, PRO TV, Observator / Antena 1, Digi24 and Kanal D sources wherever surviving primary links are available.
Evidence boundary
