
Yep I'm here. :) I know very little about TICA and their rules other than showing, they are such a small minority in the UK and pretty new. (It's a registering body just like the GCCF, a bit like if there were 2 KCs in dogs but two REAL ones as opposed to like now when we have the KC and one Mickey Mouse outfit for puppy farmers -TICA is the real thing.) I've been registering/showing with the GCCF since 1989.
Yes different breeds have different health tests but it's not as widespread as in dogs, i.e. there are less problems. Not all breeds need any form of testing. So what breed it is will make all the difference to answer that question. The GCCF does not print health test results on registration certificates and there is nowhere to check them online, so if it is a breed that requires any form of testing, the buyer should ask to see proof of it having been done. If it's anything that can be clear by DNA then if parents are untested but grandparents tested clear that's perfectly okay.
Kittens must be no less than 13 weeks old when sold and fully vaccinated. A lot of breeders these days sell pets already neutered -breeders could argue all day long about the pros and the cons there but it's a fact that it is commonly done so unlike in dogs, it would not be a sign of a bad breeder. Kittens sold as pets are usually registered as non active, same thing as endorsed in dogs -offspring cannot be registered. This is NOT usually lifted later on and is not as easily done as in dogs. In most breeds, there are 3 different price levels. One low price for a kitten sold as a pet, this will then truly ONLY be a pet, not suitable for showing and breeding. One middle price for breeding quality -usually means it's good enough to breed from but has some minor fault which prevents it from being shown successfully. Then a higher price for show/breeding. To confuse it further, some are also sold as suitable as show neuters, i.e. not for breeding, to be neutered, but good enough to show when neutered. You will usually see statements like pet, pet/show neuter, breeding quality, show/breeding.
I'd expect ALL kittens to be registered. There is even a GCCF rule that says if a kitten is sold unregistered, then the buyer should be given a copy of the certificate of entirety (a vet cert saying the sire has two normal testicles) and the pedigree so the buyer can then register the kitten themselves should they wish to.
Personally I'd be wary of kittens NOT raised fully indoors. It's normal and most practical to keep stud cats in catteries outside, and most breeders will have some other cats living in catteries as well, but kittens need to be reared indoors from birth until they are ready to go, otherwise chances are they will turn out too nervous and will never be fully happy living indoors.
Deposits ARE the norm in cats, usually taken when the buyer first views the kittens.
You can find a list of shows here:
http://www.gccfcats.org/showsnew.html