Chartreux Cat Breed - Overview and History

Dog Breeds

The Chartreux is a large, muscular cat with short, relatively fine-boned limbs, big round paws and extremely fast reflexes.

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Introduction

The Chartreux is a large, muscular cat with short, relatively fine-boned limbs, big round paws and extremely fast reflexes. It is described as being primitive in type - neither cobby nor classic. The Chartreux is sometimes confused with the British Blue Shorthair, as they are quite similar in appearance. Both breeds are large, robust and full in body, with legs that are slightly shorter in proportion to their bodies. However, the Chartreux is lighter, more slender and more refined than its British counterpart and is never referred to as course or clumsy. The Chartreux has been described as looking like a "potato on toothpicks". Both the Chartreux and the British Blue Shorthair are truly “blue” in coloration, which is not common in domestic cats.

The head of this breed is large, broad, attractive and strong. Due to the contoured structure of the Chartreux’s head, which tapers softly to a slender muzzle, it often appears to be “smiling,” which gives it a remarkably sweet expression. The ears of the Chartreux are medium in size and set high, wide and erect on the top of the head. They give an impression of alertness. The eyes of this breed are among its most distinguishing characteristics. They start out blue in kittens, and then change to a brownish-gray. When these cats are mature, their eyes have become a clear, brilliant, vivid yellow-to-orange-to-copper color, which is striking against their distinctive steel-gray coats. The eyes of adult cats are large, round and especially open in appearance, with the outer corners turned slightly upward. They are not as completely round as the eyes of the Persian.

The Chartreux is known for its dense, plush, solid blue coat, which can range from ash to slate-gray in coloration. Their coat is short and shiny and has a unique woolly undercoat, which makes it especially water-resistant. A paler version of gray is preferred in the show ring, and consistency in the shade of coat is important in this breed. These cats should not be regularly brushed, but instead should have the hands of their owners run through their thick coats on a regular basis.

History

Legend has it that the Chartreux descends from cats owned by the French Carthusian order of monks, who lived in the monastery of La Grande Chartreuse, near Grenoble, France, during the Middle Ages. This monastery dates back to the 1300s, or perhaps even earlier. The naturalist author Georges Louis Buffon documented details of a blue feline breed in his work, Histoire Naturelle, which was published in 1756. However, the precise origins of the Chartreux breed are not well-documented. Rumor and legend suggest that the ancestors of the Chartreux were brought to the European continent by knights after the Crusades. Allegedly, these unusual cats, prized for their unique thick blue coats, were entrusted to the care of the French monks, who bred them selectively and only permitted spayed or neutered animals to be sold to outsiders. Other experts believe that the Chartreux actually was named after fine Spanish wool that was prevalent in the early 18th century, due to the unusual texture and character of the cat’s fur.

In any event, by the 1920s, the Chartreux in Europe had declined significantly in numbers. Apparently, the breed survived largely through the concerted efforts of two sisters who found several of these unusual, bluish-gray cats roaming around the grounds of a hospital in France. The sisters crossed these cats with both purebred Blue Chartreux and with British Shorthairs. They also added non-pedigreed cats to the mix, in their attempt to maintain and refine this traditional French feline breed. By the 1930s, a French veterinarian had coined the name for the breed, Felis catus cartusianorum. During World War II, other French breeders tried to save the breed from extinction by outcrossing to Persians and British Shorthairs. However, the original Chartreux cats that were imported to the United States came from the French countryside, and only those cats were used in breeding programs to produce and preserve the natural status of the present pedigreed Chartreux.

This lovely breed was brought to the United States in the 1970s, through the efforts of John and Helen Gamon. The breed achieved recognition and championship status from the American Cat Fanciers’ Association in 1987. Today, many American-bred Chartreux are being returned to French breeders, thus reducing even further their availability in the United States. Today’s Chartreuxs are not to be confused with the British Blue Shorthair or the European Blue Shorthair. This cat is much more massive, with a distinctively jowled head and a different disposition.

Health Predispositions

This is a healthy breed, with no reported breed-related health problems.

Personality

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