TRADITIONAL CHARTREUX FAQs HISTORY - PERSONALITY - HEALTH Copyright Trademark Diana Fineran, January 2, 2007 HISTORY The existence

ence of this natural, true blue breed of cat was documented in the 16th century, and its unique color and coat texture was noted. Their name is pronounced shar-true. In French literature it is reported to be a fine mouser. A 1558 poem written by French poet du Balley reads something like this, Its Belaud my little gray cat Belaud who was by chance The most beautiful work that Nature has ever made. Silver-gray fur as Shiny and smooth as satin A broad neck, short ears, a nose of ebony, Powerful legs with little feet More like delicate little mittens A sweet smile Such was Belaud the gentle animal. Intriguing are the legends steeped within the breeds history. Curiously one old legend postulates that the Traditional Chartreux lived with, and was named after, the Carthusian Monks at the Le Grand Chartreux Monastery, founded in 1084 by St. Bruno in the French Alps outside Parris, France, and may have shared a sip of their Chartreuse liqueur! In fact, one legend says they were named after the world famous yellow and green Liqueur des Peres Chartreuse. More lore says a brother brought a blue cat home to the monastery from the Cape of Good Hope during the 17th century. Originally the cats were used for mousing. Supposedly they were selectively bred to be soft voiced so the cats would not disturb the monks meditations. The monastery records make no mention of cats. There is no way to know if this is true or not and the cats arent telling. Yet in the Universal Dictionary Of Commerce, Natural History, and Of The Arts And Trades, the following definition of bluish cats is given, This type is called Chartreux because of the monks of this name who owned the first of the breed. This book, published between 1749 and 1804 possibly is the first mention of the name, Chartreux to describe blue cats from France. Perhaps they trudged along with the crusading knights in the 13th Century as the knights limped home from their ill fated fight against the Turks. Along with them came plundered goods, including the blue cats, which they probably picked up along the African coast.

More in line with reality, indications show they were named after a well-known, Spanish wool of the early 18th Century. Even the Universal Dictionary defines the word Chartreux as a type of Spanish wool! The Histoire Naturelle, a 44 volume work written in the 1700s by biologist, Comte de Buffon lists four cat breeds common in Europe during that century. They are: Domestic, Angora, Spanish and Chartreux. A theory about where the Traditional Chartreux originated was given in The Chartreux Cat by Simonnet, The Chartreux cat probably came from the Near East, and the cat described by the Italian intellectual, Aldrovandi, in the 16th Century, under the name Cat of Syria was probably its ancestor; the name was given to this cat because of its origin before it assumed the name Chartreux. In that same book an illustration of the Cat Of Syria shows a stocky cat with solid gray coloring and vivid, slightly almond shaped eyes of copper color. A mouse cowers beside the cat, testifying to the hunting prowess of the cat as well as presenting one of the reasons the breed was so highly prized. Merchant ships brought the Traditional Chartreux to Europe to become an established French cat. In their early days it was a miracle they survived at all, because they were only working farm and street cats, left to fend for themselves without love or care. For a time they were prized for their luxurious pelts! Jean Simonner wrote, One can truly say that the Chartreux cats beloved to us formerly did not have the best of times with our countrymen. They certainly are hardy survivors! The Blue coat, along with a robust body and characteristic smile, are the breeds popular acclaim. Medium in length and wooly, the water repellent coat has a dense undercoat, giving it resistance. The coat is so thick, in fact, it breaks like sheeps wool at the neck, chest and flanks. The tips are lightly brushed with silver giving a beautiful, iridescent glow to their fur. They are known for their smile, created by the contours of the head, which gives the image of smiling. The Leger sisters were the first to seriously work with the breed beginning in the late 1920s in their de Guerveur Cattery. Christine and Suzanne Leger noticed a group of Chartreux cats on the small, British, island of Bell Lle, off the coast of France. The free roaming, blue cats lived on the grounds of a hospital in the city of Le Palais. The sisters wrote, In the first year of our installation at Belle Lle, we were awestruck by the number and beauty of several blue cats with thick coats whom the people at Le Palais called hospital cats. One of the sisters wrote in Country Living, In the country we have similarly found these cats, and remarkable they all have the same type and, in spite of cross breeding with the European cats of the country, have kept the characteristics of their breed. In 1931 the Leger sisters were the first to exhibit their cats in France. World Was II had a profound effect on their numbers. Some French breeders out crossed to Blue Persians, Blue British Shorthairs and Russian Blues to prevent extinction.

John and Helen Gamon of La Jolla, CA. learned of the breed from a book, The Life, history and Magic of the Cat, by Fernand Mery, written in 1966. A comparison of the Traditional Chartreux to other short haired breeds was given, that so intrigued the Gamons, that they became committed to finding and purchasing the beautiful cats. They also heard about the Leger sisters and subsequently made a trip to France in 1970. They returned with three cats: Tornade, Taquin and Thilda, who became the foundation of the breed in the U.S. The male, Taquin de St. Pierre of Gamonal was purchased from the cattery owned by Madame Bastide in France. If you enjoy a big, blue, intriguing, unique, loving, generous, sweet, bear, then the Traditional Chartreux is the perfect choice. PERSONALITY People love them due to a congenial disposition, affectionate nature, with a sweet temper, along with strong hunting abilities. They possess native vitality and intelligence and are known to enjoy being handled, and attach to their human family quickly. With dog like manners, they follow their masters from room to room and can be taught to fetch. Not as active as some breeds, they are calm and confident, more the strong, silent type. Toys that move, primarily under human power, are their great joy, which satisfies their hunting/stalking instinct. Bedtime means seeking out a lap or place in your bed. Since they are a quiet breed, they use chirping or a trill, rather than meowing to communicate. However, their purr is spectacular. The French poet Colette described her love for her Traditional Chartreux, Saha, in her book La Chatte My little chubby-cheeked bear Lovely, lovely, lovely cat My blue pigeon Pearl-gray Devil The sun caressed her Chartreux fur, Soft lilac and blue as the throat of a ring dove She quickly caught hold of herself Summoning back to her golden eyes her familiar expression and her feline dignity Come, my little puma, come My misty-blue cat My soft lilac cat, Saha,Saha,Saha. HEALTH Brushing their coat is better replaced by simply running the fingers through their fur.

Around 6 weeks of age the kittens go through a major metamorphosis. Eye color changes from blue to a murky brown with flecks of orange. Heads begin to fill out and ears climb to the top of the kittens heads. More guard hairs appear in the coat. 1 Introduction 2 CX Breeders 3 All Breeders 4 Standard 5 Committee 6 Seminar 7 Back to Breed List 2011 - 2012 BEST OF BREED (CLICK TO ENLARGE) BEST OF BREED CAT RW QGC COLUMBLEU GREYSTONE BLUE BEST OF BREED KITTEN RW COLUMBLEU GREYSTONE BLUE BEST OF BREED ALTER IW SGCA GRANDBOIS ETIENNE GUITTARD BLUE View Best of Breed Archive PRINTABLE VERSION General Description The Chartreux is an old breed that is a balance of contrasts. With its sturdy, robust body and fine-boned legs, the Chartreux is often described as a "potato on toothpicks". It is one of the few breeds to come in blue only and its medium length coat has a woolly texture to it. It has a hard top-coat which is water-repellent and a soft, dense undercoat to keep it warm. The rounded head tapers towards the muzzle creating a smile and the mediumsized ears are set high on the head. But the eyes are one of the first features to leap out at youthe large orange eyes light up the whole face. History Reputed to be great mousers, references to Chartreux cats are found in French literature as early as the 16th century. There are 2 possible ways the Chartreux may have received its name. The first, as a companion to the Carthusian monks protecting the grain stores for the monastery and perhaps the ingredients for the famous Charteuse liqueur. The second, as a cat with a coat similar to a well-known Spanish wool from the 18th century. There are no records in the monastery that refer to the cats however the term Chartreux for these cats was being used as early as the 17th century which predates the Spanish

wool and appears to be more connected with the monastery. French literature has references to the Charteux cat though the 1880s and it is known considered the national cat of France. As with many other breeds, the Chartreux suffered through WWII and after the war other breeds were introduced to help preserve a solid genetic base. In the case of the Charteux, blue British Shorthairs and Persians were used but breeders stayed focused on preserving the overall look of the cat. Personality These are cats that want their feet firmly on the ground. While playful and intelligent, these engaging cats are not one for hi-jinks flying through the air. They have quiet voices and sometimes seem to chirp to each other and to their owners. While they are somewhat reserved, these are calm placid cats that are devoted to their owners. They like to climb and have a reputation of being great huntersthese aspects of their personality may be directly connected to their earlier role of hunters. Traits These cats have a solid robust body often referred to as "primitive". They are a study of contrasts: heavy body supported by medium-fine legs; medium erect ears over very large orange eyes lighting up the face; a rounded top-head narrowing to a tapered muzzle with the corners pulled upward to give the cat a smiling expression; a thick, dense coat with a hard, water-repellent outer layer and a soft, warm undercoat. They are solid, muscular cats and mature adults weigh from 12-16 pounds. History of the Chartreux Cat Blue cats are said to have lived in France since the 16th century. The first document that can be quoted, is a poem written in 1558 by Joachim du Bellay, called French Verses on the Death of a Small Kitten" Afterwards, other writers mentioned the existence of blue cats, but it is only at the beginning of the 18th century that the word "chat des Chartreux" appeared referring to these blue cats. In 1723, for the first time, Savarry des Bruslon used the name "Chat des Chartreux" in the "Universal Trade Dictionary of Natural History and Applied Arts" (Dictionnaire Universel du Commerce d'Histoire Naturelle et des Arts et Mtiers), a technical book for traders. It reads : Chartreux commoners use this term for a variety of cat whose fur has a blue tinge. The furriers trade its skins. In 1753, in the famous Grande Encyclopdie , there is an article called Chartreux : Chartreux : a variety of cat whose fur is ash gray bordering on blue. Furriers trade it and use it for fur coats. In 1756, Buffon, the famous French naturalist, described the Chartreux cat as a cat different from the European cat and the Angora cat. The description is lengthy and precise. The book is illustrated with plates. A comparison of the plate on Chartreux cats

with those of other cats shows the Chartreux cat as being a little shorter than the domestic cat with a straight and no-stop nose; the fur is a little longer than that of the domestic, and is woolly; the tail is set straight up, tapering at the end. At the same period, Perronneau painted Magdaleine Pinceloup de la Grange with her Chartreux cat. In the 1832 edition of Buffon's Histoire naturelle , the plates were colored : the Chartreux cat is deep slate blue gray with yellow eyes. After Buffon, it is quite common to find descriptions of the Chartreux cat in books dealing with natural history. The breed still existed in France and was used by furriers. In his book Our animals (1896), Dr. Beauregard wrote : Once a cat is dead, its fur is used in different ways... The fur of Chartreux cats is sold as gray squirrel fur; but and dyed, it is given as otter fur Fortunately, at the beginning of the 20th century, interest in the Chartreux cat grew for less utilitarian reasons : breeding Chartreux cats as pets began. Colette , the French woman writer, owned several Chartreux cats and made Saha , one of them, the heroine of her book La Chatte in which she devoted some beautiful descriptions to her cat : The sun was playing on her Chartreux's fur, mauve and bluish like a woodpigeon's breast. Breed Selection

The Chartreux cat is the only cat typically French : the selection process started around the 30s by two sisters Ms Lger in Belle-Ile-en-Mer, an island located in Brittany, where a colony of cats with gray-blue coat and yellow eyes was living in the wilds. Breed description The Chartreux cat belongs to a very old French breed. Thanks to its sturdiness, its intelligence and afterwards its sociability, it could survive in the wilderness on our soil for many centuries although men were first interested in fur trade. Its qualities are part of its genetic inheritance and must be preserved as well as its physical characteristics. The Chartreux cat is a sturdy cat with a large breast and a strong body. Its head is characterized by a straight nose, a plane between ears, chops particularly marked in the adult male. When you look at the cat from the front, these chops have the shape of a trapezium, the large size down, the shorter up. Ears are set straight up on the skull giving an alert look to the cat. Eyes vary from intense yellow to copper yellow color with no green traces; they are large, slightly almond-shaped and slant upwards. The fur is dense and a bit wooly because of a thick undercoat. The color varies from bright gray to blue gray. But it must keep a blue shine, especially in the sunshine. The male is much more sturdily built, robust and chubby than the female. The Chartreux cat is a quiet cat : it mews rarely and is affectionate. It submits itself easily to an indoor life without losing its physical ability which gave it an excellent reputation

of mouse-hunter in the past. Standards are officially registered : L.O.O.F (available in France) (still in French) F.I.F.E (international) (still in French)

Chartreux Save Review Edit 1 Breed Standard: AACE standard, ACF standard, ACFA standard, CCA standard, CFA standard, FIFe standard, TICA standard 2 Type of Breed: Natural 3 Origin: France 4 Breed Development: 1747 User Ratings 0 ratings OVERVIEWREVIE WSChartreux Cat Breed Overview EditBreed Standard AACE standard ACF standard ACFA standard CCA standard CFA standard FIFe standard TICA standard

Description

The Chartreux is an internationally recognized breed of domestic cat from France. The Chartreux is large and muscular, with short fine-boned limbs, big paws, and very fast reflexes. They are known for their blue (grey) waterresistant short hair double-coats and gold- or coppercolored eyes. Chartreux cats are also known for their "smile"; due to the structure of their heads and their long, tapered muzzle, they often appear to be smiling. Chartreux are exceptional hunters and were highly prized by farmers. Natural France Compare Cats from France There is a legend that the Chartreux are descended from cats brought to France by Carthusian monks to live in the order's head monastery, the Grande Chartreuse, located in the Chartreuse Mountains north of the city of Grenoble (Siegal 1997:27). But in 1972, the Prior of the Grande Chartreuse denied that the monastery's archives held any records of the monks' use of any breed of cat resembling the Chartreux (Simonnet 1990:36-37). Legend also has it that the Chartreux's ancestors were feral mountain cats from what is now Syria, brought back to France by returning Crusaders in the 13th century, many of whom entered the Carthusian monastic order. 1747

Type of Breed Origin History

Breed Development

Cat Size The Chartreux Cat is a Medium and Large sized breed. This breed has an approximate weight of 9 pounds, which is 3 pounds lighter than the average for all Cat Breeds. Attitude The Chartreux Cat has been described as Affectionate, Family, Highly Intelligent, Loving, Loyal, Relaxed, Social, Sweet and Warm. Maintenance The Chartreux Cat has a coat that is Dense, Resilient and Short, and it requires Moderate Grooming. CHARACTERISTICS Edit

Disting Chartreux cats tend to be quiet, rarely making noises such as mewing or crying, uishing and some are mute. They are quite observant and intelligent, with some Traits Chartreux learning to operate radio on/off buttons and to open screen door latches. They take about two years to reach adulthood. Chartreux cats are playful cats well into their adult years; some can be taught to fetch small objects in the same manner as a dog. Tempe Compare by Temperament rament Affectionate Family Highly Intelligent Loving Loyal Relaxed Social Sweet Warm

Lap Cat

Yes

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES Edit Coat Dense Resilient Short

Color

Blue Silver

Hair Length Size

Short Hair Medium Large

Approximate (Adult Weight) Cat Breed Shedding Grooming The Monastic Chartreux

9 pounds Chartreux Minimal Shedding Moderate Grooming

The Chartreux is an internationally recognized breed of domestic cat that is from France. They are the native working cat of France, in the same way that the Domestic Shorthair is in North America. The Chartreux has a large, muscular body and fine-bone limbs that end in big paws. They are characterized by a bluish gray, water-resistant short, plush double coat. It is said that all the grooming the waterproof coat of the Chartreux needs is a gentle petting with your hand. Chartreux cats are known also for the smile that is formed by the long tapered muzzles and the shape of their heads. The eyes are rounded but the outer corners slant upward slightly, and according to the standard must be gold to copper colored. Their ears are medium sized and set high on the head. Legend tells that the Chartreux are descended from cats that were brought to France by the Carthusian monks to live in the order's head monastery called the Grand Chartreuse. The Grand Chartreuse is located in the mountains north of the city of Grenoble. Another legend states that the Chartreux are descendents of feral cats that lived in the mountains of what was Syria and that they were brought to France by Crusaders in the thirteenth century, many of whom entered the Carthusian monastic order after their return. Still another idea for the origin of the name Chartreux is that they were named after popular Spanish wool of the early 1700's because of the thick, wooly nature of their coats. What is known for certain is that the breed goes back to sixteenth century France and has changed little over the years.

The breed faced extinction after World War II and European breeders kept the breed from going extinct. In 1987, the CFA fully accepted the Chartreux breed for its shows. Chartreux cats are still moderately rare, especially in the New World. The Chartreux cats have the first letter of their official name encoded by the year of their birth, so all Chartreux cats born within that year have official names beginning with the same letter. The code letter rotates through the alphabet every year, excepting letters K, Q, W, X, Y and Z. As an example, the letter for 2002 was T, and all Chartreux cats born in that year had an official name starting with the letter T (Teddy, Theodore, Tom, and etcetera). The Chartreux are a very quiet breed of cat and don't make any unnecessary noise. Some are even mute. They are intelligent and quite observant and have been known to figure out how to turn on radios and open screen door latches. According to French literature they have long been highly prized by farmers due to their exceptional hunting skills and lightning fast reflexes. The Chartreux has a thick, strong body and relatively short, fine-boned legs. They mature slowly and it takes two years for them to reach their full growth. In general they are healthy, non-aggressive, affectionate, good travelers and are great with other animals and children. They tend to bond closely with one family member but are affectionate with the rest of the family. This is another cat breed that is considered "dog like" in its companionable nature and trainability.

Picture Chartreux Cat

Extra precautions and advice for the Chartreux Cat By: Jane Bicks, D.V.M. A large gentle powerhouse of a cat, the Chartreux

is a smiler, a jumper, a hunter and great for multi-pet households. It's think bluish coat is plush and should glisten. Though capable of numerous cat-tivities, it has a tendency to be lazy and often enjoys entire afternoons just sunbathing. His coat should be shiny, no at all dull. If your cat isn't fed an alternative cat food, give him a well rounded balanced supplement daily.

My Choice for a Savory, Dining Cuisine for a Chartreux Cat Online Here

Do not overfeed cat food to your Chartreux. Once a month, gently pinch your pet's side to be sure you can still feel his ribs. A Chartreux can easily become very chubby. Exercise is a must. Feed low magnesium cat foods. The incidence of FLUTD is frequent. Add 1 - 2 tablespoons of tomato juice to moist food three to five times weekly and supplement the diet with 200 mg of ester powdered vitamin C daily. * See also info on FLUTD