Chartreux Cat Breed Description

Active: Chartreux cats are moderately active. They are gentle and sweet. They enjoy both lounging and playing when the mood strikes.

Size: The Chartreux is a medium to large cat. Chartreux weigh, on average, 7 to 16 pounds.

Characteristics: The Chartreux is a stocky cat that has been described as "a potato on toothpicks." Unflattering nicknames aside, they are quite lovely cats. They do have large bodies and rather slender legs. They also have round heads with sweet smiles and endearing round eyes. They are quite muscular which bodes well for them as they are skilled mousers and use those muscles to deftly chase mice. Additionally, physical maturity can take as much as 3 years.

Temperament: Chartreux cats are famously known for being quiet and sweet. And, while they are certainly quiet and sweet, they are so much more. Chartreux cats make wonderful, loving companions. They are incredibly loyal and make the best cuddling companion around. Your Chartreux will want to relax in your lap and you will want him too. But, just because the Chartreux enjoys a good snuggle, does not mean they are not playful. Quite the contrary in fact. They are skillful mousers, using their amazing hunting prowess to capture mice. Additionally. they are very intelligent and can easily learn their own names. These little comedians enjoy a good joke and are very silly. They will play with you all day and cuddle with you all night!

Care: The Chartreux cat is a relatively low maintenance cat. The gorgeous coat of the Chartreux cat does not require brushing. Rake your fingers through his coat and periodically comb to keep the coat looking nice. Additionally, you do not need to regularly bathe your cat, only when absolutely necessary. The coat is water resistant so it will take a good effort to get your Chartreux wet down to the skin. Brush his teeth daily so ward of periodontal disease. Lastly, trim nails regularly and clea

Coat: The coat of the Chartreux is short to medium in length and thick. It is blue in tone and has a thick undercoat.

Origin: There are a few different accounts of how exactly the Chartreux breed came to be. As the first tale goes, the breed began at Le Grande Chartreux monastery, just outside of Paris in the French alps. The monks were famous for their liquor making and the monks were said to have used the same skill and dedication they used for liquor making to breed the Chartreux cat. The cats were supposedly bred with the intention of making quiet cats so that they would not interrupt the quietness of the monastery.

While this story is quite interesting, and fanciers love to tell the story, there is noway of verifying if it is indeed true. These "blue cats of France" are said to be descended from The Cats of Syria in the 16th century. The first verifiable account of the Chartreux cat breed is the Histoire Naturelle, written in the 1700s by biologist Comte de Buffon. It lists the Chartreux as one of the 4 cat breeds that were common in France at the time. Next, the Chartreux are described in Jean Simonnet's book, "The Chartreux Cat." The modern breed of Chartreux that we know today began in 1920. Two sisters, named Christine and Suzanne Leger, discovered a pack of free-roaming cats off the coast of Brittany, France.

The Leger sisters took a special interest in the intriguing breed of cat and decided to work seriously with the breed. They began showing the breed in 1931 in Paris, France. The beautiful blue coat of the Chartreux was intriguing and the popularity of the breed quickly grew. But, when World War II began, breeding of the breed stalled out. After World War II, breeders bred what was left of the Chartreux cat breed with Brittish Shorthairs as well as Russian Blues and Persians. This sustained the breed and soon after, the Chartreux cat breed was re-established and the traditional look of the Chartreux was maintained.

In European cat shows, the breed is often in the same category as Brittish Shorthairs, but in America the breed is shown independently. Chartreux cats first came to America in the 1970s. They were imported from France by Helen Gamon of La Jolla, California. Three Chartreux were brought to the United States, Tornade, Taquin and Tilda. Gamon, along with other breeders, established the breed in the United States and Canada and is now recognized by all organizations as a cat breed.