Cat Breeds Cat
The Chartreux Cat Breed Guide(Characteristics, Temperaments)The Chartreux Cat Breed Guide(Characteristics, Temperaments)
The Chartreux Cat or Chartreuse cat is native to France and is not recognized in Great Britain because of its similarities to the blue British Shorthair. However in the rest of Europe and North America, differences between the two breeds are emphasized and it is classed as a separate cat breed. The name, Chartreux, has been associated with this breed since the 16th century. Some historians claim that the breed is named after the Carthusian monastery, the Grande Chartreuse, founded in the 11th century in south-eastern France. Others think that since the breed had a woolly coat, the name was derived from a type of Spanish wool, called “Pile de Chartreux”. The modern history of the breed began on the island of Belle-Ile off the coast of Brittany, France. The Leger sisters discovered a colony of the large blue cats and began to breed them in the late 1920’s. The first Chartreux was shown in 1931 and later descendants when on to win a number of shows before the Second World War.