Cat Chartreux

The Chartreux is a very special cat. It has a very ancient history, it is said that it was brought to Europe by the Knights Templar who took them in the mountains of Syria. Many of these felines were given to the Carthusian monks as thanks for their hospitality in the Carthusian monasteries and the monks continued to breed them because they were excellent rat hunters and protected food supplies, granaries and manuscripts.

This, however, is but one legend associated with this cat breed. The most certain origin of this feline comes from France, bred in the 1930s by two French sisters, the Legèr sisters, and a few years later their cat Mignonne was elected Miss Cat Chartreux in the world at the Paris exhibition.

It is not a very common cat in Italy but very popular in France and Belgium.

The best characteristic of this cat is its character. It has a strong personality, but is loyal and balanced. He is very attached to his family and especially to the human he chooses as a companion, but he is also attached to the other members of the family.

He is not particularly attached to the house like other types of cats, so even a move or relocation is no problem for him.

It does not tend to be territorial, the Cat Chartreux cares about being with you in the family and even if you have other animals it usually gets along well. It is a very cold cat so don't be surprised if it crawls under the covers with you in winter. He does not really like to be picked up and scrambled if he does not feel like it, and when this happens he makes it clear to you.

His somewhat shy nature means that you have to respect his pace, but being a lover of cuddles, he or she will not be long in coming. His affectionate qualities and calmness make him suitable for flat life, pleasant company and reliable, so much so that he is also called the dog-cat.

He is calm and very quiet, rarely meows yet makes his presence felt by purring and seeking your gaze. Suitable for the elderly and also for children because of its patience. It tolerates loneliness quite well, but feels very much the prolonged absence of the human with whom it has established the strongest relationship.

It is a very beautiful, elegant, muscular and strong cat. The female generally has a build similar to a domestic cat, the male can weigh up to 7-8 kg and even more. They live on average about 15 years or more and are a very robust animal. One just has to be careful with food as it is very greedy and tends to eat more than it needs.

So try to dose the amount of daily food according to its age and weight, but never leave as much as it wants. To keep his thick fur beautiful, just brush it once a week and he does not need any other special care. Check his ears from time to time and also his teeth as they tend to suffer from tartar build-up.

The coat of this cat is thick, shiny, supported by a thick woolly undercoat. Grey with blue highlights and rich in nuances from ash to slate. In the official standard of the Cat Chartreux all shades of grey are allowed as long as there is no difference in shade between the coat and undercoat and the colour must be uniform.

The eyes are large, round and spaced out with a colour ranging from copper to gold, but with a predominance of bright orange. The head is rounded and the jaw is powerful with pronounced cheeks. The colour of its coat is not immediately definitive; at birth the Carthusian is streaked and around one year of age the streaks disappear, giving way to a uniform coat.