Introduction
The Chateaux is a very old breed whose characteristic is the even medium blue coat colour and the typical trapezium shaped head. The legend says it was the cats of the Monks, helping them get rid of mice in their Monasteries. They are considered the National cat of France.
History
The breed is very old and probably originates in Turkey or Iran and later was found in Syria. From there, they were probably taken to Europe (France) by the Crusaders along the “silk road” in the 13th century. The origin of the name is not clear but most probably they were called after the luxurious Spanish wool called “la pile des Chartreux” in the 18th century. They were also found in Monasteries, but their origins have nothing to do with Monks. In the 60es they got very inbred, so FIFe decided to allow the cross breed with the British Blue. For some years they shared the same standard until the Chartreux breeders realised the breed was in danger of extinction. Finally, in 1977 the standards were separated again.
Appearance
The Chartreux is a medium-large cat with a solid body and strong muscles that has medium high legs and a powerful broad chest. His head has a characteristic shape of a trapezium with the full cheeks forming the lower part and the narrow top of the head to complete the shape. Their ears are medium sized and set upright and their eyes are the colour of amber, golden, and can be copper in some lines. Their coat is very dense and short. The colour goes from medium to pale blue and it must be as uniform as possible.
Temperament
Chartreux are very calm cats, very easy to handle and with a gentle character. They are not too active in general, except the kittens, and like quite spots far from the noise of the daily routine. They are very healthy and love to eat a lot. When neutered, they tend to put on a lot of weight and their diet must be kept under control.