Differences Between European and American Chartreux

My love for the Chartreux breed started in 1990 with a visit to the Houston Cat Show. There, I saw a cat; not just any cat, but a stunning blue cat named Cashmere Critter. He was a Chartreux, and right there I decided what I wanted. I tried long and hard to locate a Chartreux of my own, but after much writing and phoning, I was unable to locate a female Chartreux. So I decided to look in their ancestral land: France. I visited France later that year and came back with Finette des Lilas Bleus.

After that first trip to France, I traveled back to France, Switzerland, and Belgium numerous times, visiting with the pioneering Chartreux breeders. From them I learned the characteristics of the early Chartreux and how to read European pedigrees. I also learned how to distinguish the British Shorthair cats which were crossed with the Chartreux to enlarge the gene pool, and which Persians were used around 1933 to deepen the eye color to a lovely copper. For their generosity in sharing this knowledge I am indebted to Jean Simonnet, Mme. Genevieve Bock, Mme. Bohard, Danielle Docquos, and Mme. Muller.

I realized there were some important and interesting differences between the Chartreux we loved in the two continents. As a result of my close contacts with the European Chartreux communities, I was honored in 1997 to be accepted as a member of the Club du Chats Chartreux, the mother organization for Chartreux breeders in France and the rest of Europe, putting me in a good position to bridge the gap between the two continents. These differences, while not extreme, are something anyone importing Chartreux from Europe to North America should be aware of. You will need to make allowances for the first-generation litters of European and North American matings to contain some of the heritage of both continents.

The European Chartreux is "massive", while the North American Chartreux are described as "robust". The European males are as a rule very large and somewhat bigger than those born here. The females show a similar size difference, with European females looking like a smaller version of the males; North American female Chartreux are slighter in build by comparison. The paws reflect these size differences as well. The North American standard paw is round and medium in size, and the European paw is larger. In both areas the legs and feet appear almost dainty in relation to the body mass. North American Chartreux paws are described as "blue grey" and the European as "rose taupe." Interestingly, neither the European nor North American breed standard discusses the fatty pouch-like belly commonly found on Chartreux, and which becomes more apparent in spayed or neutered cats.

Besides the differences in eye color commonly known and discussed, the careful observer will also note that the European Chartreux eye is slightly slanted upward at the outer edge. Although this is common in North American Chartreux, the breed standard does not address this, calling for the eyes to be rounded and open. The European standard describes a nose which is straight with no stop; the standard for North America allows a slight stop set at eye level.

Moving upward on the head, European Chartreux have traditionally have wider-set ears than those prized on North American cats, though this is less pronounced lately than in past years. The ears on North American Chartreux males often start out very high-set as kittens, but then separate and appear lower after the onset of the heavy breeding jowls at maturity. This is not addressed at all in the North American standard, resulting in mature males being penalized in competition when compared with mature females who retain the high ear set.

The European Chartreux generally has puffier whisker pads than his North American cousin, resulting in a more pronounced muzzle. In fact, one of the experienced Belgian breeders indicated to me that North American Chartreux needed more muzzle to avoid the appearance of a "pointed" face.

Breeding European and North American Chartreux together helps the breed in many ways. First, it enlarges the gene pool, lending robustness to all the cats born far down the line. The European genes tend to add bulk, while the offspring benefit from the improved North American ear set and lighter whisker pads, helping offset some of the excesses introduced by the British Shorthair crosses. So I heartily recommend to Chartreux breeders in North America to inject some European stock in their breeding programs - you'll be pleased and perhaps fascinated with the results!

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