Variety:
Chantilly cat
Country of origin:
United States of America
Colours:
Black, blue, chocolate, cinnamon, lilac
Characteristics:
Intelligent, affectionate, active
Weight:
3-6 kg
Longevity:
14-16 years
Other names:
Chantilly cat, Chantilly, Foreign Longhair
Litter size:
From 1 to 12 kittens
The Chantilly cat is a great family companion – this breed prefers the company of people rather than being alone. Chantilly cats are not very quiet pets – they like to keep up a „conversation“ with their owner, and will often meow or otherwise „talk“. Shantilly cats do not require any fancy toys – the most important thing is that the human is involved in the activity, and paper balls and bottle caps are perfect for playing. These pets are adaptable, so they are suitable even for very busy people: if the cat has no one to talk to, it will find something to do.
History of the cat
The Chantilly cat is believed to be descended from Asian long-haired cats. The breed is relatively new, with the first representatives being born in 1960 in New York. The breed was first introduced in the early 1960s. In 1970, the breeder registered a new breed, which she named the Foreign Longhair. However, after another decade, it was decided to rename the breed, so the Chantilly cats were called Tiffany cats (a name that was officially adopted in 1979). In 1973, a pregnant Tiffany cat (or at least a cat very similar to her) was brought to Canada and soon had a litter of kittens. The kittens were chocolate in colour, which impressed the Canadian breeders very much. Later cross-breeding was aimed at keeping this colour, but today several colour variations are possible. In 1992, Canadian breeders decided that the breed needed a new name, so they renamed the breed Chantilly cat. For a long time it was thought that Chantilly cats were related to Burmese cats, but in 1992 it became clear that the two breeds had nothing in common. By the end of the twentieth century, Chantilly cats had already attracted a considerable amount of interest in the USA, Canada, Norway and Germany, but the breed was still too small. In 2012, TICA (The International Cat Association) proposed to remove the Chantilly cat from the breed register due to the low number of registered cats. In 2015, the main breeders of Chantilly cats discontinued their breeding programme, but today you can still find offspring of Chantilly cats for sale (mostly in the USA). In Lithuania, there are still no registered representatives of this breed, so it can be very difficult to acquire a pet of this breed.
Chantilly cat: appearance
The Shantilly cat is of medium size – its weight is approximately 4,5 kg (males are usually larger than females). The head of this breed is quite large, the cheekbones are broad and well defined. The eyes are golden in colour, large and expressive. The ears are medium-sized, triangular in shape, and grow on the sides of the head. Body graceful, appearing larger than it is due to the dense coat. The coat is soft, silky in texture and quite long. Coat colours allowed: black, blue, lilac, chocolate and cinnamon. Interestingly, these cats rarely cause allergies, so if you are allergic to cats but would like to have one at home, you can get to know Chantilly cats – kennels are usually happy to receive visitors.
Chantilly cat: character
A Chantilly is a very vocal breed of cat that tends to be aloof, but not aggressive towards humans (or other animals) in general. They love having some company at home or might even develop a rapport with your dog if it has been raised alongside of them for a younger age (although this may not always be the case).