Chartreux Cat Breeds
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The Chartreux is a well built, robust cat and they have quite short legs in relation to the rest of their bodies. One of their most striking characteristics is their short, double, extremely weather-resistant coat which consists of long guard hairs that cover a much woolier and shorter undercoat. Mature cats form “breaks” or it clumps in their coats especially around their necks, legs and chests making them very similar in appearance to that of a sheep.
They do not reach full maturity until they are 2 years old, but they always have a characteristic look about them more especially because of their constant “smile”. Males are generally that much larger than their female counterparts and they mature a little later too. However, both males and females boast having broad, rounded heads with powerful jaws and nice full cheeks with males having more of a jowl than females.
They have nicely contoured foreheads and moderately long and wide, straight noses with a slight stop which is found at a cat’s eye level. Their ears have a nice width and height to them being set high which cats hold upright. Their eyes are rounded and open with cats always having a gentle, yet alert expression in them. Their eye colour can be copper right through to gold, but the preferred colour is a brilliant orange. They have relatively small and narrow muzzles and the Chartreux always boasts a lovely, gentle smile which is one of their endearing physical traits.
Their necks are heavy set and short and a Chartreux has a robust, moderately long body with deep chest and broad shoulders. Females are medium in size whereas males are larger, but both have moderately long tails that are heavier at the base before tapering to an oval tip. Cats carry their tails in a lively fashion. They boast having relatively short, fine-boned, straight, sturdy legs and medium size round shaped feet which often look quite dainty for such a cobby cat.
When it comes to their coat, the Chartreux has a medium to short, slightly woolly coat which breaks around their neck and flanks much like that of a sheep. They have very dense and weather resistant undercoats with a much longer topcoat. It’s worth noting that the woolliness of a cat’s coat depends on their age, sex and living environment, but in general males have heavier coats than their female counterparts. The only acceptable coat colour is a varying shade of grey which is as follows:
- Bright blue-grey from ash to slate grey with the tips of a cat’s guard hairs being brushed with silver