Chartreux

The Chartreux first appears in 1558 in a poem by Joachim du Bellay entitled French Verses on the death of a small cat. However, Belaud seems mixed with a house cat because 'white below like an ermine'. We then find a representation of a Chartreux in 1747 in a painting by Jean-Baptiste Perronneau representing Magdaleine Pinceloup de la Grange: the cat appears in the foreground, that is as a pet which is rather rare at that time. At the beginning of the 20th century, people began to take an interest in this cat for breeding as a pet. The writer Colette owned several of them and made one of her Chartreux cats, Saha, the heroine of her book The Cat, where she devoted several descriptions to it, and also in The Tendrils of the Vine. General de Gaulle owned a Chartreux at the end of his life, Ringo de Balmalon, purchased by Yvonne de Gaulle during her husband's second term. Living at La Boisserie, it was renamed Gris-Gris and, according to legend, followed the general everywhere. Subsequently, many owners of Chartreux declared that their cats were descendants of Gris-Gris. In the first volume of Nora Roberts' Lieutenant Eve Dallas series, entitled At the Beginning of Crime (Naked in Death) published in 1997, a fat Chartreux is found in the apartment of an assassinated prostitute. This cat is adopted by the heroine and becomes a recurring character in this series. At the end of the 1st volume, Eve Dallas names him Galahad, 'my white knight', because he will create a diversion for her attacker and thus save her life.

Even though character traits are individual and a function of each individual's history, the Chartreux is generally playful and very sociable, while retaining a certain independence. Its faithful temperament earns it the epithet of 'dog-cat'. He loves to follow his master from room to room. He excels at retrieving the ball or toy thrown. While appreciating caresses, the Chartreux does not like being physically restrained. Moreover, some of them can have violent reactions when held by assessors in competition. A quiet cat, the Chartreux loves tranquility. Robust and rustic, it is a cat perfectly adapted to cold and bad weather, and considered a good hunter.

Standard LOOF (en) Standard WCF

Its thick coat requires weekly brushing. Its shedding is significant, especially in spring when it loses its winter coat. The recommended equipment for maintaining its coat is a double-tooth metal comb (with two tooth spacings) and a softer brush in natural silk (boar or pig). Sunlight can cause brownish highlights to appear on its coat. Moreover, outdoor living and particularly in winter, accentuates the woolen aspect of the hair.