York chocolat

The breed was born accidentally in 1985 in the state of New York. Janet Chiefari owned a domestic shorthair cat with medium-long hair, black and white named Blacky. She had a litter with a neighbor's cat, an entirely black male. In this litter, a small female stood out from the others, she was chocolate colored. She was called Brownie. She also had a litter, and among it a black medium-long haired male named Minky. Together, they had two kittens, both with medium-long hair. A bicolor female chocolate and white and a uniformly chocolate male. Janet Chiefari quickly realized that she had two kittens different from the others. Their fur was particularly soft and of intense color. So she researched genetics and developed a breeding program with her four cats. A feline judge confirmed that her cats were unique and did not resemble any other breed and advised her to show them at an exhibition. She won several prizes, but always in the 'domestic cat' category. From there, the procedures for breed recognition began. She chose a very representative name for these cats: York for the origin, chocolate for the color. The breed standard was established in 1990. At that time, the breed was still recognized as 'experimental'. As of 1992, the York Chocolate was recognized as a definitive breed and admitted at exhibitions.

These are cats described as cheerful, energetic and playful. They would befriend the whole family but would have their preferred human to whom they demand much attention. These personality traits remain perfectly individual and are above all a function of each cat's history.