Chartreux Cat Names, Names For Chartreux Kittens, Page 4

The story that French Carthusian monks at the Grande Chartreuse monastery kept these blue cats for centuries is wrong. CFA's breed profile says it directly: "clearly a charming myth." The monastery has no historical record of the cats. The breed name more likely traces to a Spanish wool — *la pile des Chartreux* — imported into 18th-century France whose woolly texture matched the cat's coat. Documented French blue cats appear in 16th-century literature; the term "Chartreux" was in use by the 17th century.

The modern breed survived a near-extinction event during World War II. Postwar French breeders rebuilt the population by introducing blue British Shorthairs and Persians, then bred forward toward the original type. The Chartreux is now considered the national cat of France. First American imports arrived in 1970. GCCF recognised the breed only recently — Council recognition came on 21 October 2015, the first show appearance was the GCCF Supreme Show in October 2016, and Championship status followed in 2023.

TICA describes the build as "a potato on toothpicks" — a broad, dense, blue-grey body on fine-boned legs. The coat is woolly, water-resistant, and exists in blue only; the Chartreux is one of the very few pedigreed breeds restricted to a single colour. Eyes are gold to brilliant orange — TICA actually uses the word "pumpkin." The rounded head and tapered muzzle produce the breed's characteristic smiling expression. Temperamentally, three registries converge on the same description: calm, observant, devoted to owner, dog-like, and quiet — communicating through murmurs and chirps rather than meows.

French naming carries the most lineage weight. Colette wrote about her Chartreux Saha in her 1933 novel La Chatte. Charles de Gaulle's cat was named Gris-Gris. The Russian Blue and the Korat are the breed's natural neighbours — three blue cats from three different national traditions, none of them interchangeable.