In 2014, the founder of the club picked up a male kitten called Jay from Chatterie de l’Etoile du Soir in Lower Normandy. He and his wife fell in love with Jay and the Chartreux breed, so in May 2015, he sent a Breed Recognition Application to GCCF, which was accepted five months later. Chartreux Cat Club UK was formed in October 2015. A website and a Facebook page were created, and, despite the Chartreux being little known in the UK, kitten enquiries came in almost immediately. The first kittens came to the UK in May 2016, and others soon followed.
Jay was the first male Chartreux to be registered with GCCF, so his owner decided he would like to have the first registered female and the first registered kittens. So, on the 26th of October 2015, he brought Lilly de Mithlond to the UK. Lilly and Jay were kept as pets, a life that Jay was used to before Lilly arrived, which worked well. They mated on the 8th of October 2016, and five beautiful and healthy kittens were born on the 13th and 14th of December.
Chartreux-owning members of the club got together for the first time at the Supreme Cat Show in Birmingham in October 2016, where six cats were exhibited. The club was also represented in the World of Cats section at the National Pet Show in London in May 2017. Both shows generated a lot of excitement and interest in the breed, and owners again showed their Chartreux at the Supreme Cat Show in October 2017.
Having become a Provisional Member of GCCF, the club worked on formalising a Chartreux Breed Standard, and an application for Preliminary Recognition was lodged. This was granted on the 9th of October 2017. Breeders and owners could then enter their cats into Assessment Classes at GCCF Shows to collect Merits to apply for Championship Status. Cats are assessed individually in these classes against the breed’s Standard of Points, ‘Breed Standard’. If the judge considered that the cat conformed to the Standard, a Merit was awarded.
Since Preliminary Recognition was granted, the club has worked hard to get 15 cats with 4 Merits each from different judges. At the Shorthair & All Breed CC of Scotland show on 8 April 2023, Biennliath Lost Soul became the 15th cat and was also awarded Overall Best in Show. This qualified the Chartreux for Full GCCF Recognition and Championship Status.