Chartreux (CHA)
Scale of Points: Head & Ears 30 – Eyes 10 – Body Legs & Tail 30 – Coat & Colour 30
The Chartreux is a shorthair French breed with a robust, well-proportioned muscular body. It has been renowned since antiquity for its hunting prowess and dense greyish blue, slightly woolly coat. They are extremely supple and agile cats, and the qualities of strength, unrivalled intelligence and adaptability, enabled them to survive in the wild for centuries. The Chartreux has a gentle but seldom used voice and is calm and affectionate. Expressive eyes are one of its most endearing features. Males are much larger than females and slower to mature.
Head: Broad with rounded contours and a narrow flat plane between the ears. The cheeks are full, and the jowls, especially in males over 2 years of age, make the head look wider at the base than at the top. The profile has a high forehead with a slight curve at eye level. The nose is straight, broad, and moderately long.
Muzzle: Narrow in relation to the overall width of the head, not pointed, with full whisker pads and a firm chin, giving a sweet, smiling expression.
Eyes: Large, rounded, open and expressive with the outer corner pointing slightly upward, set moderately wide apart with the colour varying from yellow to copper. In kittens, allowances should be made for maturing eye colour.
Ears: Medium size, set high on the head with slightly rounded tips.
Body: Semi-cobby, sturdy, with broad shoulders and a deep chest. Medium length with a strong bone structure and dense, powerful musculature. The neck is short, thick, and muscular. Females are significantly smaller but still robust and well-muscled.
Legs: Medium length with strong bone structure and powerful muscles, particularly in males.
Paws: Medium size and oval in shape.
Tail: Medium length, flexible, thicker at the base, tapering to a rounded tip.
Coat: A distinctive feature of the breed. Medium-short, dense, slightly woolly in with a ‘breaking look’ and an abundant undercoat. A silkier, thinner coat is permitted on females and cats under two years of age.
Colour: All uniform shades of greyish blue are acceptable, slate grey nose leather, blue lips and rose-taupe pads. Allowances should be made for ghost barring on kittens and tail rings on cats under two years of age.
Faults: Nose break, snubbed or upturned nose, long or broad muzzle, almond-shaped eyes, tipping and any other defect as listed in the preface to the GCCF SOP document.
Withhold all awards for: Green eyes, eyes with a green circle, white locket, and any cat showing three or more of the faults above.