Chartreux

The Chartreux is a natural French breed of great antiquity. It is known for its gray-blue color, wooly double coat, powerful build, and mild temperament. Although it is a massive cat, it has a sweet, smiling expression and a tiny voice. It is always gray-blue in color, with gold to copper eyes. Authors through the centuries have praised the Chartreux as a gentle cat, a quiet cat, an excellent hunter, devoted to its master, easy to keep and a good traveler. These characteristics were prized in a working breed, and are still true of the Chartreux today.
The Chartreux is a sturdy French breed coveted since antiquity for its hunting prowess and its dense, water repellent fur.
Broad, rounded head with powerful jaw and full cheeks. Straight nose with a slight depression between the eyes. Comparatively small, tapered muzzle. Sweet, smiling expression. Medium sized ears set high on the head, with a very erect posture. Rounded, open, expressive eyes.
Robust, medium-long body with broad shoulders and deep chest. Solid and dense. Females are medium in size, males are large. Tapering, moderate length tail. Comparatively short and fine-boned legs. Feet are round and appear almost dainty compared to body mass.

The Chartreux Cat is probably the most natural cat breed of them all. This is because her origins appear to go back to the 16th century (see below) and more importantly the objective of modern breeders is to make sure she remains as she has always been. The Chartreux cat breeders deserve recognition for their foresight and unique actions. The cat fancy likes to "improve" cat breeds through selective breeding.

The desire to retain the purity of the breed seems to be a thread running through the history of this breed. This is a great motivator to continue the good work and is probably why the current breeders are dedicated to the preservation of this breed in its original form.