The number of serious Chausie breeders has been growing by leaps and bounds. Many breeders have been seriously breeding away from the Jungle Cat for quite some time. Certain breeders have reached their 5^th generation, and the resulting cats are stunning.

The temperaments are wonderful and they are proving to be an extremely healthy and hardy feline. All F4 males have been fertile and certain F3 males are also producing.

We are currently asking the board for approval of a revised breed description at the annual meeting in Mississippi as the current breed description on file with TICA is extremely vague.

It is imperative that we, as a group, have strong breed goals and that is our intent and purpose in the breed description revision. Chausie breeders, new and old, need a clear view of exactly what the breed goals are to help them in their breeding program choices.

Brief Summary of Breed Goals:

Step One: To have an updated working breed description written in standard format accepted in Category V and a working breed chair appointed with a working breed group.

Step Two: To work towards NBC status, which is to produce Chausies with no wild cat within a three-generation pedigree.

Step Three: To move towards Category 1 for Championship status, with three generations of Chausie to Chausie, with no other cats/breeds within a three-generation pedigree.

The following descriptions should be the goal of the Chausie breeding program:

HEAD:The head of the Chausie is an equilateral triangle (excluding ears), medium in size with a long sloping forehead. The muzzle is long and square with rounded whisker pads and a strong chin. The nose is broad, the cheekbones are prominent, angular and strong.

EARS:The ears are large and set upright, cornering the head. They are wide at the base, tapering to slightly rounded tips. Preference is given to cats with black or dark brown lynx tipping.
 
 

EYES:The eye is medium in size, oval in shape and set on an angle to the outer edge of the ear. Preferred eye color in the brown ticked tabby is gold, with hazel and yellow allowed. Preferred eye color in black and black silver ticked tabby is yellow, with gold and hazel allowed. No green or copper.

BODY:The large, rectangular body is strong and athletic, with a full chest and good depth of body. The musculature is long and lean, giving the cat a look of agility.

LEGS & FEET:The legs are moderately long, well muscled with medium boning. The hind legs are slightly longer than the front, as the cat is built for running and leaping. The feet are proportionately small and round. Five toes in front, four toes in the rear. Absolutely no polydactyl feet.

TAIL:The Chausie has a 3/4 length tail that extends just past the hock. This is the result of a normal length tail from the Jungle Cat with fewer vertebras, not the result of a mutated tail gene, i.e. - Manx or Bobtail breeds which are strictly forbidden in the Chausie breeding program. Full-length tails are acceptable, though not preferred.

COAT: The coat is semi-short and resilient with enough length to accommodate at least two bands of ticking. No longhaired cats should be used in the Chausie breeding program.
 
 

COLORS & PATTERNS:

BROWN TICKED TABBY: a mouse gray color next to the skin with sandy-gray to reddish-gold base coat. The coat will have 2 or more bands of color in the ticking. There will be barring on the tail, upper front legs and to the hock on the back legs. In addition, there may be faint markings on the face, vertical markings above each eye preferred to the tabby "M", with faint markings only on the body. The backs of the ears will have "thumbprint" markings of a lighter color. A white or off-white color should outline the eyes and muzzle. Nose leather pink to brick red. The underside will range in color from white or off-white to sandy-gold. Some flecking or speckling may occur on the stomach, but not to the degree of belly spots.

BLACK: solid black.

BLACK SILVER TICKED TABBY: black or silver base with the ground color black, followed by one or more bands of silver alternating with black. Faint markings may occur on the body.

NOTE: These three colors are the naturally occurring colors in the Jungle Cat. The goal is for the Chausie to retain the natural look of the Jungle Cat by allowing only these three colors. All other colors are discouraged from use in the Chausie breeding program including color-points and any sex-linked O genes.
 
 
 
 

OUTCROSSES USED IN DEVELOPING THE BREED INCLUDE: The Chausie has its origins from Felis Chaus (Jungle Cat) and domestic cats crosses i.e. Abyssinian, Abyssinian-type or Chausie-type domestic shorthairs, preferably brown ticked tabby, or black. The ultimate goal however is a cat that has only Chausie to Chausie within a three-generation pedigree. Breeding to a breed with a mutation tail gene (Manx and other Bobtailed breeds) is strictly forbidden. If and when the Chausie is accepted for Championship status the intent is to apply for Category 1 with no other cats within a three-generation pedigree.

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