Chartreux Breed History

Legend has it that the Monks of the Carthsian Monastery breed & raised the Chartreux which were used in the Monasteries to keep rats out of the distilleries and from destroying the very important and sometimes secret documentation. You may also recall that during this era the plague was running rampant, so controlling the rat population was a very important job!

My husband, Bruce, & I visited the Carthusian distillery and Monastery in August of 1999.* Although we found no Chartreux running the beautiful rolling green hills of the French Alps, we found the history of the Monks fascinating! The legend associating the Chartreux with St. Bruno's order cannot be confirmed through the Carthusians because the Grand Chartreuse Monastery has been destroyed and rebuilt 8 times and all the libraries containing such records were lost or burned.

The Chartreux is one of the oldest natural breeds of cats. There are only 3 naturally blue cat breeds; the Chartreux, the Russian Blue & the Korat. The earliest documentation of the Chartreux is in the 1723 Dutch trade manual, Histoire naturelle et des arts et metiers, by Savarry des Bruslon. In 1756, the French naturalist Buffon listed the Chartreux as one of the four common varieties of cats in his work, Natural History. Later, Linnaeus, the father of taxonomy, bestowed on the Chartreux the taxonomic name of "Felis Catus Chartreuse". The Chartreux were the cats of the common people & referred to as "the rooftop cats of Paris". These cats had not lead easy lives, as they were valued primarily for their pelts/meat and as ratters. In 1933 the french authoress Colette wrote about her Chartreux cat "Saha" in her book La Chatte, refering to Saha as her "little bear with fat cheeks & golden eyes" and her "blue pigeon, her pearl gray devil".

After WWI french cat breeders became interested in preserving this ancient breed. Natural colonies of Chartreux were known to exist in Paris & in isolated regions of France. The Legers sisters, (de Guerveur Cattery), used cats from an isolated colony on the island of Belle-Ile-sur-Mer for their foundation Chartreux. These cats were referred to as "the hospital cats", as they were found residing around the island's church-run hospital in the town of Palais. Early french breeders put together a "breed standard" based on the 18th century naturalists' description and the Leger sisters exhibited their first cat in a European cat show competing under the breed name of "Chartreux" in 1931.

By the end of WWII, Chartreux were only available thru breeders. In 1970 Helen Gamon & her husband John, from La Jolla, California, traveled to France in hopes of acquiring a couple Chartreux to bring back to the states. Helen had fallen in love with the Chartreux after reading about them in Fernand Mery's book, The Life, History & Magic of the Cat. While in France, Helen found out there were only four pure lines of Chartreux that still existed. Luckily, she was able to locate & bring back to the states two breeding pair of Chartreux. In the next few years, she imported several more breeding Chartreux and started Gamonal Cattery.

Today, the North American breeders of this magnificent cat have the Gamons and the Leger sisters to thank. Due to their love and untiring devotion of this breed, the Chartreux have been excepted in all Cat Associations through out the world. They were accepted into the Cat Fanciers Association and granted Championship status on May 1st, 1987.

Chartreux cats have become quite popular being used in advertisements, commercials, calendars and much more. The demand for kittens outweighs the availability, therefore most breeders have waiting lists. It is not uncommon to have to wait 3 to 6 months, or more, for a Chartreux kitten - but is SO worth the wait!

* To see pictures of our trip click HERE.