The Chantilly-Tiffany, which is also called Chantilly or Tiffany, is considered the “supermodel” among cats, although, of course, every cat is beautiful in its own indescribable way. Sometimes this breed of cat is mistakenly called the Tiffanie cat. However, this can be a bit misleading because it is by no means identical to the Tiffanie cat bred in Great Britain. Because of its chocolate-colored fur, it is often said that the Chantilly cat is the cat for chocolate fans. Their fur color is even compared in cat connoisseur circles with the special color of a chocolate bar from a certain American manufacturer.
Chantilly-Tiffany Cat Breed
The origin of the Chantilly-Tiffany is a bit of a mystery in itself, as is the cat itself. One can only speculate about how it might have come about. According to some sources, the Chantilly cat is descended from the Burmese or Persian cat, others speculate that it is a mixture of the long-haired Abyssinian and the short-haired brown Havana. Still, others speak of a cross between Angora, Somali, and Havana cats. In all likelihood, it consists of four equal parts Havana Brown, Nebelung, Abyssinian, and Somalia. The only thing that is certain is that she is not a long-haired Burmese, which is sometimes claimed. This rumor goes back to the fact that a breeder of the Chantilly-Tiffany cat also bred Burmese. However, the little kittens showed no signs of Burmese kittens – so it is surprising how this misconception could spread.
The Chantilly cat was bred for the first time in 1969 or it is said to have had the first successes in breeding. However, the Chantilly-Tiffany probably existed before. Until 1967, however, it was believed that the Chantilly cat was extinct. The Chantilly-Tiffany was considered a cat for the noble circles. Its nature is still reflected today that in its beginnings it mainly moved in exclusive circles. Because cats of this breed are proud, demanding, and sometimes appear majestic in their appearance and as aristocratic as Disney’s Aristocats.
According to tradition, the story of Chantilly-Tiffany began with a pair of cats of unknown origin, which were distinguished by their golden eyes and long, chocolate-colored fur. A New York breeder named Jennie Robinson bought the couple in 1967 as part of a property purchase. The cat “Thomas” was a little over a year old at the time, the cat “Shirley” was at least six months younger. It is believed that the two came from two different litters from the same parents. In May 1969, Shirley had offspring from tomcat Thomas for the first time. Because all kittens had the same chocolate brown fur, it was decided to continue breeding the cats. At the beginning of the 1970s, the cats from this line were registered by the American association ACA under the name “Foreign Longhair”. This designation was later abandoned because breeders did not find the designation to be appropriate.
A breeder named Tracy Oraas continued to breed the Chantilly cat into the early 21st century but then disappeared from the breeding scene for unknown reasons. In 2001 there were only a very small number of breeders. At the time there was one breeder in Germany, one in Canada, and a few more in the USA.
In 2003 there was finally only one Chantilly Tiffany variety in the USA. It belonged to a dedicated breeder named Anne Davenport-Parini and was called the Amorino Cattery. Ms. Davenport-Parini was the last known Chantilly Tiffany breeder in the United States. Her tomcat named Nugget, also called Little Tabby Dude or LTD, produced many beautiful Chantilly-Tiffany kittens before he finally “retired”.
Appearance
The Chantilly-Tiffany is one of the semi-long-haired cats. Their fur is very silky and thick and bushy. The texture of the fur makes up a large part of its uniqueness. The undercoat is only very moderate in this breed of cats. The most common fur color is said chocolate brown. The fur of the first cats of this breed also had this color. Later other fur colors such as purple/lavender, blue, red, beige, and cinnamon brown were added. All fur colors come both in the single-color variant and in a special tabby version – but not a classic tabby as is generally known. Due to the Rufus gene, the chocolate-brown fur is very slightly reddish.
The Chantilly Tiffany cat is medium in size and has a well proportioned muscular build. The body of this breed of cats measures 40 to 50 centimeters. It weighs four to six kilograms. Weight varies somewhat with the sex of the cat. The Chantilly cat’s ears are rounded at the tips and the fur forms tufts there. The tail is long and bushy. The kittens are born with dark fur. The pads of the pads are pink. The Chantilly-Tiffany is somewhat similar to the German Langhaar, German Angora, or the Persian old type.
The Chantilly cat’s eyes are oval-shaped and green. The aim is a golden, yellow, or amber-colored tone with a green halo effect in accordance with the breed standards. The color of the eyes intensifies with age, showing once more that beauty can increase with age. Incidentally, this is said not just about the Chantilly-Tiffany’s eyes, but about her entire appearance.
Chantilly-Tiffany Temperament
First of all, it should be said that cats of a breed are always attributed a number of character traits, but each cat is of course an individual and possibly shows characteristics than another cat of the same breed does not display.
Chantilly-Tiffany generally has a reputation for being very loving and even caring as well as trusting, friendly, balanced, gentle, loyal and pleasantly curious. That explains why she is so popular with her human roommates. Cats of this breed usually choose one or two members of their family with whom they have a particularly strong relationship. In addition, she is assigned a pronounced intelligence. It is also related to this high level of mental activity that the Chantilly cat likes to play. Among other things, she values interactive games with her human roommate.
Your level of activity is moderately developed, i.e. it is somewhere between a pleasant midfield between liveliness and the need for rest. The tendency is, however, a little more in the direction of being active. When it comes to strangers, Chantilly-Tiffany tends to appear reserved and reserved at first. Their jealousy can also play a role, for example when they fear losing the undivided attention of their human roommates. After all, the Chantilly cat loves to get attention. So much so that it is advisable to keep a cat of this breed as a single cat so that no second cat can compete with it. Otherwise, she can be prone to jealousy.
So if you are considering getting a Chantilly Tiffany cat, you should first ask yourself whether your lifestyle is compatible with the needs of such a house tiger. It is important that you can spend enough time every day to devote yourself to your beloved roommate kitty in the game and in the form of pats. The Chantilly cat is happy if you keep them happy with cat toys such as a cat rod or similar. You can also challenge your intelligence by using intelligence toys. Your highly intelligent house tiger will thank you. By the way, she likes to communicate with her voice and appreciates it when her person answers her. Their language differs from that of other cats: It expresses itself in a gentle, melodic “twittering”.
Health and Care
The Chantilly-Tiffany is a little more complex to care for due to its long and bushy fur, but again not as laborious as one might assume. It is also a pleasure for its owner to devote himself lovingly to the grooming of his roommate kitty because he is doing something good for her.
An important rule is that you should always exude calm when dealing with your cat, for example when grooming its fur. Because your peace of mind transfers directly to your beloved domestic tiger. And the calmness of your cat carries over back to you. It is recommended that you groom your Chantilly cat with a cat brush as daily as possible. Not least because it strengthens the bond between the person and the kitty. It also removes dead hair – which would otherwise be visible on your carpet or sofa. In addition, the beautiful fur is protected from becoming matted or knotted and it simply remains well-groomed for longer. The good condition of the fur ultimately underlines the reputation of Chantilly-Tiffany to be the supermodel among pedigree cats.
An important note for allergy sufferers: This cat breed can be recommended for cat hair allergy sufferers with only moderate symptoms because it does not lose hair too much.
With regard to dental hygiene, it is advisable that you clean the pearly whites of your beloved roommate kitty, ideally daily. This reduces the risk of periodontal disease. However, it may also be sufficient if you brush her teeth once a week. In individual cases, this would have to be discussed with your trusted veterinarian.
The edges of the beautiful eyes of the Chantilly cat should be cleaned very carefully with a soft, damp cloth or cotton cloth. Please make sure that you use a different place on the flap for each eye so as not to spread a possible focus of infection from one eye to the other.
The ears also need to be cleaned regularly. You can also use a soft, damp cloth or a simple cotton cloth for this. Under no circumstances should you use cotton swabs or the like because you run the risk of penetrating too far into the cat’s ear canal. Plus, it could make it even farther down your ear canal, which is exactly what you don’t want. The ears usually get clean simply by gently wiping them inside out. Of course, the fabric should not be too wet so that water does not get into the ears of your beloved roommate kitty. But if you do it carefully, it should work very well.
Chantilly-Tiffany Cat Diet
When it comes to nutrition, it should be noted that this must always be tailored to the cat breed or the individual cat. It must correspond to the age and nutritional status. Overweight cats, for example, need special diet food. Health problems such as diabetes or kidney problems also affect your cat’s diet and should be considered when choosing food.
Whether dry or wet food: Cats should always get high-quality cat food that covers their need for essential vitamins and minerals. This is the only way they can stay healthy in the long term – provided that all other important aspects for maintaining health are met. Good quality nutrition also has a positive effect on mental wellbeing.
You have the choice between several feeding methods. Do-it-yourself cooking and BARF (organic, species-appropriate raw feeding) are popular. However, you should make sure that you inform yourself thoroughly beforehand about the respective method and the nutritional requirements of your cat in order to prevent possible deficiency symptoms.
Select Chantilly-Tiffany Breeders
The Chantilly Tiffany cat is currently considered to be near threatened with extinction.
The very few remaining breeders of the Chantilly cat, a few of whom are very committed but are in the United States, are passionately and relentlessly fighting for the continued existence of this breed of cats. They hope to have support from breeders of the breeds that made the Chantilly Tiffany cat. They also aim to finally clarify the mystery surrounding the exact origin of the Chantilly-Tiffany, if possible.
If you have decided to contribute to the continued existence of this breed of cats, a first step could be to find the contact addresses of the breeders and to get in touch with them via social media or specific (American) cat magazines. Because these breeders have made the preservation of this cat breed their life’s work, they look forward to any form of moral and/or active support. In principle, it is also possible, if the regulations are observed, to bring a pedigree cat from the USA to your home.
Otherwise, an alternative is to warm up to one of the other wonderful cat breeds that are related to the Chantilly cat. Also, among the very numerous feline fur creatures waiting for a new home in animal shelters, there is perhaps also the cat that is intended for you – and that is happy about everything when you offer it a wonderful new home.
