Chausies - From Ancient Egypt, A 21st
Century Breed Like No Other
Article written by the Chausie
Breed Section
In Egypt, more than three thousand years
ago, two species of wild cat found their way into
Egyptian homes. One was Felis lybica, and the other was
Felis chaus. Felis chaus, also known as the Jungle
Cat, was relatively tame in temperament from the start,
with more than usual potential for domestication, but so
was Felis lybica. Whether it was chance or there were
other reasons, the Egyptians ultimately developed the
domestic cat from Felis lybica.
Nonetheless, they loved the Jungle Cat,
enough to honor them occasionally with formal funeral
rites, such as mummification -- enough to take them
hunting and paint them into scene after scene in murals.
Some say that the statues of the goddess Bastet were
modeled after Jungle Cats and we can certainly see the
resemblance in her long, slender body and large ears!
Occasionally, members of Felis chaus
mated with domestic cats. From North Africa to India
to Southeast Asia, there were reports dating back
centuries of cats that seem to have been Felis chaus
hybrids.
While we cannot know for certain, the "Saem
Sawet" described in the 700 year old Siamese cat poems
may also have been a Jungle Cat hybrid. Jungle Cats are
common in Thailand.
In the late 20th century, cat fanciers in
the U.S. gained experience in developing purely domestic
breeds
from
selected species of wild cat." The process
involves mating a few members of one carefully
chosen small wild cat species to a great many domestic
cats. In the late 1990s, a group of breeders decided to
apply this new expertise to develop a breed from Felis
chaus.
The Chausie, pronounced "chow-see," is a
fully domestic breed that strongly resembles the Jungle
Cat,
Felis chaus.
They are a medium to large size feline
that is tall and long-bodied, with a rectangular torso,
deep chest, and flat sides. The Chausie is tall,
statuesque, and shorthaired. The head is relatively
long, with a full muzzle and deep chin. This gives the
Chausie a cougarish look. At the same time, the ears are
erect and large; they are both tall and wide, placed far
enough apart to just corner the top of the head. The
ears sometimes have tufts on the tips. The breed comes
in three color-pattern combinations: brown ticked tabby,
solid black, and black grizzled tabby.
The grizzled tabby pattern came
originally from Felis chaus and is unique to the Chausie
breed. No other domestic breed of cat occurs in that
pattern. Imagine a tabby with a very dark background to
its black markings. It's so dark you almost can't see
the markings because they are all nearly the same shade
of black. Then imagine a sprinkling of white bands
scattered randomly across the coat. It's a bit like the
Milky Way on the coat of a black cat, but with hints of
tabby pattern visible here and there. The tips of the
hairs are black. The white occurs only as bands in the
middle of the black hairs. That's the grizzled pattern.
The Chausie is even more striking in
motion. The Jungle Cat, which the they closely resemble,
is built for hunting, running, and jumping. The Chausie
is all slinkiness and loose-limbed, lanky grace.
Common personality traits in the breed
are their activity level, they are thieves, they are
loyal and bond tightly to their person - they can learn
to open doors and cupboards and love to get into things
– they are thought of as the "supervisor" as they want
to be in the middle of whatever is going on, they are
curious and intelligent. They need stimulation and
interaction....they are not a breed that does well by
themselves if a person is gone all day.
Early generation cats will punish by
forgetting what a litter box is when their environment
is disturbed or their routine is disturbed.....they do
not like change - especially the earlier generation
cats.
If you want
a couch potato this breed is not for you!
