I adopted a kitten for Christmas, and when I was pet-shopping I absolutely fell in love with a semi-long haired black/brown cat. That one turned out to be much too old for the adoption fee in my opinion and she had some health issues, but from then I decided I wanted a semi-long haired tortoiseshell or black cat.
Only after I adopted Colette did I find out that Chantilly's were a thing and that's what I loved about that old queen cat I found on Petfinder.com. She probably wasn't and no one made that claim, but it was those qualities that drew me.
For several months I wondered if Colette had some Chantilly in her. She chirps and trills. I adopted her in Jacksonville, Florida - about 2 hours from Orlando where one of the first resurfaced Chantilly breeders were. And seeing every semi-long haired dark cat I wondered if it was part of the legacy.
Then I looked up where Chantilly breeders were...
How could our phenomenally fertile felines fail to continue a breed?! What happened to all the Chantilly kittens bred from 1969 to 2012, when the last American Chantilly cattery was tragically snuffed out?
And why is there no history prior to 1969? Articles on the breed are unanimous in that the breed was lost to time before a couple of cats were found in New York in 1969. Where had they come from?
Can anyone from the echelons of cat expertise educate me? For all intents and purposes, it sounds like someone fabricated a breed out of 2 related New York cats and their progeny has had too many issues to thrive.
Only after I adopted Colette did I find out that Chantilly's were a thing and that's what I loved about that old queen cat I found on Petfinder.com. She probably wasn't and no one made that claim, but it was those qualities that drew me.
For several months I wondered if Colette had some Chantilly in her. She chirps and trills. I adopted her in Jacksonville, Florida - about 2 hours from Orlando where one of the first resurfaced Chantilly breeders were. And seeing every semi-long haired dark cat I wondered if it was part of the legacy.
Then I looked up where Chantilly breeders were...
How could our phenomenally fertile felines fail to continue a breed?! What happened to all the Chantilly kittens bred from 1969 to 2012, when the last American Chantilly cattery was tragically snuffed out?
And why is there no history prior to 1969? Articles on the breed are unanimous in that the breed was lost to time before a couple of cats were found in New York in 1969. Where had they come from?
Can anyone from the echelons of cat expertise educate me? For all intents and purposes, it sounds like someone fabricated a breed out of 2 related New York cats and their progeny has had too many issues to thrive.
