CATXDOG

The Chantilly/Tiffany is a feline with a semi-foreign body style and a full semi-long coat. The coat is silky, soft and smooth; the lack of undercoat usually makes grooming simpler than that of cats with an undercoat. They have plumed tail, contrasting neck ruff, and ear furnishings. Somewhat a late bloomer, the Chantilly/Tiffany is slow to mature and usually does not come into its full statute until about two years old. The eye color of the feline intensifies with age. Male and females differ in size. Both have plumed tails and modified neck ruffs, but the male coat may be longer.

Tiffanies are outgoing, gentle, and loving in nature. Their trademark is loyalty. They are extremely devoted to their humans, but need time to adapt to new owner. Usually hey tend to be specially devoted to single person in the house, they do like others also, but one person is always special for them. It is easy to detect who that person is because they tend to follow that person like a dog. Tiffanies are extremely playful and intelligent. They adapt very well to other pets and animals. They don't like talking to strangers and they do not trust humans they don't know. And they don't like being left alone. If they are alone, they will search every corner to find their owners. They require little maintenance with brushing or combing a few times a month. Beside some digestive problems, generally they are healthy cats.

ORIGIN: The history of this breed is intriguing. It began in 1967 when Jennie Robinson, owner of Neotype Cattery in New York, purchased “Thomas” and “Shirley” a pair of semi-foreign longhaired chocolate cats with gold eyes and unknown background. The first litter was born in 1969 and six kittens were born, all of them chocolate brown. Some of Ms. Robinson’s kittens were sold to Sigyn Lund (Sig Tim Hil Cattery), a Florida Burmese breeder who assumed the breeding program. The public thought the chocolate cats came from her Burmese, since their unknown New York origin was not publicized. Ms. Lund coined the breed name “Tiffany”

. She promoted the breed with the “Tiffany” name because judges felt the “Foreign-Longhair” name was too general. They suggested the “Mahogany” would be more descriptive. Unfortunately, none were registered under the Lund name; ACA has dropped the breed from recognition as it was so rare. All breed representatives became unregistered as a result. It continued to be advertised as “Burmese”. At one point it was suggested that they were Burmese longhair cats and a product of British crosses between a Burmese and a Himalayan. There had been crosses between Foreign Longhairs, Angora, Havana, and Abyssinian cats. The American Tiffany/Chantilly breed is more likely an offshoot of one of these efforts. In Canada about the same time as Jennie and Mrs. Lund were developing the breed, a Canadian farmer found a long-haired, foreign chocolate brown and golden-eyed cat. She was giving birth to litter with the same appearance. Canadian breeder rescued the offsprings and re-established the Tiffany breed in a co-operative effort with Jennie and Mrs. Lund. And in the late 80's even the lost breed re-appeared and is still rare, but increasing popularity.