Chausie Cats

Chausie cats, sometimes spelled Chaussie, are a hybrid cat breed from crossbreeding domestic cats and jungle cats. Besides domestic shorthair cats, Chausies are often crossbred with Abyssinian cats. The scientific name for the jungle cat is Felis chaus. The Felis chaus is native to South Asia and the Middle East. Male Chausie kittens are sterile in the first generation of crossbreeding. Some male Chausie kittens of the second generation are sterile. The Chaussie cat breed began in the 1960’s.

The Chausie cat breed is not recognized by the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) in the United States. Though Chausies do not have championship eligibility, they are one of the advanced new cat breeds of The International Cat Association (TICA). The advanced new cat breeds class is not eligible for championship titles, but they may participate in TICA cat shows. The Chaussie cat breeders must follow rules to advance the cat breed to championship status.

Chausie cats are intelligent. They are typically friendly and playful. Medium to large in size, the Chausie cat is athletic and muscular. The legs of Chaussies are moderately long with the hind legs longer than the front legs. The tail may be full length or three-quarters. The three-quarter tail is a preferred characteristic. The torso is long and lean.

The shape of the head is a modified wedge. The ears of Chausie cats are large and set close together on top of the head. The eyes are slightly flattened oval in shape. The eye color can be yellow, gold, hazel, or light green. Yellow and gold eyes are considered preferable according to the breed standard.
Chausie cats have dense coats that are short to medium length. The hair should have at least two bands of ticking. They may be solid black, brown ticked tabby, or black grizzled ticked tabby. The base color of brown ticked tabby Chausie cats is sandy-gray to reddish-gold. The hair has two to three bands of dark ticking. Bold, dark barring should be present on the inside of the front legs and tail. Fainter barring may be present on the back legs and outside of the front legs.