York Chocolate Cat

Sept. 2009 - This is my second attempt at the York Chocolate cat. I called the breed the York cat at first, which is strictly speaking incorrect. Also at that time, I could not find out much about the cat but now an anonymous person has put me straight and pointed me in the right direction – thank you very much.

Above: an adult male York Chocolate cat. My thanks to Wikipedia® (specifically Wikimedia) for this picture. There are other pictures but at Sept. 2009, I don’t have permission to use them. If you have pictures please upload using the form at the base of this page – thanks.

It seems that the York Chocolate cat is more popular and well established than I had thought and I am sorry for that initial wayward assessment. There are some “fringe breeds” that are very much on the fringes but that is not the case with this breed.

The York Chocolate is an accidental cat. Immediately, the Ocicat (Accicat) and Burmilla (new window) come to mind as accidental cats. I am trying to think of others; there are others. This means that the starting point for the breed was neither planned nor deliberate and neither was it the result of a genetic mutation (e.g. the rex cats – LaPerm, for example).

History

The chart below sets out the origin of the breed. This York Chocolate cat was so named because of the cat’s chocolate colour and because its place of origin is the state of New York in the United States.

The York Chocolate cat was founded by Janet Chiefari. I don’t know if she is still breeding (can someone leave a note below?).

To continue with the breed history in a time line….here it is in a table:

Appearance

The breed standard of the York Chocolate cat is probably the best source of information on a purebred cat’s appearance. The immediate impression that one gets when reading the CFF breed standard is that this is a natural and well balanced cat of moderate proportions and bravo for that. It is not an extreme cat, which is what we would expect judging from it origins. I am pleased personally because cats should look like cats.

In fact, while in no way detracting from this cat breed, just the opposite actually, this cat looks like a normal moggy. I consider that a compliment. The coat is medium long in length and there are four allowable coat types under the standard: solid chocolate, solid lavender, chocolate and white bicolor, lavender and white bicolor. I would have thought that the solid chocolate would have a similar appearance to the Tiffany.

I’ll base this section on the CFF standard taken, by the way,  from the yorkchocolate.org website and not the CFF website, which (at Sept. 2009) has no breed profile for this breed. The comments are my views and probably not those of the CFF.:

• head: the classic modified wedge of medium size and in proportion to the body. In other words (for me) this describes a normal looking cat head. Although the website: furrycritter.com describes the head as “nearly round”. That would be describing the head of an Ultra Persian so I disagree with that and it doesn’t fit the standard as far as I can tell.
• ears: these are described as large, pointed and tufted. They are “set well apart”. Well for me, once again, this describes the average cat, I am pleased to say. Looking at the pictures of the York Chocolate personally I would not call the ears large relative to the average. Large compared to say a Persian cat, yes but not a moggy.
• body: this is a medium to large cat with a longish body. Well muscled and “sturdy” boning.
• coat: medium long, silky. It should be rich in colour and lustrous in appearance.
• tail: plumed appearance desirable for adult cat
• legs: medium long

Dr. Fulvio Bresciani says that this cat has no undercoat and that this is an important characteristic of the appearance (phenotype or observable characteristic or trait) of this cat. However, cats with no undercoat are not uncommon in both purebred and purebred cats.

Dr. Bresciani makes these two points about this characteristic:

• he has hypothesized that the gene that produces the lack of undercoat is special to this cat and he has assigned a unique genetic code to the gene namely: the wild allele “yuc”, a  recessive allele producing a normal thick under coat plus the mutation allele “Yuc”, which is dominant and which removes the undercoat.
• the lack of undercoat is an important element in producing a hypoallergenic cat as it is the undercoat that is the main source of human allergies of cats.

I don’t agree with either of these thoughts. Cats with no undercoat (down hairs) are common and not specific to the York Chocolate and the cat allergy is caused by a protein in the saliva of the cat (an allergen) that is licked onto the top coat (guard hairs). See; Fel d 1 (new window) and Cat Hair.

Character

I think once again this is a moderate cat; neither high energy (think wild cat hybrids) nor very laid back (such as the Persian or Ragdoll). Specific characteristics would seem to include:

• an affinity for water. That is normally the domain of the wild cat hybrids. I would have thought that there would be some variation between individual cats in respect of this characteristic.
• quiet
• loving personality (characteristic of most balanced domestic cats that are well treated)
• sweet temperament

Health

As this is not a mainstream purebred cat there is little or no information on the subject of the underlying health of the breed. Some breeds, due usually to the breeding programs, have a predisposition to certain health problems although these are often contained and well managed. I can’t find any such health issues with respect to the York Chocolate. The York Chocolate cat's origins (standard moggy) bodes well for health provided breeding is sound and for health as well as appearance.

Breeders and Clubs

I had difficulty here. I think there are no clubs but two breeders stands out, both in Italy. The first is Fairies Cattery ( page opens in a new window - this is a one page website and no links I am afraid) of Anna & Francesco Baldi. It would seem that they wrote the website: www.yorkchocolate.org (new window) or could it be Fulvio & Alice (below)?

I would also like to mention Lavender Perfume Cattery (new window) of Fulvio & Alice Bresciani

There is also the International York Chocolate Federation (new window). The website is in English and Italian. It would seem that Italian breeders have embraced the York Chocolate cat more than breeders in other countries…now where is that bar of chocolate..

York Chocolate cat - Sources:

• yorkchocolate.org
• cffinc.org
• petmd.com
• furrycritter.com

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I would like to say thank you for updating your site to better describe this wonderful breed. I was the one who pointed you in the right direction. I did ...