Chocolate And Lilac (lilac) Color In Persian Cats

2023 Author: Molly Page | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 22:49

The article by BJ Fox, breeder and owner of the famous American Himalayan and Persian cattery Foxy, begins with a real, emotional anthem to Persian and Himalayan cats in chocolate and lilac colors.

Understandably, the longing of many breeders to have Persian cats that carry the chocolate-colored gene - chocolate-point Himalayans and fully-colored chocolate Persians. Himalayans with lilac markings - lilac points - and fully colored lilacs even more attract the attention of breeders as the rarest, one might say, precious color. It is impossible not to admire these softly muted tones of color: "they are so amazing that, once you see it, you will eventually become the owner of such a cat" - writes B. Fox.

Related article Persian cat

Himalayan cat, chocolate-point color CH Cherrybirdie's Willie Wonka

These colors, notes B. Fox, for a long time were not recognized by the majority of breeders and judges, were considered a marriage, and those who persisted in them were almost outcasts and found themselves in isolation. In this struggle for new rare colors, persistence and, most importantly, cooperation of nurseries and breeders who worked on these colors won. "The spirit of cooperation has triumphed among the breeders!"

History and origin of chocolate and lilac colors in cats. The Grand Champion list of Lilacs and Chocolates, both marked and fully colored, is still very short. Himalayans (Persian cats with Siamese color) as an independent breed were recognized by the CFA in 1957, it later included cats with solid colors of chocolate and lilac. In the next 37 years, only 9 grand champions of chocolate points were registered, 3 lilac points and one each fully colored chocolate and lilac (4 from Cactusway and 2 from Tyland). Since 1981, CFA management has divided the Himalayan breed into two "divisions" (sub-breeds): color-point cats with distinctive colored markings, and fully colored purple and chocolate cats. And in 1984 the Himalayans were deprived of the status of an independent breed and included in the Persian as its sub-breed (Himalayan Division),and solid color chocolates and lilacs have merged into the main Persian breed.

Where did the chocolate and lilac colors (chocolates and lilacs) come from among long-haired cats? They were born out of the efforts of three breeders who initially worked independently of each other: Brian Stirling-Webb, Briarry Kennel in England; SM Harding, Mingchiu Kennel in England; Regina van Wessem, Siyah Gush kennel in Holland. Subsequently, these three nurseries cooperated and intensively crossed their animals. Then the mixed lines of these nurseries were imported into the USA and inbreeding continued there.

Seal-point Himalayan cat CH Cherrybirdie's Niguel

Quad GC, RW, 11th Best LH Cat in TICA 2014-2015

Briarry Bruno is the first long-haired chocolate cat registered with English cat lovers. His father is short-haired chocolate, which is now designated by the GCCF (The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy, England) as Havana Brown. At that time this color was called chestnut brown. The strong Persian type featured in his great-grandfather, the very famous Foxburrow Frivolous, was combined with the color-point Siamese color distribution of his maternal Siamese grandmother and his father's chestnut brown. B. Stirling-Webb began his work with color points in 1947. Prior to this, the Siamese defined chocolate point as an undesirable seal point color and was discarded. “The color was not understood and accepted because of its unique beauty,” said famous breeder Betty White forty years later. It was only in 1950 that a standard for the registration of chocolate was formulated in England.

Related article Chocolate point and lilac point

S. M. Harding worked with B. Stirling-Webb on breeding the first purple longhaired cat, the Mingchiu Lilak, a cat descended from Briatty Bruno. The first lilac point in the English register was the cat Mingchiu Sula Three - the double granddaughter of Briarry Tromo, also the result of Harding's collaboration with Stirling Webb (see the pedigree of Sula Three in the magazine "Friend", 1996, No. 6 - M. M. Aslanyan and A. S.. Spirin. Inbreeding - pro et contra). It was the mixed line of chocolates / lilacs, as a result of the collaboration of two English nurseries, that appeared for the first time in the USA and was subjected to further inbreeding.