|
|
| (4 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) |
| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| − | [[Image:DorDor.JPG|thumb|right|Most feral kittens have little chance of surviving more than a few months and are vulnerable to starvation, predators, disease and even flea-induced anemia.]] | + | {| border=1 cellspacing=0 align=right cellpadding=2 |
| | + | |- align=center bgcolor=pink |
| | + | !Chartreux |
| | + | |- align=center |
| | + | |[[Image:Chartreux_Cat_1.jpg|225px|Chartreux cat]] |
| | + | |- align=center bgcolor=pink |
| | + | !Country of origin |
| | + | |- align=center |
| | + | |[[France]] |
| | + | |- align=center bgcolor=pink |
| | + | !Breed standards (external links) |
| | + | |- align=center |
| | + | |[http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/standards/chartreux.html CFA], [http://www.acfacat.com/breeds/standards/chartreuxstd.html ACFA], [http://www.cca-afc.com/Chad.html CCA], [http://www.acf.asn.au/Standards/Chartreux.htm ACF],<br> [http://www.tica.org/cxstd03.pdf TICA], FIFe |
| | + | |} |
| | + | The '''Chartreux''' is an internationally-recognized [[cat breed|breed]] of domestic [[cat]]. Chartreux cats are from [[France]], reportedly originally bred by [[Carthusian]] monks for the purposes of catching [[mice]] to preserve food storages from loss and damage. Legend has it the Chartreux's ancestors were feral mountain cats from what is now [[Syria]], brought back to France by returning [[Crusaders]] in the 13th century. |
| | | | |
| − | A '''feral cat''' is a [[cat]] which has been separated from domestication, whether through abandonment, loss, or running away, and become wild. The term also refers to descendants of such cats, but not to [[Wild Cat]]s, whose ancestors were never domesticated. Feral cats usually cannot be re-socialized. Feral kittens, however, can be socialized to live with humans if they are taken from a feral colony before they are about twelve weeks old.
| + | Physically, the Chartreux is large and muscular with short but powerful limbs, big paws and very fast reflexes. They are known for their blue (grey) double-thickness fur coats and gold- or copper-colored eyes. Chartreux cats are known for their "smile"; due to the structure of their heads and long, tapered muzzle, they often appear to be smiling. |
| | | | |
| − | Feral cats may live alone, but are usually found in large groups called [[feral cat colony|feral colonies]] with communal nurseries, depending on resource availability. Many abandoned [[pet]] cats join these colonies out of desperation; these cats can usually be readopted into a new home. The average [[lifespan]] of a feral cat that survives beyond [[kitten]]hood is usually less than two years while a [[domestication|domestic]] housecat lives an average of sixteen years or more.
| + | Chartreux cats tend to be quiet, rarely making noises such as mewing or crying. Some are mute. They are quite intelligent, with some Chartreux learning to operate radio on/off buttons and to open screen door latches. Chartreux cats are also fond of chasing and playing well into their adult years; some can be taught to fetch small objects in the same manner as a dog. Chartreux are good with children and other animals, are nonaggressive, good travelers and are generally very healthy. |
| | | | |
| − | == In the United States ==
| + | Historically famous Chartreux owners include the French novelist [[Colette]] and French general/president [[Charles de Gaulle]]. |
| − | [[City]]scapes and [[North America]] are not native environments for the cat; the domestic cat comes from [[temperate]] or hot, often dry, [[climate]]s and was distributed throughout the world by [[human]]s. Although cats are somewhat adaptable, feral felines are unable to survive in extreme cold and heat, and with a need for a diet of 90% protein, few cats find adequate nutrition on their own. In addition, they have no [[defense]] against or understanding of such [[predator]]s as [[dog]]s, [[coyote]]s and even [[automobile]]s. The current population of twenty to forty million feral felines in the United States is due, initially, to human interference by environmental introduction and later, by simple human irresponsibility and neglect. | |
| | | | |
| − | In the United States "[[Trap-Neuter-Return]]" programs, one of the more humane ways to deal with feral cat populations, are facilitated by many volunteers and organizations. In addition to sterilization, [[inoculation]] against [[rabies]] and the [[feline leukemia virus]] as well as the application of long-lasting [[flea treatment]]s before release are common. Frequently, attending [[veterinarian]]s nip the tip off one [[ear]] to mark the feral as spayed/neutered and inoculated, as these cats will more than likely find themselves trapped again. Volunteers often continue to feed and give care to these cats throughout their lives. Many would like to do more, but most fully feral cats are unadoptable.
| + | The Chartreux breed was advanced to championship status in 1987 by the Cat Fancier's Association (CFA.) |
| − | | |
| − | The "trap, spay/neuter, release" program is considered the most humane, yet still efficient way to deal with the problem for several reasons. From the perspective of the cat, better quality and more food is provided by humans, competition for natural resources is reduced, and they are protected from the most debilitating diseases. From the human perspective, the feral cat problem is gradually eliminated because the cats do not reproduce. Behavior and nuisance problems due to competition for food and mating activities post-release are immediately reduced. Over time, these feral colonies becomes smaller and generally disappear; new cats will rarely join a colony of sterile animals. More and more animal shelters throughout the United States are becoming "no kill shelters", and are gradually implementing more humane, yet definitive animal population control methods. Some states such as California and many countries around the world have had tremendous success with humane methods to control feral cat populations.
| |
| − | | |
| − | As is their nature, there is no doubt feral cats will hunt other small species. While control of rats, mice, and other rodents is a cat activity humans support, feral cats kill songbirds and other birds. Some estimate the bird loss at over two hundred million a year. These figures may be questionable, however, with some of the damage due to the resurgence of other small predators such as the gray fox (urocyon cinereoargenteus), fisher or pekan (martes pennanti), coyote (canis latrans), and puma (puma concolor). It has been suggested by individuals without environmental science backgrounds that feral cats should simply be hunted to immediately reduce the feral cat problem. Radical specicide, especially when more animals are abandoned each day, is never a prudent long-term answer to any animal-human problem; the solution is more responsible husbandry of the domestic cat by the species that initially started the problem.
| |
| − | | |
| − | [http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=31029&ntpid=3]
| |
| − | | |
| − | [[October 16]] is National Feral Cat Day in the United States.
| |
| − | | |
| − | == In Australia ==
| |
| − | Feral cats have been present in [[Australia]] since [[European]] settlement, and may have arrived with [[Netherlands|Dutch]] [[shipwreck]]s in the [[17th century]]. Intentional releases were made in the late [[19th century]] in the hope that cats would control mice, rabbits and rats.
| |
| − | | |
| − | The feral cat has been an ecological disaster in Australia, inhabiting most ecosystems except dense [[rainforest]], and being implicated in the [[extinction]] of several [[marsupial]] and [[placental]] mammal [[species]]. (Cats are not believed to have been a factor in the extinction of the only mainland [[bird]] species to be lost since European settlement, the [[Paradise Parrot]]; their role in the loss of rare species on [[Australasia]]n islands, however, has been significant.) | |
| − | | |
| − | Control programs are difficult to devise due to the [[nocturnal animal|nocturnal]] and [[solitary]] nature of feral cats, broad distribution in the landscape and continuous additions to the population from abandoned domestic cats. Due to the danger posed to human handling the animal, captured feral cats are almost always [[death|kill]]ed. No program for spaying and neutering, akin to that in the United States exists in Australia.
| |
| − | | |
| − | == In Rome ==
| |
| − | | |
| − | [[Rome]], [[Italy]] is perhaps the place with most feral cats, the total number being estimated between 250,000 and 350,000, organized in about 2,000 colonies, some of them living in famous ancient places such as the [[Colosseum]].
| |
| − | | |
| − | == Feral cats and island restoration ==
| |
| − | Feral cats [[introduced species|introduced]] to islands with ecologically naive fauna (that is, species that have not evolved or have lost predator responses for dealing with cats) have had a devastating impact on these islands' [[biodiversity]]. They have been implicated in the extinction of several species and local extinctions, such as the [[huita]]s from the [[Caribbean]] and the [[Guadalupe Storm-petrel]] from [[Pacific]] [[Mexico]]. Moors and Atkinson wrote, in [[1984]], "No other alien predator has had such a universally damaging effect." Given the damage they do, many conservationists working in the field of island restoration (literally restoring damaged islands through removal of introduced species and replanting and reintroducing native species) have worked to remove feral cats. As of [[2004]], 48 islands have had their feral cat populations removed, including [[New Zealand]]'s network of offshore island bird reserves (Nogales ''et al'', [[2004]]). Larger projects are also being planned, including their removal from [[Ascension Island]].
| |
| − | | |
| − | Feral cats, along with rabbits and some sea birds, are the entire animal population of the remote [[Kerguelen Islands]] in the southern [[Indian Ocean]].
| |
| − | | |
| − | == Activism ==
| |
| − | | |
| − | Feral cats are discarded as kittens largely because cats breed rapidly and have multiple-kit litters. Often the owners do not have the capacity or desire to care for a large number of cats.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Feral cats live in deplorable conditions, living short, dangerous, unhealthy, desperate lives. Because of the dangers to humans, other species, and the cats themselves, and out of compassion toward the animals, many people, including [[celebrity|celebrities]] such as [[Bob Barker]], campaign to encourage people to spay and neuter their pets and support the humane control of feral cats.
| |
| − | | |
| − | == References ==
| |
| − | * Moors, P.J.; Atkinson, I.A.E. (1984). ''Predation on seabirds by introduced animals, and factors affecting its severity.''. In ''Status and Conservation of the World's Seabirds''. Cambridge: ICBP. ISBN 0-946888-03-5.
| |
| − | * Nogales, Manuel ''et al'' ([[2004]]). ''A review of feral cat eradication on islands''. ''Conservation Biology''. '''18''' (2), 310-319. [http://www.issg.org/database/species/reference_files/felcat/Nogales%20et%20al.%202004.pdf]
| |
| | | | |
| | == External links == | | == External links == |
| − | * [http://www.alleycat.org Alley Cat Allies] Feral Cat Resource - provides information about how to deal with feral cats humanely. | + | *[http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/chartreux.html CFA profile] |
| − | * Defenders of Wildlife. [http://www.defenders.org/defendersmag/issues/spring03/plightsongbird.html Plight of the Vanishing Songbirds]
| + | *[http://www.chartreux-europe.com Chartreux d'Europe] |
| − | * Australian Department of Environment and Heritage: [http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/publications/cat-impacts/pubs/impacts-feral-cats.pdf Overview of the impact of feral cats on native fauna] (pdf) | |
| − | * lovethatcat.com: [http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html List of US spay & neuter programs]
| |
| − | * [http://www.mikecade.com/wildkingdom/writings_feral_cats_pge_park.html Feral Cats of Portland, Ore.'s PGE Park]
| |
| | | | |
| − | [[Category:Cat types]] | + | [[Category:Cat breeds]] |
| | | | |
| − | [[fr:Chat haret]] | + | [[de:Chartreux]] |
| | + | [[fr:Chartreux (chat)]] |
The Chartreux is an internationally-recognized breed of domestic cat. Chartreux cats are from France, reportedly originally bred by Carthusian monks for the purposes of catching mice to preserve food storages from loss and damage. Legend has it the Chartreux's ancestors were feral mountain cats from what is now Syria, brought back to France by returning Crusaders in the 13th century.
Physically, the Chartreux is large and muscular with short but powerful limbs, big paws and very fast reflexes. They are known for their blue (grey) double-thickness fur coats and gold- or copper-colored eyes. Chartreux cats are known for their "smile"; due to the structure of their heads and long, tapered muzzle, they often appear to be smiling.
Chartreux cats tend to be quiet, rarely making noises such as mewing or crying. Some are mute. They are quite intelligent, with some Chartreux learning to operate radio on/off buttons and to open screen door latches. Chartreux cats are also fond of chasing and playing well into their adult years; some can be taught to fetch small objects in the same manner as a dog. Chartreux are good with children and other animals, are nonaggressive, good travelers and are generally very healthy.
Historically famous Chartreux owners include the French novelist Colette and French general/president Charles de Gaulle.
The Chartreux breed was advanced to championship status in 1987 by the Cat Fancier's Association (CFA.)
External links
de:Chartreux
fr:Chartreux (chat)
