Colette

La Chatte condescended to live with Colette (Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette), born in Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye, France, in 1873, died in Paris, 1954, novelist, actress and journalist. In 1926 Colette, the famous French novelist, attended an international cat show in Paris. Such events were a relatively new phenomenon in France—the first had been held just twenty years before—and Colette, as a passionate admirer of cats, was eager to see what a cat show had to offer. The very first cat show ever held had been in London two years before Colette’s birth in 1873. This was a national cat competition at the Crystal Palace, and it attracted huge public interest (for the first time a Persian cat was seen by the British public). There is no detailed record, but it appears that somewhere between 150 and 211 cats were on display, and the public queued to admire them. Prizes were awarded for the biggest cat (he weighed 20 lb) and the fattest cat, and people saw for the first time many new, exotic breeds. Soon a second cat show was organized, this time permitting working men and women to enter their moggies for display. Two more shows were held in London, and Scotland also hosted a couple. The result of all this interest was the 1887 founding of the National Cat Club in England, a body which set standards for different breeds and chose judges to award prizes. Colette rejoiced in the sensual nature of cats, the softness of fur, their rarely bestowed gestures of affection, their grace and agility. These shows initiated a feline frenzy in Britain, which rapidly spread to Europe. Soon cat shows and competitions were being held in capital cities—Vienna had one, as did Berlin. Paris, as a city that saw itself as a leader of fashion, couldn’t possibly be left out. The first cat show in France was in 1896, and in 1913 the Cat Club de France was established. By 1924, however, there were ructions and the Cat Club de Paris became an independent body. That club established a stud book and register, the Livres des Origines . Famous people were frequently asked to be judges, to lend cachet to the events—novelists Émile Zola and Pierre Loti were two of them (both writers were cat-fanciers, so were well qualified to be judges). Most of the cat shows were held at the Jardin d’Acclimatation near the Bois de Boulogne. In the late nineteenth century, public interest grew from simply admiring cats in shows to developing new breeds and collecting exotic cats. In 1869 only eight breeds were officially listed in La Vie des animaux illustrée . The latest trend among the bourgeoisie was owning distinguished cats, and Colette was no exception.What held her riveted at the show was a Chartreux cat (an officially listed breed), and before leaving she ordered a kitten from the breeder displaying there. Chartreux are one of the oldest natural breeds in France. They are mentioned in a 1558 poem by Joachim du Bellay, “Vers français sur la mort d’un petit chat” (A small kitten’s death). They are thought to have originated in a Carthusian monastery in the Chartreuse mountains in south-eastern France. They are a large, muscular cat with relatively short limbs, orange or copper-colored eyes, and blueish fur (ranging from ash-grey to deep slate). Exceptional hunters, they were much prized by farmers. They are highly intelligent cats, which can be taught to do many tasks. Chartreux are known for their “smile”—on account of the tapered muzzle. They are calm observers of the world around them. They look rather like the Russian Blue, a breed more familiar outside of France. After World War I steps were taken to preserve the breed, to which end a “breed standard” was written. Generally, they weigh between 7 and 16 lb. It’s the tips of the fur which give the coat a blueish/silvery sheen. The Chartreux is usually a silent cat, giving little chirps or small miaows when wanting attention. They are adaptable, observant and polite animals. Charles de Gaulle admired them and named his Gri