After a year of correspondence with Madame Vivat, during which I tried on several occasions to persuade her to delve into her memories and archives to answer my questions about her past as a breeder, I received a telephone call from her in early April 2004: She invited me to visit her and agreed to face the fire of my questions as a Chartreux enthusiast. She warned me, however, that time had passed and her memories were not always clear! A few days later, I arrived at the door of her little house in the centre of ......
A smiling old lady with close-cropped white hair opened the door and greeted me with great spontaneity. She invited me into her living room, with its imposing antique furniture and a series of framed portraits of artists, a series of smiling, happy faces of children and young parents.
We take our places around the dining table. Two cats - a huge alley cat, as tabby as you can get! and a much smaller Burmese cross - are already occupying the chairs on either side of the radiator: cat blood never lies!
'As you can see, there are no Chartreux in my house, and there haven't been any for years!
Besides, I couldn't afford such a luxury at the price they fetch these days!'

Interrupted by my questions, Madame Vivat's story begins...
It was in 1961 that Madame Vivat received her first Chartreuse cat, Ketty de Bertouget. As with all cat lovers (and the Vivats love cats... and dogs too!), this was the beginning of a great passion for this breed. Just long enough for the young lady to blossom... and for the breeding virus to spread to her owner. In late 1963/early 1964, the Chantelauze kennel was born. The first cat was joined by other Chartreux. Exhibitions and litters followed each other, Madame Vivat did not hesitate to travel to the four corners of France and even beyond the borders to show her cats or to look for new breeding cats.

It soon became clear that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find a 'French Chartreux' (this expression was often used by Madame Vivat...) who was not too closely related to her own cats:
They were all brothers, half-brothers or first cousins! So it's hard to escape the scourge of inbreeding... and its consequences on the health of the kittens and the appearance of the breed itself. The first malformed kittens soon appeared. These malformations were mainly of a bony nature (especially in the tail), then, to a lesser extent, of a digestive nature. The number of kittens in the litters became smaller, but the cats themselves also became smaller and smaller. The frequency with which deformities occurred accelerated. (Mrs Vivat remembers a litter in which three of the kittens had kinked tails), breeders were obviously looking for a solution to this problem. But Mrs Vivat still regrets feeling so alone, so bereft of any support from the 'higher authorities' (but did they really exist?) to help her through those difficult times.

Everyone now knows that at that time attempts were made to bring 'new blood' into the Chartreux breed by cross-breeding with other breeds. Mrs Vivat mentions the breeds that were crossed as the British Shorthair Blue cat (which she calls the 'English Chartreux', because at that time BSH blue was so similar to the 'French Chartreux', because the English had not yet been so much modified by the Persian crosses), the blue Persian, and the 'Russian blue' breed. However, she remembers very well a beautiful black cat with golden eyes, that another breeder - probably secretly - had brought into the breeding programme as a stud.

It was Bonaventura Beau Brummel who saved the Chantelauze breeding farm. At the mention of this name, Madame Vivat's eyes light up with a wet sparkle: It was after a long correspondence with Mrs Savage that she decided to take the plunge and buy her handsome British stallion. (er...sorry: 'English Chartreux') Brought to her from Ilford by a Cat Club official. And she was not disappointed when she saw this handsome cat with long legs, a powerful body and beautiful ears, with a powerful body, beautiful well placed ears, a strong straight nose, golden copper eyes... and above all an iron constitution!
To my beginner's question: 'But he wasn't a real Chartreux! How could you be sure he wouldn't spoil the Chartreux breed?' she replied enthusiastically: 'Yes, he was an «English Chartreux», but very close with the «French Chartreux». And you know, my Beau Brummel, apart from giving my cats wonderful healthy babies, he had a magnificent show career as a... CHARTREUX !!!'.

Beau Brummel and all the other British Shorthair Blues were brought to France to save our French Chartreux. What made them different was that they were taller, more slender and with a far superior quality of coat. The short stature and short legs of the French Chartreux of the 1960s were certainly due to inbreeding in recent generations. Also, the head of the British did not look at all like that of today's BSH; on the contrary, the nose was quite long and straight. It is therefore understandable and natural that new breeding cats were obtained from British breeders in England to save the French Chartreux.

Bonaventura Beau Brummel remained the only English Chartreux to be introduced into the Chantelauze breed. He was sufficient to ensure numerous and healthy offspring in this breed. Some of these offspring became famous and had brilliant careers as show and breeding cats. But far more numerous were the 'Chantelauze cats' that ended up as happy house cats in the anonymity of companionship and family life. Mrs Vivat did not hesitate to sell her beautiful Chartreux cats cheaply and without pedigree to people who otherwise would not have been able to afford a Chartreux. The happiness of her cats was more important for her than the reputation of her cattery.

It was one of these kittens that she had sold very cheaply and without any pedigree to someone who had taken advantage of her charity, Mrs Vivat finally decided to stop breeding Chartreux. She then found out by chance that this dishonest person was using the cat as a breeding cat, after the cat club had issued him with a pedigree without the breeder's permission. In this way, the cheaply bought cat obtained the necessary breeding papers, issued under the famous name of 'Chantelauze'. Disgusted by this impertinence, which she felt was a real betrayal, Mrs Vivat left the club and gave up breeding.

It is the memories that bring her unique Chartreux back to life for Mrs Vivat, as if these cats were still living with her today. My questions have allowed me to scratch at these memories and bring thoughts of the past to the surface. Forgive me, beautiful cats of Chantelauze: Ketty, Beau Brummel, Orka, Mirabelle, Jéricho, Joyau or Tristan, and all the others, go back to sleep again in the dreams of the past! We see these ancestors names in many of the pedigrees of today's Chartreux. We know what we have to thank for, you beautiful cats. And what we owe to the breeder who helped make it happen.

Merci, Madame Vivat.

Claire Luciano