Хауси: Домашняя порода кошек, произошедшая от дикого кота.

Breed of cat

The Chausie ('/tʃ//aʊ//s//i/) is a domestic breed of cat that was developed by breeding a few individuals from the non domestic species jungle cat (Felis chaus) to a far greater number of domestic cats (Felis catus). The Chausie was first recognized as a domestic breed by The International Cat Association (TICA) in 1995. Because Chausies are mostly descended from domestic cats, by about the fourth generation they are fully fertile and completely domestic in temperament.

The first hybrids of the jungle cat (Felis chaus) and the domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus) may have been born in Egypt several thousand years ago. A few people experimented with breeding F. chaus to F. s. catus in the late 1960s and 1970s. Their intention was to provide a sensible alternative to keeping non domestic cats as pets. However, the Chausie breed did not truly begin until the 1990s, when a dedicated group of breeders named the breed "Chausie" (after Felis chaus) and developed a planned breeding program and goals. These breeders asked for and received registration status from TICA in 1995. The breed worked its way through the New Breed Class from May 2001 through April 2013, and became TICA's newest Championship breed on May 1, 2013. Chausies are now being bred in both North America and Europe. The breed has begun the new breed recognition process in the World Cat Federation (WCF).

Currently, most authentic Chausies produced are late generation cats with fully domestic temperaments. Their TICA registration certificates will usually indicate that they are "C" generation or "SBT," which nearly always means they are four generations or more beyond the jungle cat (F. chaus). In cases where they are "A" or "B" generation, it is usually because they have been recently outcrossed to another domestic breed to improve specific cosmetic traits, but the cats are nonetheless more than four generations beyond the handful of nondomestic ancestors. Although the official, permissible outcrosses for the Chausie breed during early breed development were the Abyssinian and the domestic shorthair (no recognizable breed), in practice any kind of purely domestic outcross could be used. TICA rules only dictated that cats must be a certain number of generations removed from the jungle cat ancestors and have three generations of registered Chausie ancestors to be eligible for competition at shows. Adult females are usually Sometimes black grizzled tabby Chausies will appear indistinguishable from solid black Chausies when the amount of grizzling is minimal. Exposure to strong sunlight, as with most black cats, can cause black Chausies to lighten slightly and appear brownish. Black grizzled tabbies are unique to the Chausie breed among domestic cats. The grizzled pattern comes from the jungle cat; it is never found in domestic cats unless they have F. chaus ancestors. Regardless of the cause, Chausies do seem somewhat prone to developing food allergies. To prevent this, breeders advise Chausie owners to feed only very high quality cat foods, containing as little of plant derived ingredients as possible, or a homemade diet. If homemade diets are fed, it should be with the guidance of someone experienced in preparing them, because meat by itself does not contain all the nutrients that Chausies require.