York Chocolate Cats

Close up of York Chocolate cat looking intently

History

The York Chocolate originates in America. This breed was created by Janet Chiefari in 1983, on a goat farm in New York state. This breed descends from two farm cats. A black and white queen, named Blacky. And a black male called Smokey. Both were longhaired. One of the offspring produced was a chocolate coloured female, which was named ‘Brownie’. The following summer Brownie had kittens. One of these kittens was a male with a black coat that had undertones of brown. This kitten was named ‘Minky’. A year after her first litter, Brownie was mated with Minky and produced a male all chocolate kitten and a female chocolate and white kitten. These kittens were names Teddy Bear and Cocoa. Chiefari continued to develop her breed. She took one of her cats to show in 1989 and was awarded 1st place. In 1990 the Cat Fanciers Federation accepted her new breed as an experimental breed.

Today the breed is still under development and in the experimental stages.

Behaviour

The York Chocolate is a loyal and friendly cat. Because the breed has its roots in farm cats this is a breed that is independent and can be perfectly happy by themselves but they still value human companionship. These lovely cats prefer to communicate with a purr rather than a meow. Don’t be surprised to find a purring cat waiting at the door for you to arrive home. The York Chocolate is an excellent mouser and will keep your garden rodent free. If you are keeping them indoors then they will enjoy being able to play with moving toys. They love to play, and they also love to be stroked. They make a great family pet as they get on well with other animals and children.