Head

Shape:
Modified wedge, medium in size with a long sloping forehead and high angular long cheekbones that meet a strong, full muzzle and chin. A change in direction at the sides of the muzzle gives the appearance of rounded whisker pads.

Jungle Cat

Chausie

Ears:
Tall, large ears should be placed fairly close together on top of head with a wide base cornering the head and the ear set at a slight outward angle. The ear itself should be fairly wide all the way up with rounded ear tips. Ear tufts preferred, lack of tufts not a penalty

Eyes:
Medium, slightly flattened oval and set on bias to just below the outside edge of the ear. Gold or yellow eye color preferred, hazel to light green allowed.

Chin:
Strong, full, both in profile and frontal view and with depth resulting from good bone structure.
Muzzle:
Proportionate to the cheekbones and length of nose, with full whisker pads.
Nose:
Medium-wide slightly broader between the eyes. Nose leather is convex and full.
Profile:
Long sloping forehead flows into the rise between the eyes, continuing down with good length, to meet the nose bump, which is rounded where it meets the nose leather.

 

Jungle Cat	Chausie

Neck:
The muscular neck is of medium length and thickness

Body

Torso:
Long, lean and muscular, firm to the touch, the large rectangular body is strong and athletic, with a balanced chest and good depth of body without any roundness of the ribcage.
Legs:
The legs are moderately long, well muscled with medium boning.
The hind legs are slightly longer than the front, as the cat is built for running and leaping.
Feet:
The feet are round and small in comparison to the overall size of the cat.

 

Chausie	Jungle Cat

The musculature of the Chausie is long and lean rather than bulky.
Boning:

The Chausie has medium leg boning with long lithe legs, while the torso is substantial with good depth.

Tail:
Three quarter or full length tail acceptable; the ¾ tail has fewer vertebrae and is preferred. Both tail lengths should be of medium thickness and fully articulated
Musculature:

Jungle Cat

Coat/Color/Pattern

Length:
Short to medium, with enough length to accommodate at least two bands of ticking.
Not open

Texture:
A dense softer undercoat with a coarser resilient texture to outer coat.

Color/Pattern:

Jungle Cat	Chausie

Brown Ticked Tabby:
A mouse-gray color next to the skin with sandy-gray to reddish-gold base coat.
There will be two or three bands of dark ticking following the mouse coat with tabby markings on the face, legs and tail.
Bold barring on the upper inside of the front leg is preferred with lighter to no barring on the outside of the back leg.
Neck may or may not have necklaces.
Faint tabby markings on the body may be present but not preferred

A white or off-white color should outline the eyes and muzzle.
A lighter underside is preferred, the stomach may appear flecked, speckled or spotted.
The backs of ears will have “thumbprint” markings of a lighter color.

Black: Solid black.

Black Grizzled Ticked Tabby:

A pattern effect caused by a mutation at the agouti locus or extension locus.
It is a dominant trait.
The hair shaft is banded with lighter coloration at the skin ( akin to mouse coat) alternating dark and lighter bands of ticking and ending with a dark tip.
The grizzled effect is the result of the use of the Jungle Cat ( felis Chaus) in the development of the Chausie breed.

Allowances:

The Jungle Cat ancestor (black) exhibiting the grizzled effect has solid black nose leather and pink paw pads.
Variation in tail length starting from just below the hock (3/4) to full-length.
Slight ghost body markings on kittens.
Black paw pads with rosy or pink overtones allowed.

Penalty:

Vivid Green eyes.
A cat that is too refined or too heavily boned.
A cat void of tabby markings on the legs or tail.

Withhold:

True classic pattern.
Any colors other than the three allowable colors.
White lockets.