Other names : Chestnut Brown Foreign, Chestnut Oriental Shorthair
Native country : Great Britain
History
Either a chestnut or lilac coat, but always green-eyedIn the early 19th century in England, a female chestnut brown cat named Granny Grump was reported. Much later, around 1880, other cats of the same color were successfully shown.In 1950, after these cats had been forgotten for a half-century, Baroness Von Ulmann crossed chocolate point Siamese cats with black European Shorthairs in an effort to obtain a foreign-type cat with a solid chocolate coat. She was so successful that breeders copied her.Unlike the F.I.Fe., the G.C.C.F. recognized the new breed in 1958 as the Chestnut Havana or Havana Brown. Since 1971, the name Havana has been preferred, perhaps in reference to the color of the cigar or to the coat color of a breed of rabbit, and also after the lilac color was accepted by some federations.Since 1960, the breed has been highly successful in the United States, although it remains rare in Europe. Recently, a cross between a Havana Brown and a serval (a large, long-legged African wildcat with a spotted coat) produced a new breed called the Savannah. It is a large, svelte cat with a spotted coat known for its gentle nature. The first arrived in France in 1998, and the S.C.F.F. has just recognized the breed.
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