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Breed guide · Cats
She's said about four words since she moved in. I've learnt what every one of them means.
Last updated 13 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
Tap a card to see what is going on.
At home
A small chirp when you come home, and that is most of the conversation.
What's going onA Chartreux chirps now and then and rarely miaows. A cat this quiet is unlikely to tell you when something is wrong, so learn their normal: how they eat, where they sleep, how they jump.
At home
A minute of perfect stillness, eyes fixed on the toy, and then a strike.
What's going onThey were kept to catch mice, and a good mouser waits a long time before moving. Move a wand toy slowly into cover, give them time to stalk, and let them catch it at the end.
At home
Smooth on top, and a lot more fur on the comb when the seasons change.
What's going onTheir coat is short, but the woolly undercoat knots close to the skin when they moult. Comb it through once a week, and more often while they moult.
At home
Stretched out on the bathroom floor, or right under the air conditioning vent.
What's going onThat dense coat was made for cooler weather, so a cool floor is a sensible choice. Leave the air conditioning on for them when you go out in the hot months, with a shaded, tiled spot to lie on.
At home
They watch a new person for a while, then walk over and press against their shin.
What's going onA Chartreux takes their time with people. Let them come to you. When they lean against your leg, they have made up their mind about you.
At home
A skip in their step, a back leg held up for a stride or two, or a jump they stop making.
What's going onPatellar Luxation (PL, a slipping kneecap) is on their health record from kittenhood. The skip is often the only sign, so tell your vet about it. Keeping them lean takes load off their knees.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their voice
Built for: Hunting in silence.
In Dubai: Unlikely to tell you when a knee is sore.
Their coat
Built for: A thick, woolly coat for a cooler climate.
In Dubai: Knots underneath while the top still looks smooth.
Their hunt
Built for: Watching a gap for a long time, then striking.
In Dubai: Indoors, where the only thing to stalk is a toy.
Easy to love, and easy to miss.
The quiet and the patience are what people love about them, and they are also why their problems are easy to miss. They need their joints watched, their coat combed and a hunt with time to stalk. The ten things below show you how.
Your plan is built around what a Chartreux is prone to at every age, from their knees and bladder to their heart later on, and the care that goes with each one.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
Coat matting is a risk in their junior and prime years, and the undercoat knots close to the skin.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
Coat matting is a risk in their junior and prime years, and the undercoat knots close to the skin.
What to do
Once a week, with a wide-toothed metal comb, through to the skin, and more often when they moult. Work behind the ears, under the front legs and on the belly. Give a treat as you go, and stop before they want to leave. If you find a mat, leave the scissors in the drawer: the skin sits right under it, so ask your vet to take it out.
Cats sweat only through their paw pads, and it does little to cool them. Their dense coat holds heat in, and a cat who pants is already too hot.
Every age, most of all kittens and older cats
Why
Cats sweat only through their paw pads, and it does little to cool them. Their dense coat holds heat in, and a cat who pants is already too hot.
What to do
Leave the air conditioning on for them in the hot months, with a shaded, tiled place to lie. Keep them off the balcony in summer, and never leave them in a parked car. If they pant or breathe with their mouth open, contact your vet now.
Their coat hides a gain, and obesity is a risk in their mature years. Extra weight is extra load on their knees.
Every age, most of all from 7 months
Why
Their coat hides a gain, and obesity is a risk in their mature years. Extra weight is extra load on their knees.
What to do
Weigh their daily food. Weigh them monthly: step on the scales holding them, then without them. Once a week, feel for their ribs under the coat. You should feel them without pressing. Weight-management counselling (help to get their portions right) is in your plan from the day they are neutered.
They are patient hunters, and a toy that never stops moving gives them no chance to do what they were kept for.
Every age, slower games from 11 years
Why
They are patient hunters, and a toy that never stops moving gives them no chance to do what they were kept for.
What to do
Move a wand toy slowly, into cover and out again, and wait while they watch. End with a catch, then a small meal from their daily amount. Two or three short sessions a day, before meals.
A solid cat lands hard, and a wobbly cat tree makes every landing harder.
Every age, add steps from 7 years
Why
A solid cat lands hard, and a wobbly cat tree makes every landing harder.
What to do
Choose a cat tree with a broad, heavy base and platforms close together, and a roomy litter tray with a low entry. Give them one tray each, plus a spare, in different rooms. Add steps to the tree as they age.
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM, a thickened heart muscle) is a risk from their mature years, and a quiet cat does not complain.
Every age, most of all from 7 years
Why
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM, a thickened heart muscle) is a risk from their mature years, and a quiet cat does not complain.
What to do
Cardiac auscultation (listening to the heart) and baseline echocardiography (an ultrasound scan of the heart) are in your plan from their prime years, with repeat scans after that. Between visits, notice if they hide more. Fast or shallow breathing while resting should be discussed with your vet immediately, within the same day. If they breathe with their mouth open, pant at rest or suddenly go weak in their back legs, contact your vet now.
Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD, bladder and urinary problems) is a risk from their junior to their mature years.
Every age, most of all from 7 months
Why
Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD, bladder and urinary problems) is a risk from their junior to their mature years.
What to do
Some wet food every day, and two or three wide water bowls away from their food and tray. Scoop daily and notice the clumps. A male cat straining, crying or going in and out of the tray with little or nothing coming out may have a blocked bladder. That is an emergency: contact your vet now. If a female cat is straining, contact your vet the same day. A baseline urinalysis (a urine test) and urinary health and hydration monitoring are in your plan from their junior years.
They take their time with people. Grabbed, they learn to keep their distance, and the vet visit starts badly.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
They take their time with people. Grabbed, they learn to keep their distance, and the vet visit starts badly.
What to do
Let them come to you. When you lift them, one hand under the chest and one under the back end, held against you. Leave the carrier out as a bed, and once a week touch their paws, ears and mouth, then give a treat.
Dental disease is a risk from their junior years, and a quiet cat eats through sore teeth without a sound.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
Dental disease is a risk from their junior years, and a quiet cat eats through sore teeth without a sound.
What to do
Lift their lip and look at their teeth and gums. Start brushing as a kitten, a few seconds at a time, with cat toothpaste. Tell your vet if they drop food or chew on one side. A dental evaluation (teeth and gum check) is in your plan every year from their junior years.
Cats hide pain, so the first sign is usually a jump they no longer make. Patellar Luxation (PL, a slipping kneecap) is a risk for the breed, and joints wear with age.
Every age, most of all from 7 years
Why
Cats hide pain, so the first sign is usually a jump they no longer make. Patellar Luxation (PL, a slipping kneecap) is a risk for the breed, and joints wear with age.
What to do
Notice whether they still jump straight onto the bed and the sofa, or go up in stages. Watch their back legs as they walk and land. A skip, or a back leg held up for a stride or two, is worth telling your vet about, so film it if you can. Put steps by their favourite high places before they need them. A patellar and orthopaedic evaluation (knee, joint and bone exam) is in your plan from their kitten months.
Five of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 6 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
11 to 14 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
15 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
Chartreux and other grey cat breeds
Several breeds come in blue-grey. The Chartreux is the French one: solid and muscular but agile, with a dense, water-repellent coat that feels like wool, gold to deep copper eyes, and a rounded head with a face that seems to smile.
Colours
Every Chartreux is blue, from a light, silvery grey to a deeper slate, with eyes that glow from gold to deep copper against it.
The first six months
Their vaccinations, microchip and Dubai Municipality registration come first, with an evaluation of their knees, joints and bones. Start with a soft comb for a minute a day now, and move to the weekly metal comb as the adult coat comes in.
Kitten health, 0 to 6 months
Getting the home ready
A shaded, tiled spot to lie on, and air conditioning you can leave on while you are out. A cat tree with a broad, heavy base, a wide-toothed metal comb and a wand toy for slow, patient hunts.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
Patellar Luxation (PL, a slipping kneecap) is a risk for the breed from kittenhood. Their kitten evaluation includes their knees and joints, and listening to the heart for anything they were born with.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
If it's a kitten: First 30 days with a new kitten · Kitten vaccinations in the UAE
When it is not behaviour.
She'll still keep most of her words to herself. If the ones she uses change, call your vet.
Before they were yours.
For centuries
Blue-grey cats with thick, woolly coats were known in France for a long time and kept for catching mice. A popular story says monks at the Grande Chartreuse bred them. Nobody has found evidence for it.
What they still carryA mouser's patience, in a thick blue coat.
The late 1920s
Two sisters on Belle-Île began breeding the blue cats that lived around the island's hospital, and reported that the kittens came out blue every time.
What they still carryBlue, every single time.
From the 1940s
Numbers fell after the Second World War, and breeders in France brought in blue cats of other types, including British Blues, to keep the breed going.
What they still carryA pedigree built back from a small group of cats.
1987
The Cat Fanciers' Association recognised the Chartreux in 1987, and the breed is still rare.
What they still carryThe copper eyes, the smile and the quiet.
Today
An uncommon pedigree in the UAE, found through specialist breeders and kept indoors in the cool.
What they still carryA quiet mouser in a coat made for cooler weather, living in air conditioning.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Chartreux suits you, so might these.
British ShorthairThe same kind of cat: another sturdy, calm working cat with a plush coat, rounder in the face and in many more colours
Russian BlueThe same kind of cat: another quiet blue cat from Europe, on a finer, more elegant frame, with green eyes
Exotic ShorthairThe same quiet, undemanding temperament, in a plush, flat-faced cat who finds the heat harder
RagamuffinA similar size and the same weekly grooming, in a semi-longhaired cat who wants far more of your company
