Australian Tiffanie Cat

The Australian Tiffanie is perhaps the prettiest of all the cat breeds. They are stunning looking cats…

Besides being absolutely gorgeous, Gastonne is a thoroughly deserving champion Australian Tiffanie cat and is the son of Rascal who is also a champion cat. Now I’ve said that, I have to show you a picture of Rascal – see below right looking up. You’ve got to agree that Rascal is a seriously glamorous cat.

The thing is, all the cats on Tatiana Lenton’s website for her cattery, Kaamari Katz are extremely attractive. Tatiana kindly agreed to let me publish photographs of her cats to illustrate this page on the Australian Tiffanie cat breed. I think I’d be hard pressed to find better looking cats to do the job.

Kaamari Katz cattery (see below) is located in Liverpool, NSW Australia, about 15 miles west of Sydney. They are a young, innovative cattery breeding the finest Australian Tiffanies. You can see another picture of Gastonne, as a grown up, further down the page.

Introduction

So, what is an Australian Tiffanie cat? The naming of cat breeds can sometimes be a little confusing to outsiders. The Burmilla is a cross between the Chinchilla Persian and Burmese. A recessive long haired gene in the Burmilla becomes apparent when Burmillas are bred together and long haired 2nd generation Burmillas are born. The Australian Tiffanie is a hybrid, a cross between the Chinchilla Persian and the long haired Burmilla. The Australian Tiffanie is based on the Persian Chinchilla. There are a number of other similarly named breeds that have undergone slightly different breeding programs resulting in a different emphasis. Click on the following link to read about the subtle differences.

History

This is a very recent breed of purebred cat. The brief history can be represented as follows:

Date	Event
1981	Burmilla created
late 1990s	Australian Tiffanie created
1999	Waratah National Cat Alliance recognize the breed. The Waratah National Cat Alliance was created in June 1997.
2001	Estimated maximum 100 cats of this breed in existence. A rare cat breed.
2003	Australian Tiffanie breeders split with some going to the CFA and renaming the breed Long Haired Burmillas.

 

Appearance and Character

This cat is cobbier than the long haired Burmilla from which the breed is derived. The breed has a heavier bone structure and a fuller coat as well. The coat is semi-long haired.

Under the Waratah National Cat Alliance breed standard (profile) the allowed colors are, Silver with Black, Blue, Chocolate, Brown, Lilac and Caramel and shaded goldens (see Gastonne above and below for golden)(as at Sept. 2008). These colors are seen in three different forms: tipped, shaded or smoke. Each type refers to the amount of color on the hair shaft and in each case the color referred to is restricted to the tip of the hair shaft to varying degrees while the remainder of the shaft is white/silver or golden. The color of the cat is the color of the tip of the hair.

“Tipping” (Chinchilla appearance) means the least amount of color on the tip of the hair. “Shaded” means more color than tipping (the color extending about half way down the hair) and “smoke” means more color than either tipped or shaded. In smoke the color extends almost all the way down the hair shaft leaving a small length of hair, at the base, that is either white/silver or golden. For example, Sienna, above, would have hairs that are black to about half way down the individual hairs and the remainder of the hair to the skin is white/silver.

The appearance should be even over a soft and silky coat. And their green eyes are lined as if with eyeliner; this comes from the Chinchilla Persian side. All cats need some grooming (from us) and a twice weekly groom will keep the coat in good condition. As to character the Australian Tiffanie cat is a medium activity, intelligent, cat with a nicely rounded character well suited to modern living.

More on the coat

– basic genetics Smoke: This is produced by a combination of the non-agouti gene and the inhibitor gene. The non-agouti is a mutant allele and does what it says. It doesn’t produce the agouti effect which is banding on each hair of black pigmentation (eumelamin granules) and a yellowish pigmentation (phaeomelanin). Rather the non-agouti gene allowes eumelamin granules or black pigmentation to be deposited throughout the hair shaft. The inhibitor gene suppresses the pigment that is supplied to the hair shaft as it grows. The combined influence of these genes results in the smoke effect coat. Smoke cats look like cats with a solid color until they move when the lighter color at the base of the hair becomes visible.

Tipped and Shaded: This is the result of the combined effect of the presence of the dominant inhibitor and agouti genes referred to above. It would seem that the action of the inhibitor gene is altered (modified) by modifier genes. These change the degree of inhibition of the production of pigmentation that takes place.

Breeders

Kaamari Katz (this website is closed so it may have closed for business). As stated this cattery is located in Liverpool, NSW, Australia. This is close to the M5 going to and from Sydney. It is run by Tatiana Lenton and her partner. Some of her cats are on this page. I think you’ll agree that they are great looking cats.

One of Tatiana’s cats, Jennesse (see below), is featured on packets of Purina® cat food Fancy Feast and tins and is the star of the Fancy Feast TV Commercial. She’s very clever. Now that’s a recommendation…..

From Australian Tiffanie Cat to Australian Mist Cat

P.S. This article was first published in around 2010. It is still relevant (save for breeders) and was carefully prepared with the assistance of an Australian Tiffanie breeder.