Luna, My York Chocolate?

Luna, My York Chocolate?

by Alba-NY
(NY)

Luna

Luna

I commented on a story here weeks ago, but why not write my own?! Luna came to live with us at Thanksgiving 2009. I was at my aunt's in the Albany area for the family get-together and she told me about a friend with 30 some kittens.

For weeks my husband and I had talked about adding to our little family, and so my aunt called her friend, Bonny. Bonny grabbed the three nearest kittens and brought them for us to meet.

Luna was silky, fluffy, and sweet. We liked her very much. (I would not have minded taking all three or more :p).

In the dim light that evening we thought that she was black. It wasn't until we saw her in the light at home that her unusual milk and dark chocolate coat was noticed. I was surprised because in all my years around cats I had never seen such a colour.

She was born last June, as I recall. Luna's mother was some sort of Siamese and her father was a big, black, longhair named Moonbeam.

Luna's coat intrigued me so much. She darkened with the weeks. For a long time she had a colourpoint thing happening. She was dark chocolate at the points and milk elsewhere. So pretty! After a while this evened out however.

There is a little patch of white hairs on her neck but too few to be noticed as a real spot. Not only was her colour strange and lovely, but her fur was silky. I never felt such a soft coat! It was oddly uniform, unlike the obvious two types of fur my other cats have, and so I assumed she only had a soft undercoat. Reading now I realise that it is the undercoat lacking, but her guard hairs are much finer than most other cats I have touched.

I decided not to spay her at this time wondering of the possibilities.

After a while I began to Google as best I could to find out about chocolate coloured cats. I posted a comment here, but mostly I found so little. Many sites copied the basic information from another, and it seems no one is breeding Yorks with an online presence?

I emailed many cat associations for information, and I have only two leads.

I had hoped to take Luna to a CFF show in Massachusetts last month. It was far away, and Luna was too old for the kitten division. Being un-spayed disqualifies her from entry now.

I do not know who to talk to about confirming my suspicions that Luna meets the breed standard. She certainly looks like the photos of Yorks and matches what I read. That she came from a farm is no different than the founders, and being from the Albany area also?!

Now I wonder how many of her siblings and cousins on the farm share her unique features?

It would be so nice if I could post more than one photo. This one I have is a bad shot, but at least you can see her lovely tail. Lately I have had a terrible time photographing her :p She moves around a lot and is so dark. My best photos are when she was a kitten probably.

Luna's fur was rather long when we took her home. After a while it became entirely short, but has steadily grown in. De-worming made a difference, I am sure.

It is still filling in, but it is so thick and plush! I cannot wait to see when she is fully grown 🙂

If anyone has any information I'd appreciate a comment!

Update..some more photos:

york chocolate cat

york chocolate cat

york chocolate cat

Alba

Luna, my York Chocolate? to York Chocolate cat

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Luna, My York Chocolate?

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Oct 12, 2011
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My little mongrel from Malaysia might be a York Choc mix!
by: Sheema

Hi there Alba! Oh my gosh! I stumbled across your page totally by accident while trying to figure out the breed of the local stray kitten whom I picked up off the street here in Malaysia. I was struck by how much your photos of Luna look almost exactly like him! I named him Jet when I first saw his photo, thinking he was jet-black, but when I actually met him I realised he was actually a non-uniform, dark chocolate with slight sprinkling if white hairs here and there, and even some ever-so-faint banding/stripes in some parts of his body. I've been cracking my head trying to figure him out as, like you, I've never noticed this kind of colouration before. He's obviously a mix though as he has a kinked bobtail very typical of our local strays here. Wish I could post his photo up here. Thanks for setting up this page!


Jul 26, 2010
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Twins!
by: Tina

Luna looks like the twin of my kitty Starlight! Just convincing me more that she is a York Choc. kitty after all! Thanks for sharing!


Apr 23, 2010
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thanks!
by: Alba

Kay,

thanks for writing. I haven't yet found your Coco. I've been trying to figure out this site, but so far I am not so good at using it to look at submitted photos.

Coco does sound so much like Luna. The main similarity is in the thick, mink-y fur! I just love to pet Luna because of it 😀

Michael,
many thanks again to you!

-Alba


Apr 13, 2010
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My Hersheys Chocolate Coco
by: Kay Zirkel

Hi there, So nice to find someone other than myself who has a Chocolate kitty. My Coco was a stray along with her sister and brother. Brother is JUST like your Luna. Coco is lighter and I consider her to be the softest cat I haver ever felt. Also she is shorthaired with a mink thickness to her coat. She still has points and tail rings faintly. We also wondered if the three kittens could bo some new breed. But so far my Coco seems to be w wonderful Moggie. There is a bad picture of Coco in the Moggie section of this site. Hope you can find out more info and pass it on. Good Luck with your Luna.Kay and Coco


Apr 13, 2010
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Learnt two things
by: Michael

Hi...I have just added your photos. Thanks for them. I have learnt two things. Your name is Alba and Luna is gorgeous. Such a rich chocolate brown and a sweet face as well.

Thanks for sharing.

Michael Avatar


Apr 12, 2010
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Hi
by: Michael

Thanks for visiting. I can't address you by name as I think you filled in the 'by' slot (author) incorrectly so I'll play safe.

You know, I get a clear sense that there is little or no further information out there about the York Chocolate cat, which is why you see duplicated information.

It is a new breed that has not flourished or got off the ground despite being around for 20 years or more. I couldn't find a breeder and the associations don't help. Information is very thin on the ground.

If the cat association can't help who can?

If you would like me to upload some more photos to this page, just email me:

mjbmeister[at]gmail.com

substituting [at] for @

Thank you for visiting and sharing your thoughts and experiences.

Michael Avatar


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