Tiffanie Cats
The original Tiffanie was found in New York by a breeder in 1967 in which two golden-eyed, chocolate-colored, longhaired cats who purchased the cats. In 1969 they had their first litter of six kittens all of which had identical rich chocolate-brown coats which also prompted further breeding. In the early 1970's the cats from programme were registered as Foreign Longhairs and were often confused with Longhaired Burmese.
Some of the kittens were then bought by a Florida breeder, who was well-known for her Burmese cats. She devised the new name of Tiffany for them, thinking it suggested a classy elegance. However, people associated the new cats with the breeder's Burmese ones, and so the myth of the Tiffany as the ‘Longhair Burmese’ began.
In the 1980's British breeders working on variations of the new Burmilla breed(Burmese/Chinchilla croos) accidentally created a longhaired brown cat. Which was first known as an Asian Longhair. Soon after they learned(wrongly) that the Americans had 'longhaired Burmese' called a Tiffany, and the British decided on the same name. But for various reasons spelled it as Tiffanie.
The Americans learned about the British Tiffanie and decided to give the breed a new name 'Chantilly'. However some cat associations accepted the new name while other retained the original 'Tiffanie' while some use both.
History of Tiffanie Cats
Physical Characteristics
The Tiffanie is medium size and foreign type; the overall type should be the same as the Burmese cat. The coat should be medium long, except over the shoulders where a shorter length is permitted, fine and silky in texture, without a woolly undercoat. The coat should appear dense, but lie flat along the spine and display a glossy shine; the coat should lengthen down the body to form fringes or “frills” along the lower edges of the body and under-parts. The tail should be plume-like. A ruff is desirable in the mature cat.
The body is slender and of medium length and size. The head forms a short balanced wedge with width at the cheekbones tapering to a blunt muzzle and showing good width at the jaw-hinge. The top of the head should be gently rounded. Ears, medium to large size, broad at the base with rounded tips and set well a part. In profile the ears should have a slight forward tilt. The furnishings from inside the ears should form streamers and tufts at the tips of the ears are preferable. The chin should be firm and of good depth, and the bite level and even. The eyes are large and lustrous and set well apart and are neither almond-shaped nor round. The eyes may be any colour from yellow through to green. The legs should be slender, elegant and in proportion to the body, paws neat and oval in shape. The Tiffanie has a number of coat color variation (blue,cinnamon, lilac, fawn, and both sold and tabby patterns)
Temperament
Tiffanies are outgoing, gentle, loving, beautiful cats that make excellent pets. They are extremely devoted to their owners and most are real lap cats, they love attention and need to be part of the family.
Tiffanies are also extremely playful and intelligent; toys and a scratching post should be provided for amusement as well as quality time set aside for play with their owners. They easily learn to fetch and play other games and quickly take over the hearts and homes of their besotted owners. They also adapt very well to other pet animals.
Their curiosity and friendliness can lead them to stray into visitor's cars or delivery vans and they may be best confined to the house or a secure garden. They usually settle quite happily to this arrangement, as above all they do love their home comforts. They can be very sensitive to their owner's feelings and this makes them excellent companions. An ideal family pet, they are generally good with children and when fed up with the rough and tumble of play with children will stalk off until peace resumes.