Breed History

Brownie

Janet Chiefari, the breeder who originated this breed, was not looking to start a new cat breed when, in 1983, the first specimen of this coca-colored cat was born. Her female farm cat, Blacky, a black and white long haired type, had a tryst with Smokey, the neighbor's black domestic male, and gave birth to a litter that included one brown kitten, subsequently named Brownie.
The next summer, Brownie gave birth to a litter that included Minky, a longhaired black male. In 1985, Brownie and Minky produced two kittens: Teddy Bear, a solid brown male, and Cocoa, a brown and white female.
Chiefari was not only taken by these cats' bittersweet color, glossy coats and consistency of type, but also by their exceptional intelligence and loving temperament.
Chiefari knew a little about cat breeding, and she started reading every book on feline genetics that she could find and began a carefully planned breeding program using Brownie, Minky, Teddy Bear and Cocoa, that produced solid and bicolor brown kittens. Their head shape, body and fur type were extremely consistent.
At that point, Chiefari knew she had created a new kind of breed.
By the summer or 1989, Chiefari had converted her porch into a cattery that included 27 chocolate-brown cats and kittens, and she called it "Upon the Rock".
In July 1989, Chiefari's veterinarian introduced her to Nancy Belser, a cat breeder and a Cat Fanciers' Federation judge. Belser came out to the cattery and confirmed what Chiefari believed: the cats were unlike any other.
Belser recommended that Chiefari show her cats in CFF, and that September Chiefari took Prince, a 6 month old brown male, to a CFF cat show and registered him in the household pet category. At that first show, Prince won four rosettes and took a first place trophy.
Chiefari started the process of bringing the unusual feline into the cat fancy limelight by applying for new breed status with CFF and ACFA(American Cat Fanciers Association). She choose the name of York Chocolate for her home state of New York and for the breed's characteristic coloring.
In 1990, after writing a standard, the York Chocolate was accepted as an experimental breed by CFF and ACFA. Only two years later, the breed was granted CFF championship status.
In 1995, thanks to The York Chocolate Society, and Canadian breeders Michèle and Frank Scott, the breed achieved championship in CCA (Canadian Cat Association).

(.....)
In accepting the York Chocolate, the CCA has requested a few minor changes in the wording of the breed standard. They have also requested that the portion describing the allowances for the lighter coat color in the chocolate and lavender kittens be moved to the beginning of the breed standard so that the judges will be aware of this and not have to search for it. Their last requirement is that we include in our breed standard a clause stating that the York Chocolate Genetics Committee must give written approval for any domestic cat which is to be used as an outcross and a copy of this approval be sent to the CCA for their records. We thought this last item was an excellent suggestion, as it guarantees the future of the York Chocolate breed and all the hard work by Janet Chiefari. (......)

Frank and Michèle Scott - Canada