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Call me at: Margie (706) 931-2963 Georgia
Creators Cattery is soley concentrating on the up and coming new breed of feline called the "Napoleons." This is a new hybrid breed that has crossed the original shortlegged breed - the Munchkins - with the long time favored breed - the Persians - to create a winning combination; the short legs and playful & loving disposition of the Munchkins with the baby doll face of the old fashioned Persian of yester year as well as the overall general appearance of the Persian breed group.
The shortened legs of the Munchkins was a naturally occuring mutation and has been established through years of genetic observations as well as years now of various breeding programs throughout the world that proves that the breed is a healthy and viable breed. There is nothing handicapped about the Munchkin or Napoleon,...they are all cat and though they may have a bit of a waddle about them when they walk and run somewhat like a ferret - they can run fast, climb easily, jump on beds, etc. like any typical cat...they just do it in their own unique style.
The Naps (as they are often referred as) have more visual traits of the Persian breed than they do of the Munchkin breed. Obviously, they have the cute Dachshund-like legs of the Munchkins which gives them their nickname of "Rughugger."
With the short legs comes the unique and completely adorable stance of the Napoleon where they tend to sit up on their hind legs (like a prairie dog) and peer about. They do this when something catches their attention or you get your feathery wand toy out for play. It is amazing how they so easily perch in this position...that is why you see so many pictures of them in this "sitting-up" position. But, as stated before, over-all they look like the old-timey Persian with the very broad round face, large round expressive eyes, and a sweet "baby doll face" with the very short dip in the nose without any of the pug-face look of the modern day Persian. The coats can be longhaired or shorthaired since not only is the Persian a legal outcross for the Napoleons, but the Persian Breed Group which includes Himalayans and Exotic Shorthairs. With the mix of the Munchkin and Persian Breed Group, the longhaired coats will be very long and luxurious but more of a soft and silky feel to the coat (and even a bit less undercoat) which decreases the matting and high maintenance like that of a typical Persian which again seems like the best of both worlds.
With any new breed, it is a challenge to produce cats that meet the standard because they are a mix. Many of the first generation Naps look rounder in the face than the Munchkins but it often takes a couple of generations to "set the type" so to speak. Let me give you some visual effects so you can understand.
Below are two high quality show Persians
Here are two high quality show Munchkins
Below are two high quality Napoleons
Now, through these images, you can see the differences and the likenesses. The Persians have an extremely short nose positioned right between the eyes whereas the Napoleons have a longer nose that turns up slightly - but no break then the Munchkins have a much longer slightly wedgy (called modified wedge) face and nose. The ears are very small on the Persians and on the large side of "medium" on the Munchkins then the Naps are somewhere inbetween (on the small side of medium).
There are other small differences that the breeder can identify but these visual effects help highlight the differences amongst these three breeds.
A Bit of Napoleon History
Around eight years ago, a man named Joe Smith (a cat enthusiast) who had admired the new Munchkin breed thought that if they looked more Persiany instead of like a domestic cat (as the Munchkin breed does) that it would have much broader appeal to the general public. He began producing these Munchkin crossed Persian kittens and early on gave them their name Napoleons. There was wide-spread and instant appeal to the Napoleons yet the road to acceptance within the cat community is often very difficult. Petitioning TICA (our cat association) proved challenging, expensive, and frustrating yet small gains were achieved going from step #1 called Experimental Status to step #2 called Registration Status. During this time, Joe gave up the fight for the Naps in frustration. Yet as the next few years went by, there was still a huge following of breeders scattered across the country who were following in his footsteps - producing with great glee these gorgeous and unusual cats!
In early Spring of this year (2009), the breeders began to rally together to help continue the achievements of Joe's Napoleons and to push toward advancement to the next step - Preliminary New Breed status. This is where the breed stands currently as there are many procedural steps and requirements on this "road to acceptance within TICA." We have formed a Napoleon Working Breed Group where around 16 Nap TICA members are tweaking our proposed Nap standard, voting on a Breed Chairman and Committee, and submitting various paperwork to fulfill the required rules for advancement. We hope to make our case to the Board of Directors at TICA within the next 9 mos.
If (when?) we advance into PNB, this allows us to show our Napoleons in the show arena - educating the judges on our breed and our standard as well as introducing the breed to the public in this hands-on arena. We look forward to creating some fine examples of the Napoleon breed to exhibit, show, and tout to the cat lovers across the country/world.
The Proposed Napoleon Breed Standard
The Napoleon Cat Breed Standard
HEAD 30 points
Shape 5 points
Ears 5 points
Eyes 5 points
Chin 3 points
Nose 5 points
Profile 5 points
Neck 2 points
BODY 40 points
Torso 10 points
Feet and Legs 15 points
Tail 5 points
Boning 5 points
Musculature 5 points
COAT/COLOR/PATTERN 20 points
Length/Texture 10 points
Color/Pattern 10 points
OTHER 10 points
Condition 5 points
Balance 5 points
CATEGORIES: All
DIVISIONS: All
COLOR: All
HEAD:
Shape: Round, broad, and smooth domed. Should be in proportion to body. Jaws broad with good tooth occlusion. Cheeks should be moderately full and blend with the overall roundness of the face. Overall a very sweet expression.
Ears: Medium to small and round tipped. Set wide apart, fitting into the contour of the head.
Eyes: Large, round and full. Set level and moderately far apart giving a sweet expression to the face, eye color has equal importance to size and shape. Deep brilliant eye color is preferred which conforms to coat color.
Chin: Strong, moderately full, fitting into the face.
Nose: Only moderately longer than broad. Muzzle should be moderately short and full.
Profile: Moderately short nose with a slight dip below the eyes. Forehead, nose and chin form a pleasing "baby doll" profile. There shall be no break between the eyes.
Neck: Moderately short, thick and well muscled.
BODY:
Torso: Semi-Cobby, thick, well rounded in mid section. Medium in size. Slight rise from the shoulders to the tail as the back legs are slightly longer than front legs.
Legs: Short, well developed and with firm musculature. The hind legs may be slightly longer than the forelegs.
Feet: Round, pointing forward.
Tail: Short to medium. Straight and in proportion to body length.
Boning: Sturdy and in proportion.
Musculature: Firm and well developed.
COAT/COLOR/PATTERN
Length (long): Long, silky top coat, full undercoat. Noticeable Ruffs. Seasonal variations in coats shall be recognized.
Length (short): Short, dense, plush. Seasonal variation in coat should be recognized.
CONDITION AND BALANCE
Should reflect excellent health with good muscle tone. Other than the short legs, all parts of the body should be in proportion to each other.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Napoleon's distinctive short legs developed from a spontaneous autosomal dominant mutation. The short legs do not hamper mobility or survival ability. The ideal Napoleon is a strong cat with nice boning and musculature. The face should be round with a pleasant expression and large, round deep colored, expressive eyes. The Napoleon should be balanced physically and temperamentally, gentle and amenable to handling.
ALLOWANCES
Consideration should be given to the fact that females will generally be smaller than the males; but both sexes should be in proportion and balance for their size.
PENALIZE
Wedge-shaped head; thin muzzle; wry, overshot or undershot bite; large, pointed or poorly set ears; excessive bowing of the legs; poor muscle tone; small, close-set eyes; pale, weak eye color; protruding eyes; excessive tearing of the eyes.
WITHHOLD ALL AWARDS
Overall lack of merit. Poor overall condition.
DISQUALIFY
Obvious break between the eyes. Kinked tail. Severe malocclusion or asymmetry to the face structure. Crossed, slanted or improperly focusing eyes. Any evidence of lameness.
The above picture if of a Joe Smith production called Bluline Icebreaker. He is a great example of the Napoleons. From this profile view, you can see his shortened nose but see that there is not break (or snub) to it which gives it that full sweet expressioned look. You can also see this his legs are short but with substance and his body is a semi-cobby shape and size.
This is a Creators creation - called Zorro. He, too, is a good example of the Napoleon with a muscled and thick body yet on a medium size frame - his coat is long and luxurious but doesn't have the extra full volume of a Persian.
Pictured here is a shorthaired Napoleon (the red/white boy in the rear) and a longhaired Napoleon.
Lastly - the topic of longlegged kittens. The shortened legs are considered a mutation - just like many other cat breeds that have mutations; the Scottish Fold has a folded down ear (mutation), the American Curl has a flipped upwards ear (mutation), the Selkirk Rex has a kinky coated hair (mutation), and the Sphynx has no hair (mutation). When dealing with breeds that exhibit a mutation, there are usually kittens born in each litter that do not carry the mutation. So, in the case of the Napoleons (and Munchkins), when you have a litter of kittens (from a Napoleon crossed with another Napoleon or even when crossing a Napoleon to a Persian or Munchkin), there are generally at least one (or more) kittens that do not have the shortleggedness that the breed is known for. We refer to these as non-standards or "longleggeds." Granted, their legs are a regular length of a typical Persian (or other cat) but they are longer than the "short legs" that the breed is known for - so we just refer to them as longleggeds. The appealing thing of these longlegged Napoleons is that 1. they look like a pet quality Persian/Himalayan/Exotic Shorthair, and 2. they are priced considerably cheaper than a standard (short-legged) Napoleon. These kittens still have a sweet baby doll face, great body and coats, and a great personality - and raised as royally and spoiled as their shortlegged littermates, so they are still desirable to purchase. Here are some pictures of some of my previously produced longlegged kittens.
Creators Cattery
Home of the unique breed of feline called the "Napoleons."
