Chinese Tank Cats were developed in China by crossing a Napoleon cat from Hong Kong with British Shorthairs. The cat has a large round head and large round eyes set wide apart. The muzzle is heavy, wide, and provides a smooth transition toward the cheekbones. The nose is short and straight with a stop. The neck is short and heavily muscled, giving the appearance of no neck. In the short-haired variety, the coat is short and plush. Due to long hair being recessive, long-haired varieties do exist but are not as common. These cats come in a variety of colors and patterns.
Since the breed was developed by crossing British Shorthairs with Napoleons, it is important to understand the background of the Napoleon cat (which is itself a hybrid), to fully appreciate the breed. Napoleon cats were developed in the mid 1990’s by crossing Persian-type cats (Persians, Himalayans, and Exotic Shorthairs) to Munchkin cats to develop a Persian-type cat with short legs.
Munchkin cats were developed by working with a genetic mutation occurring in domestic cats in the mid 1980’s in Louisiana. Munchkins carry the gene known as achondroplasia, causing them to have very short legs. It is this gene that was passed to Napoleon cats and hence to Chinese Tank Cats. In other words, Chinese Tank cats are essentially British Shorthairs with short legs.
The achondroplasia gene is a lethal gene in its homozygous form. This means that homozygous embryos for the achondroplasia gene never develop in the womb. All Chinese Tank Cats are heterozygous for the short leg gene. This means that, when breeding two short leg Chinese Tank Cats together, approximately one third of the offspring will have long legs. When breeding a short leg Chinese Tank Cat to a British Shorthair or a long leg Chinese Tank Cat, fifty percent of the offspring will have long legs.
Chinese Tank Cats are known for their sweet and playful nature. They love being around people and make great pets.
CHINESE TANK CAT BREED GROUP (CTS/CTL/CTS LL /CTL LL)
The cat CHINESE TANK short hair and long hair are short-legged cats. Their round heads, their well-balanced jowls and their big, round eyes give them a cheerful appearance like Chinese and Japanese cartoons cats.
HEAD ………… 40 points
Shape…………. 10
Eyes …………. 10
Ears …………. 6
Muzzle & Chin. ……… 6
Profile & Nose ………. 7
Neck. ………… 1
BODY ………… 40 points
Legs ………… 10
Torso ………… 8
Boning…………. 8
Tail …………. 6
Feet …………. 2
Musculature ………… 6
COAT ……….. 20 points
Length…………. 5
Color …………. 5
Texture ……. 10
CATEGORY: All. DIVISIONS: All.
COLORS: All admitted except the exclusive colours of certain breeds.
AUTHORIZED CROSSINGS: British breed group (British, Scottish straight, Selkirk straight et Celeste) short hair and long hair and Munchkin short hair and long hair. Exceptionally Minuet (Napoleon) only in the first generations.
Detailed description of the Chinese Tank cat:
HEAD: Form: It consists of a series of 3 essential points. 1st, the muzzle is wide, well positioned and strong. 2nd the head is well round and wide. And the 3rd, the jowls must be wide, medium and with a smooth transition to the muzzle. He must not have huge jowls. The jowls always have to help that the whole of the head is an almost perfect circle similar to the cats of the Chinese or Japanese drawings. The male presents a big head and the female a more average head always preserving their roundness.
EARS: They are small to medium. They are broad at the base and well-rounded in the tips. The ears are very slightly on the sides.
EYES: Big and well round. Spread to show the width of the nose, but never extremely wide apart. The goal is that the eyes are in balance with the rest of the head. The eyes must be an intense look and enormously expressive. They must convey a lot of sweetness and joy. All eye colors are accepted.
MUZZLE CHIN: The muzzle is heavy, broad and has a smooth transition to the cheekbones. The chin closes in line with the nose completing the circle of the face.
PROFILE AND NOSE: The nose is short and straight, with a stop which gives a well pronounced change of direction towards the rounded head.
Never a very short nose or a flat profile.
NECK: The neck is short, thick and strongly muscular, creating the appearance of a neck blending into the body and head.
BODY: The body is strong, muscle but never massive. The Chinesse Tank cat has a wide, straight back. Its horizontal line is between 170 degrees and 180 degrees from shoulder to tailbone.
PAWS: The paws are muscles. They must never be twisted to
the interiors or the exteriors. Their positions must be straight. The base of the legs is wide.
TORSO: The torso must be well balanced with the body. Framing: It is strong and a little heavy ever massive.
TAIL: The tail is short and very big and round in its point for the short hairs and for the long hair must be in the form of feather duster.
LEG BASE: wide and balanced with the rest of the leg.
MUSCULATURE: Strong but never massive.
COAT: Its coat must always be brilliant, well filled with a large bristle.
Length: For the short hair it must be very thick and never very short. For the long hair, one must find a total harmony in all his body while always preserving the roundness of his head.
COLOR: All admitted except the exclusive colors of certain breeds.
TEXTURE: It must have a large bristle to give it more mass to the whole coat. Its texture must be soft and well filled.
Personality: The Chinese Tank cat is an extremely sweet cat and clingy. He is calm, soothed in stressful situations. He must never exhibit aggressive behavior. He is a player and happy cat.
Conditions that can penalize or to ban a Chinese Tank to be judged:
A head in a triangle, ears very big and pointed.
A long or very short nose. Eyes almonds, too far apart or too close. A back line too high at the levels of the reeds.
A light body without musculature.
Very short legs, very thin or twisted. A long and thin tail. A coat with holes and without undercoat Nomenclature for the breed:
CTS: Chinese Short Hair Tank and Short Paws.
CTL: Chinese tank short hair and long legs. CTS LL: Chinese tank long hair and short legs. CTL LL: Chinese tank long hair and long legs.