About Luxueux

History of Luxueux Back to Top

Only a few Luxueux kittens are born each year and availability is limited. Like other Chartreux breeders, I like to get to know potential new owners before letting my kittens go to new homes.

I first learned about the Chartreux in the late 1970’s while browsing in a bookstore. I found “The Encyclopedia of American Cat Breeds.” Upon opening it, I saw a head shot of one of the most magnificent cats I have ever seen –shorthaired, gray, with golden eyes that peered into my soul. My heart raced and my chest ached: “Now, THAT’S a CAT!” As I was to learn, this was a photo of Taquin de St. Pierre, one of the first seven Chartreux imported into the US by Helen and John Gamon in 1970. As I learned more about this sturdy, gentle, quiet breed of medieval times, the more I wanted to become involved in its preservation so that Chartreux will be available to be loved and enjoyed for generations to come.

I saw my first Chartreux in person in 1983, in Ladner, British Columbia, at the home of Alexis McPherson, one of the earliest North American Chartreux breeders. However, in order to be fair to the cat, I chose to wait until I had completed the intense schooling ahead of me before getting my first Chartreux.

He was Ami’s Elfin Bleu of Luxueux -- my gift to myself upon graduation from medical school in 1989. I was not disappointed. He was definitely worth the several years wait. I was in love with the breed. The next year I got my first Chartreux female Bleumime Fantasia of Luxueux and registered my cattery name Luxueux with the Cat Fancier’s Association (CFA), The International Cat Association (TICA) and the American Cat Fancier’s Association (ACFA.) I have bred and shown Chartreux since then.

Luxueux lines are primarily “American", most hailing from the original seven cats that Helen Gamon imported in 1970. In 2001 I imported from France a wonderful female Rejane des Lilas Bleues of Luxueux, in order to expand and strengthen our gene pool.

The cats are my home companions so several of them have remained with me, even in their elder years. They are all raised underfoot, and most, including the kittens, sleep in my bed.

About Dawn Back to Top

I live in central Kansas with my Chartreux, and am a member of the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) Chartreux Breed Council.

Presently I spend my time with my cats, reading, and volunteering at the nearby horse arena helping with one of the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) programs. I am also presently a member of the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA).

Having originally been brought up on a farm, I grew up wanting to become a veterinarian, but eventually felt God leading me to become a physician.

I finished college at the University of California at Davis and then worked as a research assistant at the University of Kansas in Kansas City studying the basic physiology of the kidney nephron. After a year of graduate school at Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, I attended four years of medical school at Oral Roberts University, a Christian university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Then I finally got my first Chartreux, Elfin Bleu. Our first year together was during my internship in Family Practice. I then had three and a half years of residency and fellowship in Nuclear Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle.

I then moved to Kansas and worked several years in solo practice as the nuclear medicine physician at our local hospital. Now I am in the midst of training to become a psychiatrist, and am especially interested in animal-assisted psychotherapy.

Shows Back to Top

Tentative Schedule:

~~~February 6, 2005. KS, WICHITA: Cotillion Ballroom, 11120 West Kellog. Wichita Cat Fancy

~~~February 26-27, 2005. NE, LINCOLN: Lancaster Event Center, 4100 North 84th Street. Lincoln Cat Club

~~~March 12-13, 2005. MO, KANSAS CITY: Mo-Kan Cat Club

~~~March 19-20. OK, TULSA: Tulsa Convention Center, 100 Civic Center. Oil Capital Cat Club

~~~April 09-10, 2005. MO, SPRINGFIELD: Lakes Country Cat Fanciers

~~~May 21, 2005. NE, OMAHA: Creative Cats Club

~~~August 13-14, 2005. MO, KANSAS CITY: Mo-Kan Cat Club

~~~November 26-27, 2005. OK, OKLAHOMA CITY: Oklahoma City Cat Club

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