Appearance
Chinchillas are a variety of the Persian cat. The Chinchilla is classed as a “silver” cat. The Chinchilla undercoat should be pure white, the coat on the back, legs, flanks, head, ears and tail being tipped with black, this tipping evenly distributed giving the characteristic sparkling appearance.
The face and legs may be very slightly shaded with the tipping but the chin, ear tufts, stomach and chest must be pure white. Any cream or brown tinge or tabby markings is considered a fault. Ideally the hocks should be unblemished.
Personality
Chinchillas are generally very placid, quiet cats, happy to lie around the home being decorative. They are affectionate, enjoy attention and can become quite attached to their owners.
Chinchillas are ideally suited to flats or houses as many prefer to spend much of their day inside.
Care
The long white coat does shed a lot of hair which will become worse when the winter coat is dropping. While daily brushing will reduce the amount of hair shed, it will still cover clothes and furniture.
They will need grooming daily in the cooler months or less frequently when not in full coat. Just a few minutes is all it takes. This could be done while you are watching TV. Of course the exotics (lazy mans Persian) need hardly any grooming at all which makes them a perfect choice for the busy, working person who still wishes to have a cat with the beauty of the chinchilla.