The Chausie () is a domestic breed of cat that was developed by breeding a few individuals from the non-domestic species jungle cat (Felis chaus) to a far greater number of domestic cats (Felis catus). The Chausie was first recognized as a domestic breed by The International Cat Association (TICA) in 1995. Within the domestic breeds, the Chausie is categorized as a non-domestic hybrid source breed. Because Chausies are mostly descended from domestic cats, by about the fourth generation they are fully fertile and completely domestic in temperament. History The first hybrids of the jungle cat (Felis chaus) and the domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus) may have been born in Egypt several thousand years ago. The jungle cat is native to a vast region spanning Southeast Asia, India, and the Middle East. For the most part, it is an Asian species of wild cat that lives by rivers and lakes. But the species is found in one small area of North Africa: the Nile Delta. It is well known that the ancient Egyptians kept domestic cats as pets. Many domestic cat mummies have been found interred in Egyptian temples. What is not so well known is that one other species of cat was occasionally preserved after death via mummification; that was the jungle cat. F. chaus is not a timid species; they are known for moving into abandoned buildings and living as happily by irrigation canals as by wild rivers, provided that adequate prey and shrubbery for cover are available. Because domestic cats are likely to have frequently encountered jungle cats along the Nile and occasionally even within their owners' homes, it seems that hybrids of the two species were probably often born there. A few people experimented with breeding F. chaus to F. s. catus in the late 1960s and 1970s. Their intention was to provide a sensible alternative to keeping non-domestic cats as pets. However, the Chausie breed did not truly begin until the 1990s, when a dedicated group of breeders named the breed "Chausie" (after Felis chaus) and developed a planned breeding program and goals. These breeders asked for and received registration status from TICA in 1995. The breed worked its way through the New Breed Class from May 2001 through April 2013, and became TICA's newest Championship breed on May 1, 2013. Chausies are now being bred in both North America and Europe. The breed has