The Havana Brown is a pedigreed domestic cat breed with a solid chocolate short-haired coat. The breed resulted from a planned breeding between chocolate-carrying Siamese and domestic shorthair black cats, by a group of British cat fanciers in the 1950s.
The term Havana Brown is used by cat pedigree registries to refer to cats of two different body type; a more extreme Oriental-type (solid chocolate Oriental Shorthair) and a more moderate USA-type, specifically in North America.
History
Etymology
The most likely explanation of the breed's name - and the one most shared by Havana Brown devotees - is that its coat colour is very similar to that of the Havana cigars, The Swiss Mountain Cat was never used in the breeding programs of the modern Havana Brown. However, they likely share genetics inherited from the Siamese.
Breed development
In the early 1950s a group of British cat fanciers began working together with an intent to create a self brown cat of Foreign Type. They called themselves "The Havana Group", later to become "The Chestnut Brown Group". This group of breeders created the foundation of the Havana Brown cat of today. The ladies credited with this effort include Mrs. Armitage Hargreaves of Laurentide Cattery, Mrs. Munroe-Smith of Elmtower Cattery, the Baroness Von Ullmann of Roofspringer Cattery, Mrs. Elsie Fisher of Praha Cattery, and Mrs. Judd of Crossways Cattery. These breeders, by selectively breeding a Siamese cat which carried the chocolate gene to a black cat that also carried the chocolate gene, were able to produce chestnut (chocolate) coloured kittens.