DOMESTIC CATS. l6l 



colour, it is dark grey, grizzled with black streaks and spots ; 

 the streaks on the limbs being broad, and those on the fore- 

 legs more or less confluent. The tail is grey for two-thirds its 

 length, with black rings, of which the hindmost is the broadest; 

 while the terminal third is black with a small white tip. In- 

 stead of having the sub-spiral arrangement of the ordinary 

 Tabby, the stripes on the loins are straight and parallel ; and 

 the streaks on the cheeks, of which the lowermost is indistinct 

 and interrupted, are black. 



Grey Cats, which are very rare, may be regarded as Tabbies 

 from which the stripes have disappeared, save for two black 

 bars on the fore-limbs; these being very constant among the 

 smaller wild species of the family. 



Tabbies, again, are met with, in which the coat is varied with 

 a larger or smaller amount of white ; and from these there is 

 a transition to pure White Cats, which form, however, a breed 

 by themselves. That these White Cats are not albinos, is 

 evident from their eyes, which may be either blue, or the 

 usual greenish-yellow tinge. In some instances one eye may 

 be blue and the other greenish-yellow ; and in white Persian 

 Cats this peculiarity is highly admired by the natives of the 

 East. As mentioned in the portion of this work devoted to 

 the consideration of Cats in general, White Cats with blue eyes 

 are generally deaf, although this is not invariably the case. 



Another well-marked breed is characterised by the male being 

 usually sandy, and the female of the so-called "tortoise-shell" 

 colour; although at least one instance of a true " Tortoise-shell 

 Tom" has been recorded. The true Tortoise-shell should be 

 a mixture of fawn-colour and black ; but there are numerous 

 parti-coloured Cats, such as white, fawn, and black, and greyish- 

 white and sandy, which are frequently termed "tortoise-shell "; 

 and it is probable that the majority of so-called "Tortoise-shell 

 Toms " belong to this class. 



7 M 



