TABBY GATS 61 



for are normal tabbies, red tabbies or blacks ; of less 

 common occurrence are normal tabbies, red tabbies or 

 blacks varied to a greater or less extent with wbite ; 

 rarest of all are pure whites and so-called " tortoise- 

 shells," the latter being Cats in which both the pattern 

 and the ground colour show a confused mixture of 

 tan and black, with white commonly pervading more 

 or less the legs and lower parts of the body.* 



The question of " red " and " tortoise-shell " 

 Cats cannot be dismissed without reference to the 

 as yet quite unexplained fact that the former are nearly 

 always males and the latter nearly always females. 

 The frequency of this phenomenon has given rise to 

 the saying that the " red " is the male of the 

 " tortoise-shell " variety, f Mr. L. Doncaster, by 

 carefully analysing the evidence contained in the 

 literature of fanciers, was able to show that female 

 tortoise-shell Cats were the mongrel forms of black 

 Cats crossed by red ones. On the other hand the 

 " red " males were similarly mongrels of the same 

 kind of cross. In males, therefore, red is wholly 

 dominant, but in females only partially so, some of 

 the black manifesting itself. 



One final word about white Cats. I have already 

 said that the white tiger and cheetah skins above 

 referred to were not the skins of pure albinos, because 

 the stripes in the one case and the spots in the other 

 were pale tan instead of white. I have never seen a 



* White is considered a defect in " show " tortoise-shells. 



t The only species of mammals known to me which are naturally 

 "tortoise-shell" are the African hunting dog {Lycaon pictus), and 

 the Lemming {Myodes lemmus). 



