THE COMMON PUSSY 2l"J 



color, without black or white, or any suspicion 

 of stripes, and have a dark nose and yellow 

 eyes. Any colored ribbon will " become his 

 complexion," and he never ceases to please 

 the eye. 



It may be thought that any cat dressed in 

 black and white will come under one (5f the 

 technical titles black-and-white or white-and- 

 black. But that is a mistake, for the perfect 

 cat of either name is restricted to very limited 

 and well-defined markings. The black-and- 

 white is a black cat with white markings. The 

 whole body clear black, with a white patch 

 beginning between the eyes in a point, spread- 

 ing to include the whole nose, descending 

 upon the breast, and ending in a graceful 

 curve at the bottom, the whole resembling the 

 shape of a pear. The feet and pads may be 

 white ; the eyes must be deep yellow. His 

 perfection is often marred by black nose and 

 lips or black whiskers, either of which is a 

 blemish. 



The white-and-black is the reverse of the 

 last named, in that it is white decorated with 

 black, but it is less regular in markings. 

 Sometimes the black appears in the ears; 



