BREEDING AND EXHIBITING 57 



as my remarks regarding the mating of Selfs and Tabbies 

 apply equally to the short- and to the long-haired breeds. 

 Siamese are a special breed to themselves and should be 

 kept as such and the same may be said of Manx and Blues. 

 All attempts to cross these cats with other breeds should be 

 discouraged. 



It is the laudable ambition of all breeders to become 

 exhibitors, and certainly there is infinitely more honour and 

 glory in winning with a cat or kitten which one has bred 

 than with an animal that money has purchased. I have 

 given some hints in my paragraphs as to the best way of 

 preparing cats for exhibition. There is no doubt that cat 

 fanciers do not pay the same amount of attention to the speci- 

 mens they are intending to send to a show as do members of 

 the dog, rabbit or pigeon fancy. This is a pity, for condi- 

 tion goes so far to propitiate a judge, and a noted winner 

 with almost perfect points may fail to " catch the Speaker's 

 eye" if his coat is knotted and his tail draggled. We 

 generally speak of a Persian cat being out of condition when 

 it is not in good coat, and certainly I should advise such cats 

 being kept at home. There are so many shows held nowadays, 

 that if your puss is shedding her coat at the time of one 

 show, you may reasonably hope she may be in form for the 

 next. 



A word about judging may be of interest. I find the 

 easiest and quickest way to set about making the awards in 

 a large class is to start by first marking the absent exhibits, 

 then placing a cross against those specimens that could not 

 come within the prize list. After this I search for my 

 winners, and having perhaps brought down the number to 

 about six or seven, I proceed to take the cats from their 

 pens, and if arrangements permit to have two out at a time, 

 so as to make comparisons. For this purpose, judging pens 

 are most useful. In Selfs it is soundness of colour that the 

 judge should first consider ; in Tabbies, the markings must 

 rank first ; in Silvers, according to the dictates of specialists 

 of this breed, paleness of colour is of paramount import- 

 ance. Some judges, however, will be guided by purity of 

 colour and the general shape of body, limbs and head, and 

 darker shadings and tabby markings will be secondary con- 

 siderations. The Blue and Silver classes are perhaps the 



