112 



BLACK PERSIAN " JOHNNIE PASTE, OWNED BY DR. ROPER. 



(Photo: Lavender, Bromley.) 



CHAPTER IX. 



BLACK PERSIANS. 



1VTEVER have these truly handsome cats 

 i.\ received the amount of admiration and 

 attention which they deserve. There 

 are fewer breeders of black Persians than of 

 any other variety, the two most noted fanciers 

 being Dr. Roper and Mr. Robert Little. Both 

 of these gentlemen have owned and exhibited 

 very handsome specimens ; Miss Kirkpatrick 

 has also bred some lovely black kittens. The 

 entries in the black classes at our shows are 

 almost invariably the smallest ; but as a 

 specialist club for black and white Persians 

 has been started, it is hoped more encourage- 

 ment will be given to the breeders of these 

 handsome self-coloured cats. 



As in the other self-coloured cats, the chief 

 point is absolute uniformity of colour through- 

 out. It is fatal for a black cat to have a brown, 

 rusty tinge ; it should be a glossy jet black, 

 betraying no bands or bars in the full light, 

 and having no undercoat of a lighter shade, 

 and, above all, no spot or tuft of white hairs 

 on the throat. This latter is a very common 

 fault amongst black cats, and it is one which 



takes away enormously from the value of the 

 specimen, for either show or breeding purposes. 

 In some other varieties of Persian cats two, 

 or even three, colours for eyes are permissible ; 

 but a really good black cat must have the full 

 round eyes of deep orange, and very attrac- 

 tive are these gleaming orbs, shining forth 

 from their dense black surroundings. When 

 black cats are changing their coats they often 

 present a very rusty appearance, and newly 

 born kittens are sometimes like balls of brown 

 fluff. These, however, frequently grow up 

 the very best-coloured blacks. This breed is 

 very strong and healthy, and often grow into 

 large, massive cats. A tortoiseshell female is 

 a splendid mate for a black male, and some 

 of the most noted blacks have been bred in 

 this way. Two brown tabbies will generally 

 produce one, if not more, good blacks in a 

 litter. 



Black cats have been found very use- 

 ful to breeders of silver tabbies and smokes 

 for this reason that these two breeds re- 

 quire to have their markings and colourings 



