144 



THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



ford. Lady Decies is the proud possessor of 

 the incomparable " Zaida," whose record of 

 wins is a marvellous one. As all the cat 

 world knows, " Zaida " is accounted the light- 

 est and most unmarked specimen in the fancy. 

 Mrs. W. R. Hawkins has bred some wonder- 

 fully good silvers, and was the owner of 

 " Sweet Lavender," which has been acknow- 

 ledged as one of the best of this breed that 

 ever existed. The following are the principal 

 silver breeders : The Hon. Mrs. McLaren 

 Morrison, Mrs. G. H. Walker, Mrs. Neild, 

 Mrs. Russell Biggs, Mrs. Wcllbye, Mrs. Martin, 

 Mrs. T. Drake, Mrs. Cubitt, Mrs. Marriott, 

 Mrs. Balding, Mrs. Poole, Mrs. Ormerod, Mrs. 

 Fawsett, Miss White Atkins, Miss Snell, Miss 

 Horsman, Miss Dell, Miss Meeson, The Hon. 

 Philip Wodehouse, Miss Chamberlayne. 



During the last few years a very large 

 number of silver cats have been placed at 

 stud, but we may regard three cats as the 

 founders of the breed or as the pillars of 

 the silver strain namely, " Silver Lambkin." 

 " Lord Southampton," and " Lord Argent." 

 To these worthy ancestors a very large pro- 

 portion of the silvers of to-day can trace their 

 lineage. But this noble trio is naturally being 

 superseded by such stud cats as " Silver 

 Starlight," "Tintagel," " Cambyses," "The 

 Absent-minded Beggar," " Pathan of Dingley," 

 "Jupiter Duvals," "St. Anthony," "Rob 

 Roy of Arrandale," " The Silver Sultan." and 

 many others. There is, therefore, now no 

 excuse for in-breeding, which used to be 

 carried on to a great extent when so limited 

 a number of sires were forthcoming. To in- 

 discriminate and injudicious in-breeding may be 

 largely attributed the great delicacy amongst 

 silver cats. There is no doubt that the 

 number of fatalities among silver kittens is 

 far in excess of that of any other breed. Then, 

 again, the size of silver cats compares unfavour- 

 ably with others, and they are wanting in 

 muscle and bone. We do not want huge, 

 coarse, heavy silvers, but breeders and judges 

 sometimes show an utter disregard for size 

 and strength, and the consequence is we see 



a number of ladylike looking studs that fail 

 miserably in these very essential points. 



Breeders should aim at the happy medium 

 between the liliputian and the leviathan, but 

 not be content unless their silver studs turn 

 the scales at 10 Ib. As regards the mating 

 of silvers, a broad line to lay down is to avoid 

 tabby markings. It is for this reason that 

 smokes have been wisely selected by most 

 breeders as the best cross for a silver. It is 

 more than probable that in many cases some 

 nondescript sort of kittens will be the result. 

 These sort of light smokes are exceedingly 

 pretty cats and make fascinating pets, but 

 they are useless for breeding purposes or 

 exhibiting. I have known of some handsome 

 specimens that have wandered from class to 

 class, only to be disqualified in each and 

 either, and it was a case of, " When judges 

 disagree, who shall decide ? " 



Several experiments have been tried of 

 crossing a white Persian with a silver in order 

 to get pale coloured kittens, but this appears 

 seldom to succeed unless the whites have 

 silver blood in them. Some breeders have 

 tried blues with silvers, but there is the danger 

 of introducing the grey blue undercoat which 

 gives such a smudgy appearance to a silver 

 and is suggestive of a badly coloured smoke. 

 It does not at all follow that the mating of 

 two light silvers will produce light coloured 

 and unmarked kittens, yet this cross and the 

 smoke are the safest. It must be a work of 

 time, as we have before said, to breed out the 

 tabby markings of many generations. 



The name of Mrs. Balding is as well known 

 to breeders of silvers of the past as it is at 

 the present day. In the past, however, it was 

 as Miss Dorothy Gresham this enthusiastic 

 fancier won her laurels. I well remember the 

 sensation caused by the appearance in the 

 show pen of the " Silver Lambkins " at the 

 Crystal Palace in 1888. To breeders, ex- 

 hibitors, and cat fanciers generally the follow- 

 ing account of chinchillas from the earliest 

 days, specially written for this book by Mrs. 

 Balding, should be exceedingly interesting : 



