SILVER OR CHINCHILLA PERSIANS. 



" There is probably no variety of long- 

 haired cat which has caused so much dis- 

 cussion, notwithstanding that, with the ex- 

 ception of the light-coloured reds, which have 

 been designated ' creams,' the chinchilla is 

 the cat which has most recently gained dis- 

 tinction as a separate variety. The notoriety 

 which the. chinchilla enjoys has been in great 

 part brought about by the delicacy of its 

 appearance and the difficulty that has been 



tabbies. They must, however, not be alto* 

 gether despised, as they have been the stepping- 

 stones which have led to the creation of the 

 chinchilla. 



" It is something like twenty years ago that, 

 amongst the competitors in the classes for 

 long-haired tabbies at the Crystal Palace and 

 other important shows, was occasionally to be 

 seen an alien with the ground colour of the 

 silver tabby, but with very few stripes on 



TWO VIEWS. 



(Photo: E. Landor, Baling.) 



experienced in the production of a perfect 

 specimen. Many cats are called chinchillas 

 and are exhibited as such, often winning 

 prizes, but very few indeed are of the pale 

 silver tint, with bright emerald eyes, and with 

 no bars or stripes on the legs or head. 



" The chief subjects that have been under 

 discussion in connection with the chinchilla 

 cat have been the colour of eyes and the shade 

 of the coat ; but, with regard to the former, I 

 think it must be acknowledged that green is 

 a more suitable accompaniment to silver than 

 yellow or orange, and, as regards the latter, 

 that silver, with dainty sheen evenly distri- 

 buted, is more to be desired than a patchy 

 grey, dull in hue and unattractive to the 

 eye. As a matter of fact, these shaded grey 

 specimens are in reality only ill-marked silver 

 10 



the body. These cats were evidently sports 

 from the silver tabby, so much so that the 

 class for that section was the only one open 

 to them ; and, although they invariably 

 showed great quality, breeders were loth to 

 exhibit them in the medley of different 

 coloured tabbies, where one of their chief 

 beauties the absence of stripes became a 

 disadvantage. Their only chance of dis- 

 tinction lay in putting in an appearance at 

 provincial shows, where the authorities were 

 sometimes to be induced to attach two cat 

 classes to the rabbit division one for long- 

 haired of any colour, and the other for short- 

 haired. In this indiscriminate assemblage, 

 no colour having been stated, chinchillas when 

 present wrought great havoc, although it 

 cannot be denied that the judges of the day 



