154 



THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



the bluest of blood, mated with the same 

 chinchilla sire, produced in a litter three chin- 

 chillas and two faintly marked silver tabbies, 

 which would nowadays have been styled 

 ' shaded silvers ' by followers of the dubious 

 hue. Needless to say, these instances are not 

 given to encourage the idea of breeding chin- 

 chillas from brown tabbies, but as illustrations 



11 SILVER BLOSSOM. 

 OWNED BY MRS. WALKER. 

 (Photo : Finiilow & Co., High Wycombe.) 



that just as the results of pairing a cat with 

 one of nondescript pedigree cannot be guessed, 

 so in an animal carefully bred for generations 

 so indelibly have the characteristics of the 

 breed or variety been stamped upon it 

 by past ancestors that it is practically im- 

 possible for them to become obliterated or 

 submerged. 



" Thus the type once fixed survives, though 

 it be by the aid of the most incongruous con- 

 nection, such as a brown tabby. Had the 

 latter been the patrician bred from progenitors 

 of her colours, and the chinchilla been the one 

 of doubtful lineage, the result must, of course, 

 have been reversed, and the kittens, in all 

 probability, would have followed the brown 

 tabby strain. If neither parent cat when 

 of distinct varieties can boast a particularly 



dominant strain, the offspring naturally par- 

 takes of the peculiarities of both. 



" Colour, in chinchillas, is the most import- 

 ant point. It should be of palest silver, lav- 

 ender tint, and lighter in fact, practically 

 white at the roots. There should be no dark 

 blotches or stripes or brown tint on the back 

 or about the nose. A rusty hue is, however, 

 sometimes caused by the action of the sun 

 or wind. As regards bars or stripes on head, 

 these should be as few and light in colour as 

 possible, with a view to breeding them out 

 altogether in the future. 



" The coat should be long and thick, of fine, 

 soft texture, much thicker and longer round 

 the neck, forming a decided frill and mane, 

 the latter reaching well down the fore legs. 

 It should also be longer on the hinder 

 part of the thighs, forming culotte, and very 

 bushy on the tail, which should be short and 

 wide. The legs should be slightly feathered, 

 with tufts of hair between the toes. There 

 should also be tufts in the ears, which should 

 be very small and set low. 



" The head should be wide at the forehead 

 and short in the muzzle, well filled up below 

 the eyes, giving it a round appearance. The 

 eyes large and luminous, in colour emerald 

 green with black lids. Green and yellow 

 mixture is permissible, but not so picturesque 

 as the green ; yellow in the eyes is not desirable. 

 In shape the chinchilla should have a level 

 back, and be only slightly long in the couplings. 

 The legs should be short, with round paws, 

 the latter well padded. When in full coat the 

 hair should nearly reach the ground and the frill 

 envelop the back of the head, making a very 

 fascinating whole." 



The following is the standard of points as 

 drawn up by the Chinchilla Cat Club. It is 

 also used in America as a basis for criticism : 



i . Colour of Coat. Palest silver, laven- 

 der tint preferred, nearly white 

 at roots. No dark stripes, blotches, 

 or brown tint. Darker tips to the 

 long hairs give the coat an appear- 

 ance of being lightly peppered 

 with a darker shade. The whole 



