i66 



THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



points drawn up at the inaugural meeting of 

 the Silver Society in 1900, and which standard 

 is still adhered to in the present Silver and 

 Smoke Persian Cat Society : 



SILVER TABBIES. 



At the meeting of the Silver Society, discussion 

 arose as to whether the markings on silver tabbies 



Head and expression 

 Colour and markings 

 Colour of eyes . . 

 Coat and condition 

 Shape 

 Brush 



Total 



25 

 25 



5 



2O 



10 

 IOO 



MISS LEAKE'S SUMMEK CATTKKY. 



(Photo : Cassell & Company, Limited.) 



should be broad or narrow. Lady Marcus Beres- 

 ford proposed that Miss Leake and Mrs. Herring 

 should be asked to express an opinion, both being 

 breeders of prize winners. Miss Leake said she 

 thought there were two distinct types of cats, the 

 one with broad markings, the other with narrow 

 stripes, and that both were correct silver tabbies, 

 the superior beauty of either being a matter of per- 

 sonal opinion. Mrs. Herring agreed, and said the 

 markings should be a dense black. Miss Leake con- 

 sidered they should be black at the tips, but shading 

 to light at the roots. Mr. Abbott objected to the 

 word " dense," as black was black, and the word 

 " distinct " was substituted. Finally the following 

 was resolved : The colour of a silver tabby should 

 be a pale clear silver, with distinct black mark- 

 ings, any brown or cream tinge to be considered 

 detrimental. The eyes should be orange or green : 



The adoption of the preceding descriptions and 

 scale of points as a whole was carried unanimously. 



As regards the eyes of a silver tabby, Harrison 

 Weir says " deep bright yellow." The Silver 

 Society gives an option of " orange or green " ; 

 but the mandate of present-day fashion and 

 personal bias is in favour of green eyes for 

 silver tabbies. From an artistic point of view, 

 there is no doubt emerald green is a better 

 contrast to silver than yellow or orange. 



The Rev. R. Maynard, whose name has for 

 many years been connected with silver tabbies, 

 recently complained in the papers of the 

 tendency to breed green eyes in this variety. 

 He writes : "In former days we never had 



