THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



markings. ' Climax ' came of the same 

 parents, and both have broad dark markings, 

 and transmitted them to their offspring. The 

 union of two strongly marked silvers is not 

 always a complete success. A brown tabby 

 makes a most excellent cross, and some of the 

 purest and best silvers we have seen have been 

 obtained in this way. Of course, you must 

 be prepared for a brown tabby kitten or two ; 

 but you need not fear sandy smudges and 

 yellow noses. The colour seems to be con- 

 centrated in one or two examples, and leaves 

 the silver free. In short, in colour breeding 

 we must be content with one or two perfect 

 specimens in a litter, and, retaining them, try 

 again for yet further perfection." 



'The cat fancy needs some new sensational 

 cat to appear on its horizon, and if only a 

 perfect silver tabby, male or female, could be 

 penned at one of our leading shows a great 

 impetus would be given to this variety, and 

 a thoroughly good strain might be established. 

 Then we should not read such remarks as 

 these from the pen of the reporter : " The 

 silver tabbies, we regret to say, were only a 

 shade of days that are gone. There is room 

 for an enterprising enthusiast in this breed. 

 The beautiful clear silver colour with deep 

 black markings seems to be quite a thing of 

 the past. Who will revive them ? " And 

 echo answers, " Who ? " 



From such an authority as Miss Anderson 

 Leake the following article on silver tabbies 

 will be of great interest, and the photos of 

 her cattery at Dingley Hill, Bradfield, near 

 Reading, have been specially taken to illus- 

 trate these notes : 



" Possibly amongst the rarest of our long- 

 haired cats may be classed the really well- 

 marked silver tabby. Twenty years ago he 

 existed, and was, indeed, more commonly met 

 with than to-day. For at that time chinchillas 

 were practically unknown, save for a few 

 scarce specimens, and the silver cats of that 

 day were more commonly called ' grey ' 

 Persians, and were nearly always tabbies. 

 But with the popularity of the pale chinchillas 

 began the downfall of the heavily marked 



tabby. Instead of breeding for the preserva- 

 tion of markings, everyone worked their hard- 

 est to breed out markings, -and real tabby 

 kittens were almost unsaleable. Those that 

 were produced were very frequently ventured, 

 and sold at a low price for pets. The lightest 

 specimens in a litter were preserved for breeding 

 purposes, and rarer and rarer became the 

 deeply marked silver tabby. But at last the 

 tide has turned, and people are beginning to 

 realise that there is a character, a beauty, 

 and a contrast of colouring in a good tabby, 

 which lend to them a charm all their own. 

 Added to this, they are exceedingly rare and 

 difficult to produce. 



" Competent judges agree that to breed 

 regular, symmetrical, and well-coloured mark- 

 ings is no easy task, for contrast is the grand 

 point in a silver tabby. His ground coat 

 from tip to tail should be pure pale white 

 silver. On this light silver ground-work lie 

 the most beautiful even dark mottlings, 

 dark to the point of blackness. These mark- 

 ings are most difficult to describe. A dark 

 stripe runs the whole length of the spine. 

 Then comes a light stripe on either side, then 

 two more dark stripes, but these are broken 

 just behind the shoulder by a transverse bar 

 of light silver, and widen on the shoulder into 

 considerable sized patches. The markings on 

 the sides are not stripes, but patches, elliptical 

 in shape, generally three in number, and 

 partially encircled by dark stripes. The 

 shoulder is particularly heavily barred and 

 striped, as are also the hind quarters. The 

 legs are barred throughout their length, the 

 face should be dark, with dark tufts, and the 

 back part of the hind legs from the knee 

 downwards is black, as in a Southdown sheep. 

 " The head is most beautifully pencilled, 

 the cheeks possess double or treble swirls, the 

 eyes are outlined by dark rims ; on the fore- 

 head the lines form a complete triangle, 

 which is repeated at the nape of the neck. 

 The chest is encircled with a perfect dark ring, 

 called the ' Lord Mayor's chain,' but this is 

 concealed when the large light frill is in full 

 beauty, as is also the neck triangle. The 



