172 



THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



MISS COPE'S " STARLET-, 



whiskers often contain all the different shades 

 of colour found in the coat. The ear tufts 

 should be long and light. The tail is generally 

 ringed from trunk to tip, but this is not notice- 

 able after kittenhood, owing to the great 

 length of the hair. Also the hair to the root 

 is much darker in colour on the tail than on 

 the body. 



" The correct colour for the eyes of a silver 

 tabby is neither green, orange, nor yellow, 

 but hazel a deep nut-brown. This shade 

 of eye is very difficult to obtain, and it 

 fades with age ; but once seen, its beauty and 

 suitability to the colouring of the cat will 

 never be denied. Many of the most noted 

 prize-winners have not possessed this coveted 

 hazel eye. The nose is by preference dark, 

 but this, so far, has not been considered as a 

 point. 



" Not only evenness and regularity of 

 markings go to the making of a good tabby, 

 but sharpness and depth of colour in the dark 

 parts, and clearness of colour in the light 

 parts. A great deal has been said of late 

 regarding the depth of the black markings ; 

 but it is quite as necessary to insist on the 

 purity of the silver tone. No suspicion of 

 brown must be tolerated, neither any blue nor 

 grey tone. 



"There is no question that, as a tabby, a 

 long-haired cat is handicapped by his length 



of coat. There are some people who would 

 rob him of his crowning glory in order that 

 his beautiful striping may the better appear. 

 But surely it were better for them to confine 

 themselves to short-haired cats if they can- 

 not appreciate the marvel of long-haired tabby 

 markings. For marvellous they truly are, 

 when we consider that the dark marks are 

 only formed by tips to the hair of some quarter 

 of an inch in length. When the coat is quite 

 short these tips are massed together, and the 

 blackness is, so to speak, concentrated. When 

 the hair is at its full length of from two to 

 four inches it can be readily understood that 

 the long floating locks mix and mingle with 

 the paler coat, and some distinctness of 

 marking is lost. The massive frill and the 

 long light shoulder tufts give the cat a very 

 pale frontage ; and if he be placed in a show 

 pen side by side with a cat whose coat is 

 just coming, whose marks show up, in all 

 probability he will take a second place. No 

 stroking, blowing of the coat, or other device 

 will show off a tabby cat. He must be made 

 to get up and walk. Then the long coat falls 

 apart, the spine lines reveal themselves, the 

 side patches fall into place, and bars, stripes, 

 swirls, and rings all are to be seen. Even 

 then you will not see them all at once, but 

 as he moves and turns one by one the points 

 will show themselves. As a show cat, a 

 tabby is not a success, for his period of perfect 

 beauty is exceedingly short. When he pro- 

 poses to moult he changes colour, and if you 

 are unwise enough to exhibit him at this stage 

 ominous whispers of 'Brown tabby blood' 

 will pass from mouth to mouth. For a 

 thorough good rusty brown shade, commend 

 me to a moulting silver tabby. Then a little 

 later he completely loses his side markings, 

 and you must wait until the new coat makes 

 its appearance before you can venture him 

 in the show pen. In the first beauty of that 

 new coat, when the hair is about an inch long, 

 he is a dream of colour contrast, and some- 

 how suggests such ineffable cleanliness ! 



" How to breed silver tabbies is a moot 

 point. One thing is certain, that if we expect 



