SILVER TABBY PERSIANS. 



175 



and not a little money. Having made up 

 one's mind which breed one admires most, 

 it is far better to keep to that particular 

 variety, and win success worth having, 

 than to dabble in a variety of breeds with 

 only a moderate amount of success. To a 

 rigid observance of these principles I owe 

 any honours in the show pen which have 

 been awarded to me. It is of little use taking 

 up the breeding of long-haired silver tabbies 

 unless one is possessed of unlimited patience 

 and perseverance. It is sometimes very dis- 

 appointing to find the kitten one fondly hoped 

 would prove a coming champion merging 

 into a shaded silver exquisite in colour and 

 as far as head, shape, and coat are concerned, 

 but none the less not a silver tabby. Here 

 comes in the study of pedigree. It by no 

 means follows that the mating of two tabby 

 parents will result in a litter of pure tabby 

 kittens, unless both sire and dam are of pure 

 silver tabby lineage. Hence purity of pedigree 

 on both sides is of great importance. 



"If there is a trace of chinchilla blood in 

 the ancestry it is certain to manifest' itself at 

 odd times in the progeny. Nevertheless, do not 

 despise your shaded silver, if it be a queen, 

 providing all other points are perfect. As 

 Miss Leake says and I quite agree with her 



' You no longer have a show specimen, but 

 you have a cat that, crossed with a heavily 

 marked cat, will probably provide you with 

 splendid silver tabbies.' This, however, can 

 scarcely be called the true science of breeding, 

 as the progeny of two such cats may hark back 

 to some of the original characteristics. 



" My own practice is to mate silver 

 tabby with silver tabby invariably, and of 

 the purest pedigree I can find. I should 

 never breed from a sire that I knew possessed 

 a brown tabby ancestry. I would far rather 

 choose a good black sire, and in this way 

 strengthen the markings. Of course, one 

 would not expect a mating of this kind to 

 produce a litter of champion silver tabbies ; 

 but if I secured one well-marked kitten I 

 should feel quite repaid. On the general 

 question of breeding, Mr. C. A. House, who 



is no mean authority, and whose suggestions 

 I have often followed with advantage, re- 

 cently said : ' If I were asked to pick out in a 

 certain cattery a pair of silver tabby Persians 

 which would be likely to make a good match, 

 I should proceed on lines similar to the follow- 

 ing : Shape and size with quality of coat 

 I should expect the dam to possess. Marking, 

 colour, length of coat, colour of eye, and 

 strength of bone, I should demand in my 

 sire. This is, of course, if I were selecting 

 from cats whose ancestry was quite unknown 

 to me. My reasons for so doing are because 

 in nine times out of ten the sire influences 

 the outward characteristics of the progeny, 

 while in like ratio the dam exercises her 

 influence over those points which are more 

 hidden. The dam has far more to do with 

 shape than is generally supposed, and I 

 would rather breed from a bad-headed male 

 than a bad-headed queen. Quality of coat 

 must always be looked for in the queen.' 



" With regard to in-breeding I have no 

 hard-and-fast rules to lay down. The whole 

 matter, in spite of what one and another 

 may say, is too experimental and speculative 

 for anyone to dogmatise. The authority I 

 have just quoted remarks on this matter : 

 ' It sometimes happens that a fancier puts 

 together two animals which excel in some 

 particular property, yet not one of their 

 progeny is above the standard of mediocrity, 

 so far as that property is concerned.' Ex- 

 perience has shown me the importance of 

 studying the weak points of the dam. These 

 I try to remedy in selecting the stud cat. 

 But with all my care I sometimes find ' the 

 best laid schemes . . . gang aft agley.' 



" For the successful keeping of cats and 

 rearing of healthy kittens, my prescription 

 begins and ends with two words liberty and 

 fresh air. I have found cats can stand any 

 amount of cold, providing, of course, they 

 have never had artificial heat previously. 

 Two things must be carefully guarded against 

 damp and draught. These are fatal. Kit- 

 tens so reared will be healthier, grow better 

 coats, and will be much better able to stand 



