THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



" It was in 1897, at Boscombe show, that I 

 claimed the winner in a class of twenty-six 

 kittens, my now well-known orange Persian 

 stud ' The King's Own.' The same year, at 

 the Crystal Palace, I purchased a lovely orange 

 female kitten sired by Mrs. Pettit's ' Champion 

 King of Pearls ' and the tortoiseshell-and-white 

 ' Dainty Doris.' From her I fondly hoped to 

 establish a breed of blue-eyed oranges, which 

 feature would be charming in the variety ; but 

 alas ! she came home to sicken and die, as so 

 many another valuable kitten has done, and I 

 have never since been able to obtain an orange 

 of either sex sired by a blue-eyed white. 



" It is most difficult to breed oranges without 

 white lips and chins ; the pink nose, too, is a 

 feature in the breed that I do not like. 



" I have found crossing an orange male with 

 a cream female the surest way to breed sound- 

 coloured specimens of both sexes and varieties, 

 e.g. ' Mehitabel of the Durhams ' (a really rich- 

 coloured unmarked orange queen, and quite 

 free from the objectionable light shading on 

 lips and chin) ; she was bred by Mrs. D'Arcy 

 Hildyard from her cream female ' Josephine 

 of the Durhams ' and ' The King's Own.' Again, 

 from a blue male and a tortoiseshell queen you 

 are more certain of breeding good oranges 

 (though seldom of the female sex) than from 

 mating tortoiseshell and orange together ; in 

 the latter case more often than not black 

 kittens predominate in the litter, and there is 

 rarely, if ever, an orange female amongst them. 



" Mrs. Vidal's famous orange stud ' Torring- 

 ton Sunnysides ' was a son of my light blue 

 ' Champion Bundle ' and a tortoiseshell dam 

 ' Torrington Owlet,' herself of an orange 

 strain. Mrs. Walford Gosnall's ' Rufus ' (whose 

 name discloses his colour) was also the result 

 of this union. ' Red Ensign,' the orange kitten 

 who won first and three specials at Westminster 

 in 1902, was bred by me from ' Champion 

 Bundle ' and ' Mimosa,' an orange queen of 

 cream breeding, and with his litter brother 

 ' Scarlet Lancer ' took first and silver medal 

 for the best pair of kittens. The latter is now 

 the property of Miss Cartmell, and has grown 

 into a fine cat. Unfortunately for the cat 



fancy generally, ' Red Ensign ' was claimed at 

 the show, and is now a house pet. 



" The best orange kittens I have bred were 

 from my ' Wernham Titmouse,' a tortoiseshell- 

 and-white who owns an orange dam, and ' The 

 King's Own ' ; the whole litter were females, 

 and redder than any oranges I have seen. 

 These never lived to see a show, and their death 

 was one of the greatest disappointments I 

 have experienced in my career. The demand 

 for good orange and cream females is greater 

 than the supply ; in fact, these colours are 

 decidedly ' booming,' and better classification 

 is given for them at our principal shows. 



" At the Crystal Palace show of 1898 there 

 were only four entries in the open class for 

 orange and cream males, and four of the same 

 varieties in the female class, compared to the 

 ten entries in orange and cream male classes 

 and the same number in the female classes at 

 the Cat Club's show, held at Westminster, 

 1902. These facts speak for themselves of the 

 increased interest now taken in these varieties. 



" Unlike some of the warmer tinted of us 

 humans, orange cats of both sexes are particu- 

 larly sweet tempered, showing great attach- 

 ment to their owners. They are of strong 

 constitution and attain to great size, being at 

 present free from the in-breeding that is practised 

 amongst many other varieties of our show cats. 

 A small piece of sulphate of iron in the drinking 

 water will enrich the colour of orange and 

 tortoiseshells, besides being an excellent tonic, 

 especially during the moulting season. 



" Orange Persian cats do not, as a rule, make 

 good photographs, as they lack expression 

 compared to the short-haired tabby varieties 

 of this colour." 



The Misses Beal, of Romaldkirk, near Dar- 

 lington, have long been associated with orange 

 and cream cats. " Jael " was quite unique 

 as an orange female, and at fifteen years of 

 age could yet win in her class by reason of her 

 grand colour, perfectly shaped head, short face, 

 and tiny, well-set ears. Such a cat stands out 

 in any breed, and such a cat may never again 

 be bred. " Jael " died in 1902, after a long 

 and successful career. 



