210 



THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



" TOPSY. 



OWNED BY Miss SARGENT. 



(Pltoto : J. P. Bennett, West Norwood.) 



shell, " Curiosity " by name. The best three 

 specimens now before the public are Dr. Roper's 

 " Dainty Diana," Miss M. Beal's " Pansy," Miss 

 Kate Sangster's " Royal Yum Yum," and Mrs. 

 Bignell's " Topsy of Merevale." As regards 

 the last-named, Mrs. Bignell has kindly sup- 

 plied me with particulars of " Topsy's " 

 litters when mated with different-coloured cats. 

 " Topsy's " first litter in 1896, when mated 

 to the " Duke of Kent " (a blue), was two 

 creams and two smokes. When mated to 

 " Johnnie Fawe " (a black) her kittens were 

 all of the father's dusky hue. Again, when 

 crossed with another blue m'ale her litter con- 

 sisted of two orange males and a tortoiseshell 

 female, and again to the same cat one black 

 male and two orange males. "Topsy" is a 

 noted prize-winner, and one of her smoke 

 children, " Lucy Claire," went out to Chicago, 

 and is considered the finest smoke specimen in 

 the American fancy. Dr. Roper's "Dainty 

 Diana " is one of the best-known tortoiseshells, 

 and her colouring as good as any exhibited ; 

 she is the mother of many winners. Miss 

 Kate Sangster, who is a great admirer of this 

 breed, writes : " My ' Champion Royal Yum 

 Yum ' was bred from a black and a tortoise- 

 shell, and her grandsire was a cream. She is 

 over .seven years old, and has had twenty- two 

 kittens, namely, five cream, five blue, five 

 orange, four black, and three tortoiseshell." 



Miss Mildred Beal, who with her sister is 

 so well known in connection with cream and 

 orange cats, is also the owner of some fine 

 tortoiseshells. " Wallflower " (well so named) 

 is the mother of a noted prize-winning cream 

 called " Sunlocks." " Pansy," Miss M. Beal's 

 special pet, is a well-known tortoiseshell. 

 " Snapdragon," another prize-winner, was ex- 

 'ported to America, where quite a number of 

 the Romaldkirk cats have found their home. 

 We need a few more enthusiastic admirers of 

 tortoiseshells like Miss M. Beal to take up this 

 rather despised breed and follow in her foot- 

 steps. Some notes by the owner of " Pansy " 

 will be of interest : 



" Even fanciers who will go into raptures 

 over the blue, orange, cream, or silver members 

 of the establishment have no admiration to 

 spare for a tortoiseshell, however striking its 

 record of prizes may be ; and yet to those who 

 breed and understand them there is something 

 very fascinating about these quaint creatures, 

 though the taste for them is certainly an 

 acquired one. 



" Among non-catty people great ignorance 

 prevails as to what colour a tortoiseshell cat 

 really is. Many people, if asked to describe 

 a tortoiseshell cat. would say that it was a sort 

 of sandy colour all over ; others imagine that 

 the ' chintz ' cat, as it is called in the North 

 white with black and red patches has a right 

 to the name. So let it be said at once that 

 three colours, namely, orange, yellow, and 

 black, and these only, enter into the composi- 

 tion of the true tortoiseshell. There must be 

 no white, neither should there be any trace of 

 tabby markings, though this is very difficult 

 to attain. The three colours should be patched 

 or ' broken ' all over the cat, and the more 

 distinct each separate colour is in these patches 

 the better. Brilliancy of colour is another 

 point which breeders have to consider ; many 

 tortoiseshells have far too large a proportion 

 of black in their colouring, which gives them 

 a dingy and uninteresting appearance, and is 

 sure to go against them in the show pen. The 

 eyes should be orange, and in other points, 

 such as shape, head, and texture of coat, the 



