250 



THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



canines arid felines live together in perfect 

 amity. I believe Mr. H. C. Brooke once ex- 

 hibited a Manx in the same pen as a bull-dog 

 at the South London Bull-dog Show of 1893. 

 And now, having mentioned Mr. Brooke's 

 name, I am pleased to say that this well- 



BALLOCHMVLE BELL SPITZ. 



OWNED nv Miss HESTER COCHRAN. 



known and successful fancier of Manx, as well 

 as foreign, cats has kindly written an article 

 on this variety, which is his pet speciality : 



" On this breed I think I may claim to write 

 with some authority, as I have kept it for a 

 number of years, and it has always been my 

 favourite breed of cat. I believe I may, with- 

 out boasting, say that I have of late years been 

 of some service to the breed, by constantly 

 agitating for the Manx classes to be entrusted 

 to judges who take some interest in the variety ; 

 for it is a lamentable fact that there are num- 

 bers of people, good judges of the more popular 

 breeds, who are quite willing to adjudicate 

 upon the Manx classes without possessing the 

 slightest qualifications, and these usually 

 merely judge the Manx as a tailless cat, which 

 is all wrong. During the last few years I 

 am glad to say that the National Cat Club, at 

 almost all its shows, instead of tacking the 

 Manx classes on to the list of any all-round 

 judge, has appointed capable judges ; and 

 whilst, of course, no judge has ever succeeded 

 in pleasing all concerned (except when there 



was only one entry in the class), the awards at 

 these shows have always been reasonable and 

 sound, and free from the absurdities which too 

 often sicken fanciers and render the judge 

 ridiculous at other shows. When we find an 

 all-round judge openly stating that a Manx 

 is but a tailless cat, and that he could manu- 

 facture perfect specimens, it is high time that 

 that judge's name, however excellent a judge 

 he may be of other breeds, should be inscribed 

 upon the tablets of every Manx fancier's 

 memory, and when he again officiates he 

 should be saved the trouble of going over cats 

 which he neither likes nor understands. 



'"What is a Manx but a tailless cat ? ' 

 some may ask. Well, a cat with, perhaps, 

 an inch of tail, though in my opinion unfit 

 to win a prize, may possibly be really a 

 better Manx, more calculated to do good to 

 the breed, than an absolutely tailless cat. It 

 may possess more Manx character, and this 

 Manx character is a thing not ' understanded 

 of the people ' ; and here it is that those judges 

 score who have taken a real interest in and 

 studied the breed. A cat may have a couple 

 of joints of tail, crooked or straight, and yet 

 be a pure Manx ; though, as we strive for per- 

 fection, I consider that such cats should be 

 relegated to the stud, or at most only be placed 

 ' in the money if the competition be very weak, 

 and then never awarded any high prize. 



" If breeders of Manx were more careful, 

 there should be no difficulty in obtaining 

 litters without any tail whatever. No cat 

 can be a really typical Manx who is long-cast 

 in the body. A short, cobby body is an essen- 

 tial in a show Manx. So also is a round, short 

 skull. These points are usually noticeable 

 when the kittens are young ; as they grow 

 older they disappear, frequently to return 

 when the cat has outgrown its kittenhood. 

 But the most important Manx property is the 

 great length of hind leg, which absolutely 

 marks the typical Manx as a cat quite distinct 

 from a tailless cat ; with this should be coupled 

 a round, guinea-pig-like rump, round as an 

 orange, which, of course, can only be obtained 

 when there is absolutely no tail. Even a tuft 



