SIAMESE CATS. 



259 



Siamese breeders in particular. " Wankee " 

 was the first Siamese to win the title of " Cham- 

 pion." He was bred in Hong-Kong, his mother 

 ' Xims " being a stolen palace kitten. 

 " Wankee " was six months old when he 

 arrived in England : and was born in Sep- 

 tember, 1895. He has won over thirty prizes, 

 but was never shown till June, 1898, there- 

 fore losing the time in which most Siamese 

 cats gain their honours namely, between six 

 months and two years, when they are pale in 

 colour of coat. 



Many are the prize kittens he has sired, too 

 numerous to mention. Mrs. Robinson, who 

 is a member of the National Cat Club com- 

 mittee, has frequently acted as a judge of 

 Siamese, and has kindly written the following 

 account for this chapter : 



" One of the most beautiful of the short- 

 haired cats is undoubtedly the royal cat of 

 Si am, and the breed is greatly increasing in 

 popularity ; but is never likely to be common, 



they get dark there is a tendency to call them 

 chocolates. I know of only one real chocolate 

 Mr. C. Cooke's ' Zetland Wanzies ' so con- 

 sider them more likely to be a freak than a 

 distinct variety. 



" Of the royals there seem to be two types 

 in England : the one rather a small, long- 

 headed cat, with glossy, close-lying coat and 

 deep blue eyes, and with a decided tendency 

 to darken with age is generally the imported 

 cat or having imported parents ; the other is 

 a larger^ort, with a rounder head, a much 

 thicker, longer, and less close-lying coat, and 

 the eyes a paler blue (these cats do not darken 

 as much or as soon as the other type, and have 

 generally been bred for several generations in 

 England). 



" The kittens are born absolutely white, and 

 in about a week a faint pencilling comes round 

 the ears, and gradually all the points come. At 

 four or five months they are lovely, as gener- 

 ally they retain their baby whiteness, which 



MR. RATCLIFFE'S SIAMESE. 



(Photo: Hartley, Burnley.) 



as the cats are delicate in this country. The 

 best description is that drawn up by the 

 Siamese Cat Club in their standard of points. 

 The points of the chocolate Siamese are the 

 same as the royal, with the exception of 

 body colour, which is a dark rich brown all 

 over, thus making the markings less noticeable. 

 All Siamese cats darken with age, and when 



contrasts well with their almost black ears, 

 deep brown markings, and blue eyes. Some 

 kittens are much longer than others in getting 

 dense, these making the lightest cats. 



" This breed is said to be kept very care- 

 fully in the palace in Bangkok hence the title 

 ' royal ' and is by no means the common 

 cat of Siam. One gentleman (a missionary), 



