SIAMESE CATS. 



263 



" What we want is to establish a really 

 healthy, strong strain of Siamese in England, 

 and by following the above suggestions I 

 think it is possible to do it not without 

 difficulty, as, of course, it takes a little time 

 and trouble (like everything else), but what 

 is worth having is worth trying for. 



" I may say I won with my Siamese at 

 Brighton shows every time I exhibited them, 

 and am now starting breeding them again ; and 

 I think that everyone who will have the 

 patience to go in for this charming variety will 

 find themselves well repaid, as the kittens 

 command 5 to 10 each if successfully reared, 

 and sometimes more. Of course, 

 one must keep a careful watch 

 over their diet, and not over-feed 

 (this is a great point, as they will 

 contract skin diseases if you do) ; 

 but all these things apply as much 

 to all cats, and I cannot see why 

 Siamese should be more difficult 

 to breed and establish thoroughly 

 in England than other cats. One 

 of mine, a female, is out now (and 

 has been all the winter) in a brick 

 cat-house, and is perfectly well. 

 I have been told Siamese are so 

 delicate that people cannot rear 

 them. This is often the fault of 

 the people themselves, for if they will not 

 take a little trouble over animals they cannot 

 expect to make money by them. By this 

 I do not mean fussing and worrying your 

 servants over them. Look after them your- 

 selves, see that they are all right every day 

 (a good feed twice a day is quite sufficient), and 

 then your Siamese will soon be as healthy and 

 strong as your other cat?. All the points of a 

 good Siamese are so well known that I need 

 not touch upon them here. Start with a good 

 strain, be careful, be patient, and you will be 

 rewarded in the end." 



I have mentioned Mrs. Parker Brough as a 

 breeder of Siamese cats, and I am indebted to 

 her for the following account of her favourite 

 breed : 



" A peculiarity of royal Siamese is that the 



kittens are born quite white, and at about 

 fourteen days the points begin to look rather 

 grey, turning at two months to a deep seal- 

 brown, while the rest of the body usually 

 remains white or cream for at least a couple 

 of years (the whiskers and claws remain white). 

 The colouring process resembles nothing so 

 much as that of a meerschaum pipe. There 

 are distinct varieties of Siamese known to 



1'AIk OF SIAMESH BKI.ON'aiXG TO MRS. ARMITAGE. 



(Photo : Salmon & Batchan, New Bond Street, W.) 



fanciers the palace or royal cat, the temple 

 cat (chocolate), and there is likewise the 

 common cat of the country, which is also 

 found within the palace. The points of the 

 chocolate cat are identical for shows with those 

 of the royal except body colour, but the im- 

 ported chocolate is often dark chocolate, with 

 blue eyes, stumpy tail with a marked kink, 

 short legs, and heavy, thick body. There are 

 not many chocolates exhibited, owing to the 

 preference given to the royal variety. 



"It must be understood that there is no defin- 

 ite royal breed as such, but the palace breed 

 seems to have originated by selection. The 

 Siamese as a nation are lovers of anything 

 quaint or uncommon, and the white-bodied 

 cats in Bangkok seem to have been given to, or 

 bought by, the inhabitants of the palace, until 



