270 



THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



' Tornito,' and ' Evangeline.' In awarding 

 prizes in the Siamese classes at the Cat Club 

 show at Westminster in 1901 1 found ' Suzanne ' 

 quite the best cat present, and upon referring 

 subsequently to a catalogue was not surprised 

 to find that Mrs. Vyvyan was her owner. 

 ' Champion Wankee ' for a long time held his 

 own in the show pen, and has sired some very 

 good kittens ; but, of course, as is usual, age 

 has darkened him. 



"Mrs. Robinson's 'Ah Choo '. and Mr. 

 Cooke's ' Zetland Wanzes ' are well-known 

 cats of to-day. Lady Marcus Beresford's 

 ' King of Siam ' is imported, has glorious 

 eyes of sapphire-blue, and sires exceptionally 

 good kittens ; he is short on the leg, has a coat 

 like satin and an excellent constitution. ' Royal 

 Siam,' the property of Mrs. Spencer, of Eye 

 Vicarage, Suffolk (who has bred some of the 

 best kittens I have ever seen), is a superb 

 creature with eyes of deepest blue ; he was 

 given to a friend of Mrs. Spencer in Siam, 

 is a genuine royal palace-bred specimen with 

 bright blue eyes, a handsome cat with, strictly 

 typical points, and he is never ill ! Miss 

 Harper's (late) ' Curly Tail,' a daughter of 

 ' King Kesho,' was an excellent example of 

 the breed, all her points were very good ; 

 unfortunately her life was not of long duration 

 she died a victim to dropsy. It is so long 

 ago since I first possessed a Siamese kitten that 

 I cannot remember from whom I purchased 

 her ; she was a very perfect little creature, 

 absolutely adorable with her quaint way? 

 appealing and yet assertive nature. 



" After her death from rapid decline I 

 tried to put aside all thoughts of securing 

 another, and not until September, 1893, did 

 I again fall a victim to the attractions of this 

 breed, purchasing a female of about one year 

 old from Zache, of Great Portland Street. I 

 named her ' Yuthia ' ; she was supposed to 

 have been imported, had very expressive blue 

 eyes, and she lived until February, 1899. 



" In October, 1893 immediately after the 

 Crystal Palace show I became the owner of 

 ' Kitza Kara,' a very perfect male, bred by 

 Miss Forestier-Walker, which won first prize 



and several medals and specials. He also- 

 carried all before him at Bath in March, 1894. 

 Unfortunately, he died that year from con- 

 gestion of the lungs. 



" ' King Kesho,' the well-known male (sire 

 of many beautiful kittens), I bought from 

 Mr. Forsgate in 1894 ; he claimed descent from 

 the Duchess of Bedford's, Mrs. Seton-Kerr's, 

 and Miss Forestier-Walker's cats ; he had 

 large bold eyes of a glorious shade of blue, 

 and very dark points ; he won many prizes 

 and specials, but died in 1897. ' Lido,' a male 

 bred by Mrs. Chapman and sired by ' Champion 

 Wankee,' was descended from some of the 

 best of his time ; he was of the long-bodied, 

 narrow-faced type, most graceful in his 

 movements. 



"Amongst the many females I have pos- 

 sessed, ' Cameo ' was one of my best, her 

 pale body colour being relieved by intensely 

 dark points ; this little pet died suddenly in 

 July, 1896, from failure of the heart's action. 

 ' Koko ' was a very large cat, comparatively 

 coarse in appearance for one of this variety ; 

 she won the Duchess of Bedford's special at 

 Holland Park in 1896, for the best adult 

 Siamese. ' Princess To-To,' 1900, bred by 

 Mrs. Bennet, became a great favourite ; no 

 words of mine could ever do justice to her re- 

 markable individuality, her fascinating moods, 

 her expressive little face and sense of the comic. 

 She loved to be sung to sleep, closing her 

 eyes with an unmistakable air of enjoyment and 

 confidence, and clearly requesting an encore 

 when the song ceased. I taught her to dance, 

 and every night at ten o'clock she frantically 

 enjoyed prancing round the room on her 

 hind legs. 



" Alas, that these little companions to whom 

 we are permitted to become so deeply attached 

 should be only lent us to brighten our weary 

 way for so short a period ! ' To-To ' was 

 always very delicate, and after lying at death's 

 door on several occasions she finally entered 

 in ; with her very last breath she crept into 

 my arms to die. ' Yolanda,' the female I now 

 own, was presented to me by Mrs. Hankey, and 

 bred, I believe, by Mrs. Foote. She is a small 



