276 



THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



describing the correct texture of coat of 

 these short-haired blues, I would compare 

 it to plush, for the hair does not lie softly 

 on the slope, but has a tendency to an 

 upright growth, and yet the coat should not 

 have any suspicion of coarseness or rough- 

 ness to the touch. We know the difference 

 between silk and cotton plush, and it is to 

 the former I would liken the correct coat of 

 these blues. Needless to say that, as in all 



self - coloured 

 cats, the 

 colours 

 should be ab- 

 solutely even 

 of a bluish 

 lilac tint, - 

 without any 

 sootiness or 

 rusty shade. 

 As in other 

 breeds of 

 "selfs," the 

 y o u n g k i t- 

 tcns exhibit 

 distinct tab- 

 by markings, 

 but these 

 vanish as the 

 coat grows, 

 and many a 

 ringed tail 

 which may 

 have caused 

 distress to 

 the breeder 

 will as time 



goes on be proudly held aloft without a 

 suspicion of any blemish. The blues now 

 exhibited appear generally to fail in eye, the 

 colour being yellow, and often green or greenish- 

 yellow ; whereas a special feature of this breed 

 should be a deep orange eye, round and full. 

 Another fault which is sometimes apparent 

 is too thick a tail, which is suggestive of a 

 long-haired ancestor. The following is an 

 interesting letter from Mrs. H. V. James 

 which appeared in Fur and Feather : 



MRS. CARKW COX S BLUE MALE 

 " BAYARD.'.' . ' 



BLUE RUSSIANS. 



I am very interested in the discussion on blue Russians, 

 as years ago I had a perfect type of a blue Russian, 

 which had been imported. When Russians were 

 judged as Russians it won well at shows, so you may 

 like to have a description of the cat which is, 1 

 believe, a correct one, according to several authorities 

 on Russian cats. A real Russian should be longer in 

 the leg than the English blue. The head is pointed 

 and narrow ; the ears large, but round ; tail long, full 

 near the body, but very tapering. According to the 

 English taste, it is not a pretty cat, and only excels 

 over the British blue in the colour and quality of its 

 coat, which is much shorter and softer than the latter. 

 The true colour is a real lavender-blue, of such softness 

 and brilliancy that it shines like silver in a strong 

 light. The eyes are amber. I think it a great mis- 

 take to give " Russian " in our show classification 

 now, as these are really almost extinct in England, I 

 believe, and our principal clubs have been wise 

 enough to drop the title for " Short-haired Blues," 

 in the same way that " Persian " has been dropped 

 for " Long-haired Cats." The last time I showed my 

 Russian was at the first Westminster show, in a class 

 for Russians. She was, however, beaten by the 

 round-headed British blue, although she was, 1 

 believe, the only Russian in the class. In iqoi the 

 class was altered to " Short-haired Blues," which 

 was more correct, as few of the blues shown then had 

 anything of the Russian about them, either in shape 

 or coat. As hese classes are no-* arranged, it would 

 be unfair to judge them except by the standard of our 

 own short-haired cats, and I think that if a club wants 

 to encourage Russians it should give the extra class, 

 " Blue Russian," and let it be judged as such. I 

 must own it is disappointing for a Russian owner, who, 

 seeing " Russian Blue " only given in the schedule, 

 enters his cat accordingly, and gets beaten by a short- 

 haired blue failing in just the points that the Russian 

 is correct in. I know my feelings after Westminster, 

 1899,' when my Russian was described as " grand 

 colour, texture of coat, failing to winner in width of 

 head. and smallness of ears." The blue short-hairs 

 now shown are, I know, far more beautiful with their 

 round heads and shorter legs ; but, unfortunately, 

 the beautiful is not always the correct type. As 

 British cats, however, they are both beautiful and 

 correct, so why not drop the Russian name alto- 

 gether ? I had a most amusing talk with a blue 

 Russian (?) owner the other day, and a good laugh 

 with him over the ancestors of his " Russian " 

 blues. ANNIE P. JAMES. 



At the Crystal Palace show of 1902 Mr. 

 Woodiwiss judged the blue classes, and awarded 

 first to a cat having the English type of head. 

 He gave as his reasons that although he 



