There is a great fascination about these Silver Persians, but they have been so inbred of late years that great delicacy has resulted, and many a tale of woe has reached me concerning the difficulty of rearing Silver kittens. But I feel sure better times are in store for this breed, and certainly Silvers vie with Blues in popularity. The points of a Silver cat may be summed up thus: A pale shade of silver as free from shadings and tabby markings as possible; eyes green. For some time it was considered that Silvers might have either orange, yellow, or green eyes, but now the highest authorities in the Silver Society incline towards green eyes. I think judges in general give their verdict in favour of this colour, and I am sure they all desire only one class for Silvers and to keep them as distinct as possible from Silver Tabbies; the one class, namely, Silvers, to be as free from markings as possible, and the Silver Tabbies to have clearly defined black markings on a pure silver ground work. It is these markings that give the distinguishing feature to the beautiful breed of Silver Tabbies. I admire the splashed-type more than the delicately pencilled variety.

There are very few really good specimens in the Fancy, and it is a great pity some of our clever breeders do not take up Silver Tabbies and try to prevent them from being crossed with nondescript Silvers, thus weakening the markings and damaging the breed.

Miss Frances Simpson and her Silver Male "Cambyses " Gunn & Stuart, photo, Richmond

I think it is generally known in the Fancy that I am partial to Brown Tabbies, and truly I believe they occupy the warmest corner of my cat-loving heart; perhaps, because I first started with a Brownie, or possibly because they have been a very looked-down-upon breed. However, as every dog has his day, so I hope a good time is coming for this truly handsome type of cat, so suggestive of a tiger. In build Brown Tabbies ought to be decidedly large and massive. The groundwork should be a rich tawny colour, with dark black markings very clearly defined; the legs evenly barred, and distinct rings round the neck, like so many chains. What are generally exhibited as Brown Tabbies lack the orange or golden tone, and have too much drab or grey in their colouring. The eyes should be yellow or orange. Any white in Tabby cats is a decided blemish.

There is a tendency now to breed Orange cats with tabby heads and legs and self-coloured bodies. This seems a mistake. No doubt an entire Orange cat without any markings would be very handsome, and perhaps some of our enthusiastic Orange fanciers may succeed in breeding such a cat, and also produce blue eyes! At present the classification generally stands for Orange cats, marked or unmarked. The colour of the eyes should be a bronze gold, or hazel brown. Orange females are much rarer than Orange males.

Rev. P. L. Cosway's Imperial Blue G. & J. Hall, photo, Wakefield

Cream Persians are very much to the fore now, but the name is suggestive of a cat much paler in colour than those seen in the Show pens. These cats should be as self-coloured as possible, without tabby markings or shadings. They are often rather patchy in colour, and lean towards fawn rather than cream. Their eyes should be the same golden or hazel colour as in the Orange breed.

It is seldom a really good specimen of a Tortoiseshell is seen. These tricolour cats of black, orange and yellow should be patched, just like the marks in a piece of tortoise-shell. There should be no streaks, stripes or tabby markings in a good Tortoiseshell cat, and the colours should be well broken and evenly distributed over the body, head and legs. The brighter colours should predominate, and no white is permissible.

To novices only in the Fancy need I remark, that Tortoise-shell Tom cats are extremely rare. Tortoiseshell and white long-haired cats are by no means common. Most of those exhibited have too much white about them, and might justly be called White and Tortoiseshell. To be correct, the black, orange and white should be evenly balanced, and the chest and nose should always be white, with patches of colour on either side of the face.

And now to consider the Short-haired breeds. My remarks as to the Black, White and Tabby long-haired cats equally apply to the short-haired varieties. The Blacks must have no white, and the Whites be pure in colouring. The eyes of the former should be orange, and of the latter blue. It will be easily understood that the markings in the Tabby short-haired cats are much more vivid and distinct than in the long-haired breeds. There are also * Spotted Tabbies, but they are rare. In these there should be no lines whatever - not even rings. The more the spots appear to the exclusion of any other markings the better the specimen. I have never seen or heard of an Orange-spotted Tabby.

* Strictly, of course, this is a contradiction in terms, for " Tabby " means "Striped." Still the name "Spotted Tabby" has become established and is intelligible.

The commonest of all cats are Short-haired Tabbies and Whites, and Blacks and Whites. We see these specimens on many doorsteps. The markings are sometimes quite grotesque in their distribution. It seems almost a pity to so far encourage these cats as to give classes for them at our Shows. The "Any other colour" class is set apart in both the long- and short-haired sections for this description of cat, and for those that cannot really be properly classed, such as very light Smokes, Tortoiseshell Tabbies, and Blue Tabbies. Formerly Self-coloured cats with white spots were entered also in this class, but it has wisely been decided that these must take their chance in their own classes. The Blue Short-haired cat, commonly called Russian, has a coat resembling plush in texture. These cats are supposed to have first come from Archangel, but the best authorities seem to agree in believing they are not a distinct breed, and therefore they are now classed at our Shows amongst the short-haired English varieties. Blues should have deep orange eyes, and the colour of coat may be light or dark, but must be even throughout, without any appearance of stripes or markings.

A white spot, as in other self-coloured cats, is a blemish.

The interest in Manx cats is rapidly and surely increasing. These quaint pussies are very intelligent, faithful and affec-tionate,but I must confess the love of this particular breed appears to me to be an acquired taste. The first, and all-essential point, is that a Manx cat should have absolutely no tail: one should be able to feel where the backbone ends. Some Manx cats have a tuft of skin or hair, or a stump, but such appendages count against these specimens in the Show pen. The fur of the Manx cat is longer and softer than is found in the ordinary short-haired cat; its hind legs resemble those of a rabbit; and the absence of tail gives an appearance of still greater length of limb. Self-coloured Manx cats are much rarer than Tabbies, and I know of a Tortoiseshell Manx - needless to say, a female.

Perhaps the most difficult cat to breed and rear in this country is the Siamese. Some fanciers declare these cats cannot stand our climate, and others attribute their great delicacy to those terrible pests - worms - to which this breed is very subject. Certain it is that breeders of Siamese have much to contend with and many disappointments to suffer. The Royal Cat of Siam, so called from the original breed being kept in the Palace of the King of Siam, is one of the most fascinating cats to keep as a pet. They have wonderful intelligence, and seem to have great powers of attaching themselves to human beings. In colouring they resemble pug-dogs. When born they are nearly white, and gradually turn a pale fawn. Their ears, muzzle, tail and legs should deepen to a dense brown chocolate colour. The markings of the ears should be sharp and distinct. The eyes should be a lovely bright blue, large and round. On the question as to whether the tail of a Siamese cat should be kinked or not kinked, no two opinions appear to agree, though H.M. the King of Siam is quoted as saying they ought not to be. A rather strange characteristic of this breed is the tendency to darken in coat as they grow in age. For this reason it is well to have the classes at Shows divided according to age.

Siamese cats may be said to be in their prime at a year old; after this their colouring becomes blurred.

The only other foreign cat that calls for attention is the Abyssinian or Bunny cat, and it is not often that specimens are exhibited at our Shows. We have no special fanciers of this breed. The fur has a groundwork of reddish-brown ticked with darker brown markings. The coat should be close and soft.

The "Maltese" (Short-haired Blue) cat of the United States is not known by that name in England, nor has the American "coon cat" or the Mexican hairless cat yet been seen on our Show benches. References to the two former of these will be found on a later page.