The Self-colored Cats are those which are entirely of one solid color, which may vary in its hue or tint, but must not have any intermixture of white or of any other color. The Self-colored Cats are the Black, the Blue, the Red, and the Yellow. Whatever the color, it should be distinctive and of a rich lustre. The black should be a jet, shining black, the blue of a rich slate or true blue, and the red and yellow of rich colors. The description of the Blue Cat for conformation will suffice for all of the Self-colors.

The Blue Cat

The Blue Cat is called the "Maltese" in America. This cat has been known under various names in England. It was first shown as the "Archangel Cat," then called the "Russian Cat," also the "Spanish Blue" and "Chartreuse Blue," and recently has been called the "Amer-ican Blue." This latter name is probably due to the fact that the Maltese for some years has been a very favorite cat in America, and has probably been bred more carefully than any other breed of cat, so that its representatives formed a distinctive type of good quality.

Head

The head should be small, broad at the forehead and between the eyes, rounded above, and tapering to the lips below. The nose should be long, and the end of it black. Eyes. - The eyes should be:

Orange-yellow for the Blue Cat; Orange for the Black Cat; Yellow for the Gray Cat; Gold for the Red Cat.

Ears

The ears are medium in length, somewhat pointed.

Fig. 18. - Blue Cat.

Form

The Self-colored Cats should have a narrow, long body, lithe in appearance, with a long and graceful neck on which the head is well poised. The legs are medium in length, with small round feet.

Coat - Color And Quality

The coat should be short, with hairs of even length lying closely to the body, and silky and glossy, with a rich lustre of whatever the color of the animal may be. The Blue should be a rich light blue; and it is decidedly preferable in all the Self-colors that the tint should be perfectly even over the whole body, and not shade off into a lighter one.