BLACK PERSIANS.
Never have these truly handsome cats received the amount of admiration
and attention which they deserve. There are fewer breeders of black
Persians than of any other variety, the two most noted fanciers being
Dr. Roper and Mr. Robert Little. Both of these gentlemen have owned and
exhibited very handsome specimens; Miss Kirkpatrick has also bred some
lovely black kittens. The entries in the black classes at our shows are
almost invariably the smallest; but as a specialist club for
black-and-white Persians has been started, it is hoped more
encouragement will be given to the breeders of these handsome
self-coloured cats.
As in the other self-coloured cats, the chief point is absolute
uniformity of colour throughout. It is fatal for a black cat to have a
brown, rusty tinge; it should be a glossy jet black, betraying no bands
or bars in the full light, and having no under-coat of a lighter shade,
and, above all, no spot or tuft of white hairs on the throat. This
latter is a very common fault amongst black cats, and it is one which
takes away enormously from the value of the specimen, for either show or
breeding purposes. In some other varieties of Persian cats two, or even
three, colours for eyes are permissible; but a really good black cat
must have the full round eyes of deep orange, and very attractive are
these gleaming orbs, shining forth from their dense black surroundings.
When black cats are changing their coats they often present a very rusty
appearance, and newly born kittens are sometimes like balls of brown
fluff. These, however, frequently grow up the very best-coloured blacks.
This breed is very strong and healthy, and often grow into large,
massive cats. A tortoiseshell female is a splendid mate for a black
male, and some of the most noted blacks have been bred in this way. Two
brown tabbies will generally produce one, if not more, good blacks in a
litter.
Black cats have been found very useful to breeders of silver tabbies and
smokes for this reason—that these two breeds require to have their
markings and colourings intensified. That is, a silver tabby with dark
grey markings is not a true type, and a smoke with an upper coat of
cinder colour does not represent the true smoke. Therefore the
introduction of a black cross is often a great advantage to these
breeds. There is certainly not much demand for black kittens, and we
never hear of very high prices being asked or given for these, or,
indeed, for full-grown cats. But as “every dog has his day,” so,
perhaps, there is a good time coming for blacks; and certainly beginners
in the fancy might do worse than to provide themselves with a thoroughly
good black queen, for, anyhow, in exhibiting the chance of honours is
very much greater than when competing in classes in which there are so
many entries, as in the case of blues and silvers.
For very obvious reasons black cats are the very best animals for those
living in London or near large towns. They can never present a dirty
appearance, and, therefore, in this particular they will always score
over the whites, creams, and silvers. To keep their coats glossy and
bright black cats should be well brushed and groomed. They will repay
for this care and attention. Our American cousins call self-coloured
cats “solid,” and as applied to blacks this is especially expressive,
for a black should not have a suspicion of any other colour than a dense
black. If, when the coat is blown apart, a shading of grey or blue is
seen it is a great defect. The nose should be black, and the pads of the
feet also.
[Illustration:
CHAMPION “MENELIK III.” (AMERICAN).
THE PROPERTY OF MRS. BOND, WASHINGTON.
]
I do not remember having seen or heard of an imported Persian black cat.
In an article on imported cats in _Our Cats_ the writer (whose name is
not given) says:—“White cats with blue eyes are not often to be obtained
from abroad, neither are the blacks warranted to possess the amber eyes
voted correct by up-to-date cattists. I know of a black queen straight
from the land of cats and the palace of the Shah himself; it had the
most glorious emerald eyes it is possible to imagine—as different from
the ordinary run of green as flaming amber is from faded yellow. This
cat, a Persian among Persians, had a coat as black as the proverbial
jet—perfectly black throughout—long and straight, of fine, silky
texture, but not giving one the impression of massiveness that is such a
prominent, feature of the type of imported cat. Moderate in size,
slightly built, with an expression so foreign that it amounted to
weirdness, this cat could with a dash of imagination have been worked up
into the incarnation of a spirit, a soothsayer, the veiled beauty of a
harem, a witch, snake charmer—what you choose; but always remain
something far apart from prosaic England, something tinged with romance
and the picturesqueness of the mystical East. This black cat was
undoubtedly a typical Persian.”
As there is such a dearth of good black cats in England, it is a pity
some enterprising breeder does not try to import a really splendid
specimen, which might bring luck to himself and the fancy.
In looking back to the old catalogues of Crystal Palace shows, I find
the same scarcity of blacks exhibited as at the present day. In 1886 the
black male class is marked “no entry,” and in 1889 Mrs. H. Warner (now
the Hon. Mrs. McLaren Morrison) makes the sole and only entry of “Imp”
in the black class. It was in the following year, however, that this
same well-known lady fancier exhibited “Satan,” a black that was never
beaten whilst it lived. It was the most remarkable of unapproachable
excellence I can remember—a veritable triton among minnows.
In many of the accounts of our largest shows I remark such paragraphs as
these: “Good blacks with orange eyes were conspicuous by their absence.”
Or again: “The black classes, as usual, were poorly filled.” It is,
therefore, high time that this beautiful breed should receive more
attention at the hands of fanciers, and that not only beginners but
those who are well known in the cat world should take up blacks, and, as
the expression goes, “run them for all they are worth.” At present Dr.
Roper’s and Mr. R. Little’s black Persians have it all their own way.
Mrs. Lenty Collins frequently has a look in with her wonderful big-eyed
“Forest Beauty,” and Mrs. Crowther, in the North, is faithful to this
her favourite breed of cats; but we want some more dusky beauties to
swell the ranks of black Persians.
As everyone knows, a vast deal of superstition is connected with a black
cat. This is what Harrison Weir has to say on the subject:—“It is often
said, ‘What’s in a name?’ The object, whatever it is, by any other would
be the same; and yet there is much in a name. But this is not the
question at issue, which is that of colour. Why should a _black_ cat be
thought so widely different from all others by the foolish, unthinking,
and ignorant? Why, simply on account of its colour being black, should
it have ascribed to it a numberless variety of bad omens, besides having
certain necromantic power? In Germany, for instance, black cats are kept
away from children as omens of evil; and if a black cat appeared in the
room of one lying ill, it was said to portend death. To meet a black cat
in the twilight was held unlucky. In the ‘good old times’ a black cat
was generally the only colour that was favoured by men reported to be
wizards, and black cats were said to be the constant companions of
witches; and in such horror and detestation were they then held that
when the unfortunate creatures were ill-treated, drowned, or even
burned, very frequently, we are told, their cats suffered martyrdom at
the same time. It is possible that one of the reasons for such wild,
savage superstition may have arisen from the fact of the larger amount
of electricity to be found by friction in the coat of the black cat than
of any other; experiments prove there is but very little either in that
of the white or the red tabby cat. Be this as it may, still the fact
remains that, for some reason or other, the black cat is held by the
prejudiced ignorant as an animal most foul and detestable, and wonderful
stories are related of their actions in the dead of the night during
thunderstorms. Yet, as far as I can discover, there appears little
difference either of temper or habit in the black cat distinct from that
of any other colour, though it is maintained by many even to this day
that black cats are far more vicious and spiteful, and of higher
courage, and this last I admit. Still, when a black cat is enraged and
its coat and tail are well ‘set up,’ its form distended, its round,
bright, orange eye all aglow with anger, it certainly presents to even
the most impartial observer, to say the least of it, a most ‘uncanny’
appearance. But, for all this, their admirers are by no means few; and,
to my thinking, a jet-black cat, fine and glossy in fur and elegantly
formed, certainly has its attractions.”
But although black cats are supposed to be harbingers of evil under some
conditions, yet in others they are credited with miraculous healing
powers. In Cornwall, sore eyes in children are said to be cured by
passing the tail of a black cat nine times over the part affected; and
in some parts of the country the presence in the house of a black cat is
both an antidote and a cure for epilepsy.
[Illustration:
KITTEN BRED BY MISS KIRKPATRICK.
(_Photo: E. Landor, Ealing._)
]
I think that most cat fanciers are inclined to believe in the possible
luck that a stray black cat may bring them, and perhaps be more inclined
to take in a stranger of this particular breed than one of another
colour.
There is an old Scotch proverb that says:
“Whenever the cat o’ the house is black,
The lasses o’ lovers will have no lack.”
The celebrated “Fawe” strain of black Persians is well known in the
fancy. Dr. Roper has sent me some notes on his famous prize-winning
cats, together with some useful information regarding the breed with
which his name has become associated:—
“For many years black Persians were a most popular breed; but, like
fashions, for the time being other colours, I regret to see, are
obtaining more notice from fanciers. For years I plodded away to breed
what I considered a perfect black Persian; at last my labours were
crowned with success. What can equal a richly coloured, heavily coated,
deep orange-eyed black?
“In breeding blacks, like any other colour, it is essential you should
procure the best of stock, and be prepared to give a fair sum for such,
otherwise you are almost sure to be disappointed in your results, and,
maybe, retire as a fancier of this colour and try some other; but you
will meet with the same fate if you hold the same views as to expense. A
black Persian should be perfect in colour, with absence of white hairs,
cobby in shape, short in leg, tail bushy and not too long, eyes large
and deep orange, a good broad head, ears short with tufts and well set
apart, short face, coat long and silky.
“Having stated the points, I will now give my experience of breeding.
[Illustration:
MRS. LITTLE’S BLACK PERSIAN “COLLEEN.”
(_Photo: D. Nottle, Beckenham._)
]
“In my opinion, it is most important the sire should be a black, and one
of his parents a black, whatever colour the queen is. I have had
greatest success in breeding from a black sire and a tortoiseshell
queen. Through this cross you may get either blacks or tortoiseshells.
As an instance I quote ‘Johnnie Fawe’ (black) and Champion ‘Dainty
Diana’ (tortoiseshell). From these I have bred many good blacks, amongst
them ‘Dick Fawe,’ ‘Lady Victoria,’ and other good ones; also good
tortoiseshells, three of them having taken championships. Blacks may
also be bred from a black and a blue, or two blacks—in this case, cross
the sire with one of his progeny, which I have found very successful. I
admit there are other ways of breeding blacks, but in my experience the
three ways I have suggested have proved to be the most satisfactory.
“In breeding, to be sure of success so far as the eyes are concerned, if
possible it is better that both parents should have orange eyes, the
deeper the better; but it is most essential the sire should have good
orange eyes. Notwithstanding the queen’s eyes being light amber, by
crossing with a good orange-eyed sire the kittens are very likely to
have good-coloured eyes, but not _vice versâ_. As an instance, I once
purchased a very handsome black queen, perfect in all points with the
exception of the eyes, which were very light amber. I mated her to ‘Dick
Fawe,’ who had the deepest orange eyes I have yet seen in a black; the
kittens developed orange eyes. I have mated in the opposite way, and the
result has been unsatisfactory so far as the eyes have been concerned,
and if breeding for show the colour of the eyes is most important. The
late Mr. Welburn, a well-known judge, once said in one of his reviews of
blacks at a large show (I think it was the Crystal Palace), ‘I scarcely
think that eyes alone should carry an award, yet it is always best to
uphold the desired properties so hard to obtain.’
[Illustration:
THE CAROL SINGERS.
(_Photo: E. Landor, Ealing._)
]
“Having bred a litter of black kittens, it is unwise to make up your
mind what colour they are going to be until they have attained the age
of six months. I remember once giving away a kitten at three months old
which I called iron grey and thought would or could never be black. Six
months after I saw my friend, who thanked me very much for the lovely
black kitten. Two months after seeing him I saw the cat: there were no
white hairs, and the colour was a perfect black. This last Richmond show
I showed a black kitten, aged seven months; it took a first, a second,
and a special. At three months old I thought it was going to be a smoke.
It was claimed by the Hon. Mrs. McLaren Morrison. I have a kitten now,
aged three months, perfectly bronze in colour and a grey frill. I have
no doubt at seven months old it will be a perfect black. I have given
these illustrations in order that those who are thinking of going in for
blacks should not give up all hope of the kittens becoming black until
the age I have stated.
“I breed my kittens from January to July, and find they do much better
in the catteries, all of mine being separate; and I find Spratt’s
movable runs most useful. In showing blocks they should be brushed and
rubbed with a Selvyt cloth daily one month previously and kept free of
matted hair. The application of Brilliantine or American Bay Rum in
small quantity brushed on gives a perfect gloss to their coats.”
[Illustration:
BLACK-AND-WHITE PERSIAN CATS.
]