MANX CATS.
These quaint cats are rapidly and surely coming into notice in the
fancy. As a breed they are intelligent and affectionate, and, I
believe, splendid sporting cats. They are undoubtedly great favourites
amongst the sterner sex, perhaps because they are such keen and plucky
ratters. As a breeder of Persian cats, and having become used to the
beautiful wide-spreading tails of these cats, I confess there is
something grotesque and unfinished, to my eyes, in the Manx, and from
choice I should not care to keep these tailless pussies as pets. They
do not appeal to me and to my sense of the beautiful. Having,
therefore, never kept or bred Manx cats, I feel diffident in writing
about them; but I have carefully studied those exhibited, and have
also had opportunities of judging of their points whilst visiting
friends who have fallen victims to the fascinations of these curious
felines. I know a good Manx when I see one, and to prove this
assertion I will tell an incident in connection with a prize-winning
Manx of to-day. A friend of mine living in London took compassion on a
little stray black kitten who came crying for food. She fed him, and
repeatedly tried to find poor pussy’s owner, but in vain. I was
appealed to to know what had better be done, and when I saw the little
black fellow I strongly recommended my friend to keep it and exhibit
it at the next large show, as I considered he would go in and win
easily. She followed my advice in the latter respect, but placed too
low a figure on “Nig,” as she declared she did not wish to go in for
Manx. I warned her he would be sold, and sure enough that clever and
astute judge of cats of uncommon breeds, Mrs. H. C. Brooke, snapped
him up at catalogue price; and since then he has blossomed forth into
a champion, and as “King Clinkie” has taken highest honours whenever
shown. It is only just to state that Mrs. Brooke most generously
handed over some of her winnings to “King Clinkie’s” former owner.
[Illustration:
TYPE OF MANX KITTEN.
(_Photo: Russell & Sons, Windsor._)
]
I will therefore proceed to give my opinion of Manx cats, but with all
due deference to my fellow fanciers who have had personal experience
with the breed. I think I have judged every species of cat, long- and
short-haired, except Manx; but if I were given a class of this breed
upon which to adjudicate, I should first closely examine their tails,
or, to be more correct, the place where the tails ought _not_ to be! I
remember in former times stump-tailed cats, called Manx, used to win
comfortably at shows, but in our up-to-date times I should make a
black mark in my judging book against those cats with a stump or an
appendage, or even a mere excrescence. I do not fear contradiction
when I state that a Manx cat of the true type should have no particle
of tail—only a tuft of hair, which ought to be boneless.
The next point for which I should search would be the length of hind
quarters, which lends such great individuality to this breed of cat.
No doubt the lack of tail in itself makes a cat’s hind legs look long,
but we want more than that; we need a very short back, so that from
the point of the quarters to the hocks there is a continuous and
decided outward slope. In fact, the hind legs stand right back from
the body, like a well-trained hackney’s in the show ring. Coat I
should next consider, as this differs, or should differ, considerably
from both the long- and short-haired breeds. It should bear more
resemblance to the fur of a rabbit, being longer and softer than that
of our common or garden cats. I think a good-shaped round head as
desirable in a Manx as in other breeds. As regards colour, the most
common would seem to be tabbies, either silver, brown, or orange, and
often there is a mixture of white. Self-coloured Manx seem to be much
rarer, and Harrison Weir tells us he does not recollect having seen a
white Manx.
As regards the colour of eyes in Manx cats, it is the custom to say
that they do not matter in this breed; but, nevertheless, a cat that
has the correct colour of eye must necessarily beat an animal that has
just the opposite to what is set forth in the standard for
short-haired English cats.
A lady friend of mine, who was brought up in the Isle of Man, has told
me that she always understood that Manx cats came from a cross with a
rabbit, but if this supposition is correct it seems too strange to be
true that cats and rabbits should only form matrimonial alliances in
the little island off our coast! It would appear more probable,
therefore, that a foreign breed of cat was brought to the island, and
the following article from the pen of Mr. Gambier Bolton gives his
ideas on the subject:—
[Illustration:
“GOLFSTICKS.”
OWNED BY MISS SAMUELS.
(_Photo: Albert Hester, Clapton, N.E._)
]
“In the Isle of Man to-day we find a rock named the Spanish Rock,
which stands close into the shore, and tradition states that here one
of the vessels of the Spanish Armada went down in the memorable year
1558, and that among the rescued were some tailless cats which had
been procured during one of the vessel’s voyages to the Far East. The
cats first swam to the rock, and then made their way to the shore at
low tide; and from these have sprung all the so-called Manx cats which
are now to be found in many parts of Great Britain, Europe, and
America.
“The tale seems a bit ‘tall,’ and yet the writer feels so satisfied of
its truth that he would welcome any change in the name of this
peculiar variety of the domestic cat to sweep away the idea that they
sprang from the Isle of Man originally.
“Any traveller in the Far East—Japan, China, Siam, and the Malay
region—who is a lover of animals must have noticed how rarely one
meets with a really long-tailed cat in these regions, for instead one
meets with the kink-tailed (_i.e._ those with a bend or screw at the
tip of the tail), the short kink-tailed (_i.e._ those with a screw
tail like the bull-dogs), the forked-tailed (_i.e._ those having tails
which start quite straight, but near the tip branch out into two
forks), and finally the tailless (or miscalled Manx) cats; and the
naturalist Kæmpfer states definitely that the specimens of this breed
now so common in parts of Russia all came originally from Japan.
Again, anyone who breeds these tailless cats, and keeps the breed
quite pure, must have noticed how they differ in appearance and habits
from the common short-haired cats. They are, and should be, much
smaller in size; the coat should be longer and more ‘rabbity’; the
‘call’ is much nearer that of the jungle cat of the East than that of
the ordinary cat; and their habits, like those of the Siamese cats,
are much more doglike. In all these points they keep closely to what
the writer firmly believes to be their original type, the domesticated
cats of the Far East.
“The photographs illustrating this article give some idea of the
general appearance of these delightfully quaint little creatures, and
one notices immediately the great point that all judges look for,
viz., the high hind quarters, which is so typical of the tailless
breed of cats, the few hairs, which represent the spot where the tail
should be, constantly appearing even a few hours after birth, although
there is not a sign of a caudal appendage beneath them.
“Kink-tailed, screw-tailed, fork-tailed, and absolutely tailless cats
have all been exhibited at British shows of recent years, and the
writer, from a personal knowledge of nearly all breeds, has no
hesitation in recommending the latter as companions, their quaint and
doglike ways making them general favourites whenever they are met
with.
[Illustration:
SPECIMEN OF A MANX TABBY.
(_Photo: C. Reid, Wishaw._)
]
“There are at present six distinct types of Manx, or ‘rumpy,’ cats
being exhibited at our shows, viz.: The long straight-backed cat, the
long roach-backed cat, the long straight-backed cat with high hind
quarters, the short straight-backed cat, the short roach-backed cat,
the short-backed cat with high hind quarters. The last type is the
correct one, the first is the worst and commonest type, the others are
intermediate and should be judged accordingly.
“Manx cats should always be judged in a good, large, empty pen, and
never in their own pens, or when held by the judge.
“_Coat._—Exactly the opposite to the ordinary domesticated
short-haired cat. A long and open outer coat and a soft, close
under-coat is the correct thing.”
At one time, we may presume, the Manx cat was kept pure in the Isle of
Man; but, alas! the natives, with an eye to the main chance, have been
led into manufacturing a spurious article, and many more tailless cats
and kittens than ever were born have been sold to tourists eager to
carry home some souvenir of the island to their friends on the
mainland. I have been told that the landing pier is a frequent resort
of dealers in so-called Manx cats, where the unwary traveller is
waylaid and sold! On some out-of-the-way farms on the island I believe
none but tailless cats have been kept for generations, and some
genuine specimens may thus be picked up, if the tourist gives himself
the trouble to go off the beaten tracks.
The following letters which appeared in _Our Cats_, in the issue of
June 30th, 1900, will be read with interest. They were written by two
gentlemen of prominent position in the Isle of Man, but as they did
not wish to be identified as authorities on cats their names were not
given:—
[LETTER I.]
_Castletown, Isle of Man,
12th July, 1898._
I received yesterday your letter respecting Manx cats. I fear I am
unable to aid you much in your inquiries as to the Manx cat, for any
personal information I can give.
When I was a boy there was a kind of tradition that the tailless cat
was brought here by the Spanish Armada. We have a headland called
“Spanish Head,” where it has been believed that some tailless cats
escaped and took refuge here, and that from such cats all the
so-called Manx cats have been derived. During my life I have
frequently met persons who have travelled in Spain, and I think I
have always asked from such persons if they had ever met with
tailless cats there, but I never met anyone who had seen them. I
never heard any other (traditional) origin of the Manx cat alleged.
They are very common here, but not so common as cats _with_ tails.
Both cats with and cats without tails associate together. In my own
house we have always kept cats, and in almost every litter of
kittens there are some with and some without tails. I have two
tailless cats now—one is a kitten of a few weeks old. It has no sign
of a tail, but is (as designated here) a pure rumpy. The mother is
one also, but she has a little fur tuft. I have frequently seen
kittens having a very small “rudimentary tail,” such as one or two
bones.
I have seen, I think, Manx cats of most of the colours mentioned by
you, but the most common are the grey or tabby.
I have never heard of wild cats found here, and I do not think there
is any tradition about them.
A few years ago I had a very fine tom cat (bred in my own house),
black all over, and with no sign of a tail. I lost it. I presume it
was stolen by some tripper. Trippers are frequently on the look out
for Manx cats, and I fear that many tailed kittens are deprived of
their tails to meet the demand.
[LETTER II.]
_Ramsey,
17th July, 1898._
Thank you for letting me see the interesting letters about Manx
cats. I suppose the Society wants to have a standard by which to
judge them.... I am sure we should all be interested to hear what
they have to say on the subject, and we may be able to add some
general information.
To take the questions in order I should say that grey tabby (barred,
not spotted) is the most natural and correct, if one may so speak. I
think it is certainly most common. I have known tortoiseshell,
black-and-white, black, white, and perhaps others, which I now
forget. The eye, so far as I know, is the same as in the common
English tabby.
Certainly we have cats with tails—the rumpy being the rare form.
Perhaps one in a litter, and one or two of them with half-tails.
As to what they are supposed to be, I have of course heard the
Spanish Armada story. My own belief is that they have originated in
_a sport_, _e.g._ as we find in dogs and fowls, and have been
perpetuated as curiosities, and in modern times on account of their
commercial value.
I do not know that there is any type which can be said to be more
true than another with regard to size and shape of head, etc. The
height at the hind legs is perhaps more apparent than real, caused
by the abrupt ending, without the falling tail as in ordinary cats.
Professor Owen made a preparation, which may be seen at the British
Museum, showing the bones (if any) of the tail. I think in a perfect
specimen there should be no bones. Of course, there are all degrees
of stumps.
It is only of recent years that any English fanciers have tried to
breed true Manx cats. Miss Samuel has been very successful in
establishing a strain which again and again breeds true to type. The
“Golfsticks” and “Kangaroo,” two noted winners, are owned by her. In
former days Miss Bugden’s “Gorrie,” Mr. Woodiwiss’s “Manx King,”
“Pickles,” “Belle,” and “Beauty,” all good cats, accounted for most of
the prizes. Miss Jay, whose name is more familiarly known in
connection with blue Persians, has always been partial to Manx cats,
and used to exhibit at the Crystal Palace. The last time I visited the
Holmwood cattery I was much struck with the number of tortoiseshell
Manx cats running about the stable yard. Miss Jay has quite a family
of these; but, needless to say, they are all of the female sex! Mrs.
Herring has not been unmindful of this breed, and has exhibited some
good specimens. Miss Dresser has owned Manx cats for many years and
shown some good ones. Her “Belle Mahone” and “Moonlight” were nice
tabbies, free from tail, and “Bonhaki Junior” was a very fine-shaped
silver tabby-and-white; but, unfortunately, he had a stump which
always kept him back. Mrs. Mosely has exhibited some good blacks. Lady
Alexander owned several prize-winning Manx, but these have passed into
the hands of Miss Hester Cochran. The best of these are “Ballochmyle
Bell Stump,” a curiously spotted tabby, absolutely tailless. “Bell
Spitz” and “Strathcona” are also good specimens in Miss Cochran’s
possession. Mr. Gambier Bolton owned and bred some fine cats. “Manx
Primrose,” a black, and “D-Tail,” a silver tabby, won respectively
first and second at the Westminster show in 1902. It is so usual to
see “Breeder and pedigree unknown” after almost all the entries in the
Manx classes that these two cats were distinguished by having a
certified pedigree. It was a grievous loss when “D-Tail” disappeared
very mysteriously from his home in St. John’s Wood. “Manx Silverwing”
passed from Mr. Bolton’s possession to that of Mr. Foulstone’s, and
was later purchased by Mr. A. Ward, the well-known cat specialist. As
will be seen from the illustration on page 251, this puss is almost a
spotted tabby.
[Illustration:
ORANGE MANX.
OWNED BY MRS. CLINTON LOCKE.
(_Photo: S. S. Finley, Chicago._)
]
Lady Marcus Beresford has lately shown a great partiality for Manx. I
think I am right in stating that the first one that inhabited the
Bishopsgate cattery was a beautiful white called “Mona,” that I
procured for her. This fine specimen was brought from the island
direct, and proved herself a splendid ratter; but, alas! she did not
live long to enjoy the luxuries of her new home. There are, however,
no fewer than five Manx now at Bishopsgate—“Jack,” a silver tabby;
“Patch,” a tortoiseshell; “Satanella,” a black female; and “Stumps,” a
brown tabby male. The most recent addition is “King Clinkie,” whom I
have before mentioned as being owned by Mrs. H. C. Brooke. Does he
ever think of his former struggling existence, now that his ways are
those of pleasantness and peace? One of the latest of the specialist
clubs is the Manx Club, formed by Miss Hester Cochran in 1901, with an
annual subscription of 10s.; this has been reduced to 5s., and the
members in the beginning of 1903 numbered about twenty. The club has,
as far as possible, devoted its limited funds to guaranteeing a better
classification for Manx cats at the principal shows, and when unable
to afford a guarantee has given special prizes for competition. The
efforts of this small body of fanciers have been substantially
rewarded by the great improvement in the quantity and quality of the
Manx cats exhibited during the last eighteen months. Miss H. Cochran,
who has given up all other cats for Manx, is the hon. secretary, and
Lady Alexander hon. treasurer. Committee: Lady Alexander, Miss H.
Cochran, Mrs. Herring, and Miss White Atkins. No doubt in time the
officials and members of the Manx Club will be able to add to their
number.
[Illustration:
MRS. H. C. BROOKE’S MANX, “KATZENJAMMER.”
(_Photo: A. R. Pickett, Bexley Heath._)
]
The following is translated from a paragraph in a German weekly paper
called _Mutter Erde_, and appeared in _Our Cats_ of March 1st. 1900:—
THE PROGENY OF A TAILLESS CAT OF THE ISLE OF MAN.
A cat brought from the Isle of Man (_felis catus anura_) to S.
Germain en Laye, of which the pedigree is unknown, was mated with
ordinary long-tailed cats, and among twenty-four kittens the four
following different kinds appeared:—
I.— Kittens with ordinary long tails.
II.— Kittens with short and stump tails.
III.— Kittens without tails, like the mother.
IV.— Kittens without the least sign of a tail.
The comparison between the influence of the sire and that of the dam
on the young is interesting:—
1 litter. 1 kitten like the mother.
2 „ 6 kittens, 5 like the mother, 1 like the father.
3 „ 5 „ 3 „ „ 2 „ „
4 „ 3 „ 1 „ „ 2 „ „
5 „ 4 „ 1 „ „ 3 „ „
6 „ 5 „ 3 „ „ 2 „ „
It will be seen that the influence of the mother predominates.
Manx cats may be considered shy breeders, and constantly the litter
will consist of one kitten only! I have been told that they are
excellent mothers; but, in the words of a Manx fancier, “they only
care to have one family a year, many queens won’t breed at all, and
heaps of males are very funny and take no notice of their wives!”
Another breeder of Manx informs me that these cats seem entirely
fearless with dogs, and that her canines and felines live together in
perfect amity. I believe Mr. H. C. Brooke once exhibited a Manx in the
same pen as a bull-dog at the South London Bull-dog Show of 1893. And
now, having mentioned Mr. Brooke’s name, I am pleased to say that this
well-known and successful fancier of Manx, as well as foreign, cats
has kindly written an article on this variety, which is his pet
speciality:—
[Illustration:
“BALLOCHMYLE BELL SPITZ.”
OWNED BY MISS HESTER COCHRAN.
]
“On this breed I think I may claim to write with some authority, as I
have kept it for a number of years, and it has always been my
favourite breed of cat. I believe I may, without boasting, say that I
have of late years been of some service to the breed, by constantly
agitating for the Manx classes to be entrusted to judges who take some
interest in the variety; for it is a lamentable fact that there are
numbers of people, good judges of the more popular breeds, who are
quite willing to adjudicate upon the Manx classes without possessing
the slightest qualifications, and these usually merely judge the Manx
as a tailless cat, which is all wrong. During the last few years I am
glad to say that the National Cat Club, at almost all its shows,
instead of tacking the Manx classes on to the list of any all-round
judge, has appointed capable judges; and whilst, of course, no judge
has ever succeeded in pleasing all concerned (except when there was
only one entry in the class), the awards at these shows have always
been reasonable and sound, and free from the absurdities which too
often sicken fanciers and render the judge ridiculous at other shows.
When we find an all-round judge openly stating that a Manx is but a
tailless cat, and that he could manufacture perfect specimens, it is
high time that that judge’s name, however excellent a judge he may be
of other breeds, should be inscribed upon the tablets of every Manx
fancier’s memory, and when he again officiates he should be saved the
trouble of going over cats which he neither likes nor understands.
“‘What is a Manx but a tailless cat?’ some may ask. Well, a cat with,
perhaps, an inch of tail, though in my opinion unfit to win a prize,
may possibly be really a better Manx, more calculated to do good to
the breed, than an absolutely tailless cat. It may possess more Manx
character, and this Manx character is a thing not ‘understanded of the
people’; and here it is that those judges score who have taken a real
interest in and studied the breed. A cat may have a couple of joints
of tail, crooked or straight, and yet be a pure Manx; though, as we
strive for perfection, I consider that such cats should be relegated
to the stud, or at most only be placed in the money if the competition
be very weak, and then never awarded any high prize.
“If breeders of Manx were more careful, there should be no difficulty
in obtaining litters without any tail whatever. No cat can be a really
typical Manx who is long-cast in the body. A short, cobby body is an
essential in a show Manx. So also is a round, short skull. These
points are usually noticeable when the kittens are young; as they grow
older they disappear, frequently to return when the cat has outgrown
its kittenhood. But the most important Manx property is the great
length of hind leg, which absolutely marks the typical Manx as a cat
quite distinct from a tailless cat; with this should be coupled a
round, guinea-pig-like rump, round as an orange, which, of course, can
only be obtained when there is absolutely no tail. Even a tuft of
gristle or hair, as found in many of the best specimens, though in
itself but a very trifling defect, detracts from this typical ‘rumpy’
appearance, by giving a more or less angular appearance to the hind
quarters, unless, that is, it be situated so far back between the
hip-bones that it in no way projects. As typical specimens showing
this rumpy formation to perfection, I may mention the late ‘Champion
and Premier Katzenjammer,’ and ‘Ballochmyle Bell Stump,’ probably two
of the best ever seen in this respect. Had these two been mated, what
glorious progeny should have resulted. Now these two cats, whilst
possessing the round rumpy formation to perfection, did not excel so
much in length of hind leg, and for superlative excellence in this
property we must turn to another celebrated couple, the late silver
tabby ‘Champion and Premier Bonhaki’ and ‘King Clinkie,’ who has just
passed into the possession of Lady Marcus Beresford, and who at the
age of about fifteen months has already twice won championship awards.
Now, these two cats exhibited the great length of hind leg which gave
them when in motion the desired comical rabbity action; but in
roundness of rump they lost to the other two, being somewhat more
angular.
“To gain absolute perfection we require _roundness of rump_ united to
_great length of hind leg_. These are the great characteristics of the
Manx, to which every Manx judge worthy of the name will attach the
greatest importance. Then come other body properties—shortness of
back, general cobbiness, roundness of skull, small ears, shortness of
face; then, last of all, colour. And here it is that the average
all-round judge goes astray, for in too many cases he attaches too
much weight to colour, a good instance of which occurred when
‘Ballochmyle Bell Stump,’ above referred to, whose colour, though
quaint, is not very pleasing, was placed below a long-cast cat of a
taking colour, but in no wise a typical Manx.
“As I before remarked, colour should be considered last. I think a
good black is the nicest colour for a Manx, and, of course, the eyes
should be of the colour sought for in ordinary black cats. A pure
blue-eyed white is very pretty, and also very scarce. Tabby-and-white
I personally do not care for. Silver tabbies are uncommon and very
handsome. Tortoiseshells are also pretty and quaint.
“The fur of the Manx should be just a little longer and softer than
that of the ordinary short-haired cat. Now and then we see long-haired
Manx advertised, but these are, of course, mongrels or abortions, and
by no means Manx cats.
“What is the origin of the Manx? That is a question which in all
probability will never be answered. The theory that it originated from
a cat (or cats) having lost its tail by accident I do not consider
worth a moment’s consideration. Such a cat might well have tailless
progeny, but that would have nothing to do with the abnormal length of
the hind legs, which in good specimens is patent to the most
superficial observer, and which makes the gambols of a couple of Manx
a comical sight calculated to excite laughter in the most mournfully
disposed person.
[Illustration:
MANX CAT.
(_Photo: Gambier Bolton, F.Z.S. [Regd.]._)
]
“Quaint is the old versified explanation, which I remember hearing
some years ago. It ran, if I remember rightly, somewhat like this:—
Noah, sailing o’er the seas,
Ran high and dry on Ararat.
His dog then made a spring, and took
The tail from off a pussy cat.
Puss through the window quick did fly,
And bravely through the waters swam,
Nor ever stopped, till, high and dry,
She landed on the Isle of Man.
Thus tailless puss earned Mona’s thanks,
And ever after was called Manx.
“The most feasible explanation, in my opinion, though of course it can
be but a theory, is that these cats were originally imported from the
East. Asiatic cats of domestic varieties show remarkable variety in
the shape of their tails, as witness the kinks often found in the tail
of the Siamese cat, and the knot tails of other varieties. This
subject will be referred to again in a subsequent paper.
“It is also noticeable that many Manx, like the Siamese, are very
doglike in their habits, showing extreme affection for their owners.
Poor old ‘Katzenjammer,’ for instance, would follow me to the railway
station, and many a time on my return from town have I found him
sitting in the middle of a field waiting for me, and on seeing me he
would accompany me home just like a dog.
“To return to the question of the Manx cat’s tail, this should, of
course, be like snakes in Iceland—absent. What we want is for the
spinal column to come to an end high up on the back, so that on
placing the finger where the tail would begin a hollow or depression
is felt. This is the perfection, but it is not always obtainable in
even the very best specimens. Next to be desired is when only a little
tuft of gristle and hair, with at most a suggestion of a twisted and
withered bone, is present. Then comes a distinct caudal vertebra, if
twisted or abnormal in shape so much the better; but in my opinion
more than two joints should not be allowed in show specimens at all,
though such cats, as I remarked above, may be valuable at stud for
breeding from. But I see no reason, if Manx breeders would pay more
attention, and incompetent judges were barred, why absolute
taillessness should not be attained in ninety-nine kittens out of each
hundred. I have bred many, but none have had the crooked stumps we
often see in otherwise good specimens.
“I do not care for large Manx, which generally look coarse. Here,
again, the all-rounder often goes astray, and unduly favours a large
cat.
“I can heartily recommend the Manx as a pet, and the quaintness of his
movements are certainly a recommendation. My cats are all house pets,
so that I can watch them and enjoy their company; the ‘cattery’ cat is
abhorrent to me. I cannot understand why so few people go in for
rationally breeding this quaint variety. I had hoped that the recent
purchase by his Majesty of two couples of the breed might have given
it a fillip.
“To illustrate the breed, I may perhaps be accused of egotism in
giving the portrait of one of our own cats, but as he is dead it is
less invidious than if living specimens were selected, and as they
were awarded the very highest prizes by the very greatest authorities
they may safely be taken as near perfection. The silver tabby
‘Champion and Premier Bonhaki’ was bred by Mr. Jungbluth, one of the
keepers of the monkey house at the Zoo. He made his _début_ at the
Botanic Gardens as a kitten, when he was much admired by the then
Princess of Wales, and Mr. Wain awarded him the championship. This
success he followed up by winning four others under various judges,
and died at the early age of twenty-seven months. ‘Champion and
Premier Katzenjammer’ was bred at home; he did not commence his show
career till late, and then he had to meet ‘Bonhaki,’ after whose
death, however, he was unbeaten, and had earned his champion title at
the time of his death from gastritis last year, which robbed me of one
of the most affectionate ‘pals’ man ever had, and I am not ashamed to
own that many and bitter were the tears I shed over his grave.
[Illustration:
BROWN TABBY AND ORANGE TABBY SHORT-HAIRED CATS.
(_From a Painting by W. Luker, Jun._)
]
“In conclusion, I would advise Manx fanciers to do their best to
accustom their cats to seeing strangers, to being handled, and to the
show pen; for when a cat is nervous and crouches in a heap it is most
difficult to see whether the desired shape of hind quarters and
rabbity action are present. They can best be seen when the cat holds
itself fearlessly and boldly; and when a judge has a large number of
classes to get through in a short space of time, in very likely an
ill-lighted building, he cannot spend half an hour coaxing each cat to
show its action.”
[Illustration:
MR. WARD’S MANX “SILVERWING.”
(_Photo: H. Glacier, Longsight._)
]
[Illustration:
A LITTER BY “TACHIN.”
OWNED BY LADY MARCUS BERESFORD.
(_Photo: J. Fall, Baker Street._)
]