Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/477

 455 PITS A splendid example of a magnificent pug — Champion the Marquis — the property of Miss C. Rosa Little fact that such prices as I200 (for Champion Chloc) and ;^250 (for Jack Valentine) have been paid for specimens, though these, of course, are record prices. Advice to Pug: Owners It is advisable to buy pugs as young as possible, and then only from someone in whom you can place complete confidence — a well-known breeder, if you can, rather than an unknown dog-dealer. Do not be above asking the vendor or the doggy friend of experience how to feed the young.ster. See that the instructions you receive arc as carefully carried out as would be those of your medical man. If possible, feed and exercise and train your dog yourself. Groom him daily, and be as firm as kind — if not more so. The result will be a dog of which you need not be ashamed, affec- tionate and intelligent, good-looking, and reasonably hardy, and it will be your own fault if he resembles the disgusting, unhappy obesity of popular fiction and caricature. CHINCHILLA FERSIAH CATS By FRANCES SliMPSON y«.4'^ a7ta Expett, Authoress of "The Book of the Caf," and " Cats for Pleasure and Profit' I I Markings and Appearance of the Chinchilla- keep the Cat CI Derhaps no breed or variety of long-haired cat has been so much thought about, talked about, and fought about in the fancy as chinchilla Persians. At the present time chinchillas, or silvers, are the most fashionable breed after blue Persians. It is, however, much more difficult to breed a good chinchilla than a blue, and the notoriety that this charming variety enjoys has been in a great degree brought about by the efforts of breeders and exhibitors to produce a perfect specimen. Difficulties of Breeding: There is a greater delicacy amongst chinchilla cats and more difficulty in rearing the kittens than in any other breed. This may be accounted for by the immense amount of inbreeding which was carried on indiscriminately at the beginning of the rage for silver cats. Originally these cats were bred from silver tabbies, and the ambition of breeders is now to obtain an unmarked chinchilla ; that is, a cat without any shad- ings or tabby markings. It is not easy to give a correct idea of the real colour and appearance of these aristo- cratic-looking cats. Strictly speaking, the name " chinchilla " is a misnomer as applied to them. The soft, grey coat of the little animal whose lovely fur is so much prized as an article of ladies' dress differs diametrically from the cat called chinchilla. The fur of the chinchilla is dark at the roots, and shades to quite a pale grey at the tips. The cat's fur, on the contrary, is of the palest grey, almost white at the roots, and is just tipped or shaded with a sort of silvery grey on the extreme outer edges. Difficulties of Breeding — The Kittens — How to ean — Pricest etc. To the uninitiated a really perfect silver cat appears as a slightly soiled white cat, but when anything pure white is placed beside a cat of this variety a difference will be observed. The tabby markings, which should not exist in this breed, are generally on the legs and head, and frequently there are dark rings round the tail. Some cats are heavily shaded on the body, although there are no visible tabby side markings. To the novice breeder of chinchillas, it is always a surprise to find, when a litter of kittens is born, that the kittens are neajly A rr.fcgnificcnt pair of silvers owned by Mrs. Todd. The own;r cf chinchillas, especially the would'be exhibitor, should bestow great care on the coats of their cats Ayhvard