Chapter XVII: Tortoiseshell Persians

Many years ago, when I first took up the cat fancy, I used to think
tortoiseshells ugly and commonplace, and I am afraid even now I have
not that admiration for the breed which I feel a really good specimen
of this variety ought to inspire. To begin with, it is seldom that a
true type of long-haired tortoiseshell is seen or exhibited, and
perhaps this may account for the breed being so much neglected. They
are not taking-looking cats, and make a poor show in the pen. I have
often remarked, however, that this is a favourite breed with the
sterner sex, and that our professional men judges will almost
invariably pick out a tortoiseshell when judging an “any other colour”
class, and give it some mark of distinction. This may be accounted for
by the fact that, of all varieties, a really good tortoiseshell is
most difficult to breed, and therefore any specimen approaching
perfection should be encouraged. There are splashed and sable
tortoiseshells and tortoiseshell tabbies, all handsome cats of their
kind, but not the genuine article. Real tortoiseshells may be called
tricolour cats, for they should bear three colours, like a
tortoiseshell comb, on their bodies, namely black, red, and yellow, in
distinct patches or blotches, solid in colour and well broken up, with
no trace of stripes, bars, or tabby markings. A brindling effect is to
be avoided, and a white spot on chin is a great blemish. It is most
undesirable that the black should predominate, in which case the
specimen will lack brilliancy. The three colours should, if possible,
be pretty evenly distributed over the body, legs, and tail, and should
not run into each other. The red and yellow may preponderate over the
black with good effect.

A blaze, so-called, up the face is considered correct, and this should
be of the red or yellow, and in a straight line from the nose upwards.
This is a very distinctive feature in the breed, and one that judges
will look for in a good show specimen. It is incorrect for the tail to
be in any way ringed with the colours. The texture of the coat is
often coarser and more hairy in this breed, and it is not usually so
long and flowing as in other varieties of Persian cats. There is no
difference of opinion as to the correct colour for the eyes of
tortoiseshells. They should be a bright golden or orange, and these
seem in perfect harmony with the colouring of the coat. Tortoiseshells
never attain any great size, and may be called a small breed of
Persian cats. I give the list of points as drawn up by the specialist
society:—

TORTOISESHELL.

_Colour and marking._—The three colours—black, orange, and yellow—to
be well broken and as bright and well defined as possible; free from
tabby markings, no white. 30.

_Coat._—To be silky, very long, and fluffy. 20.

_Size and shape._—To be large—not coarse, but massive, with plenty
of bone and substance; short legs. 25.

_Head._—To be round and broad, with short nose, ears small and well
opened. 15.

_Eyes._—To be large and full, and bright orange or hazel in colour.
5.

_Condition._—10.

They are quite one of the most interesting from which to breed, and
experiments can be tried successfully in crossing a tortoiseshell
queen with black, cream, orange, and blue cats. The litters will often
be a study in variety. I have known one family to consist of a black,
a white, a cream, an orange, and a blue! The owner of such a litter
would have something to suit all comers. A really good tortoiseshell
queen may, therefore, be considered a valuable property. And what of a
tortoiseshell tom? A mine of wealth would such a possession be to any
fancier. Among short-haired cats a tortoiseshell tom is a rare animal,
but I do not think a long-haired specimen has ever been seen or heard
of. Several experiments have been tried, but it remains for some
skilful and scientific breeder to solve the problem of the manner and
means to be employed to produce males of this breed. The
classification at our smaller shows for tortoiseshells is generally of
a meagre and discouraging description. There are so few specimens that
executives of shows fight shy of giving a class for even tortoiseshell
_and_ tortoiseshell-and-white together. So tortoiseshells are mixed up
in the “any other colour” class, and therefore this breed can seldom,
if ever, be really judged on its own merits, or comparisons made
between the different specimens that are exhibited. At our largest
shows there are classes provided, which, however, are poorly filled.

Tortoiseshells may be said to have had no past. There are no
celebrities in feline history save and except “Queen Elizabeth,” and
not only was she the finest of her breed, but she also made her name
famous by severely injuring Mr. W. R. Hawkins, who was examining her
when making his awards; and I have good reason—or rather bad
reason—for recollecting her, on account of her fixing her teeth into
my hand when I was removing her from her basket to pen her at the
Westminster show in 1899. It seems that she had a great objection to
travelling, and resented making an exhibition of herself in public!
She was a grand specimen, however, and, besides always carrying off
highest honours herself, she was the mother of many prize-winning
orange and tortoiseshell cats, amongst others “Prince Charlie,”
“Prince Lyne,” and “Mattie.” I have failed to obtain a photograph of
this celebrated cat; and, even had I succeeded, a tortoiseshell makes
a terribly poor picture when reproduced in photography, for the reason
that the yellow comes out only fairly light, the orange appearing as
dark as the black patches.

MISS H. COCHRAN’S TORTOISESHELL “BRUNETTE.”
]

Miss H. Cochran had a dear old pet puss called “Brunette,” a dark
tortoiseshell, and from her were bred some of the first cream females
ever exhibited. The Hon. Mrs. McLaren Morrison has a good
tortoiseshell, “Curiosity” by name. The best three specimens now
before the public are Dr. Roper’s “Dainty Diana,” Miss M. Beal’s
“Pansy,” Miss Kate Sangster’s “Royal Yum Yum,” and Mrs. Bignell’s
“Topsy of Merevale.” As regards the last-named, Mrs. Bignell has
kindly supplied me with particulars of “Topsy’s” litters when mated
with different-coloured cats. “Topsy’s” first litter in 1896, when
mated to the “Duke of Kent” (a blue), was two creams and two smokes.
When mated to “Johnnie Fawe” (a black) her kittens were all of the
father’s dusky hue. Again, when crossed with another blue male her
litter consisted of two orange males and a tortoiseshell female, and
again to the same cat one black male and two orange males. “Topsy” is
a noted prize-winner, and one of her smoke children, “Lucy Claire,”
went out to Chicago, and is considered the finest smoke specimen in
the American fancy. Dr. Roper’s “Dainty Diana” is one of the
best-known tortoiseshells, and her colouring as good as any exhibited;
she is the mother of many winners. Miss Kate Sangster, who is a great
admirer of this breed, writes: “My ‘Champion Royal Yum Yum’ was bred
from a black and a tortoiseshell, and her grandsire was a cream. She
is over seven years old, and has had twenty-two kittens, namely, five
cream, five blue, five orange, four black, and three tortoiseshell.”

“TOPSY.”

OWNED BY MISS SARGENT.

(_Photo: J. P. Bennett, West Norwood._)
]

Miss Mildred Beal, who with her sister is so well known in connection
with cream and orange cats, is also the owner of some fine
tortoiseshells. “Wallflower” (well so named) is the mother of a noted
prize-winning cream called “Sunlocks.” “Pansy,” Miss M. Beal’s special
pet, is a well-known tortoiseshell. “Snapdragon,” another
prize-winner, was exported to America, where quite a number of the
Romaldkirk cats have found their home. We need a few more enthusiastic
admirers of tortoiseshells like Miss M. Beal to take up this rather
despised breed and follow in her footsteps. Some notes by the owner of
“Pansy” will be of interest:—

“Even fanciers who will go into raptures over the blue, orange, cream,
or silver members of the establishment have no admiration to spare for
a tortoiseshell, however striking its record of prizes may be; and yet
to those who breed and understand them there is something very
fascinating about these quaint creatures, though the taste for them is
certainly an acquired one.

“Among non-catty people great ignorance prevails as to what colour a
tortoiseshell cat really is. Many people, if asked to describe a
tortoiseshell cat, would say that it was a sort of sandy colour all
over; others imagine that the ‘chintz’ cat, as it is called in the
North—white with black and red patches—has a right to the name. So let
it be said at once that three colours, namely, orange, yellow, and
black, and these only, enter into the composition of the true
tortoiseshell. There must be no white, neither should there be any
trace of tabby markings, though this is very difficult to attain. The
three colours should be patched or ‘broken’ all over the cat, and the
more distinct each separate colour is in these patches the better.
Brilliancy of colour is another point which breeders have to consider;
many tortoiseshells have far too large a proportion of black in their
colouring, which gives them a dingy and uninteresting appearance, and
is sure to go against them in the show pen. The eyes should be orange,
and in other points, such as shape, head, and texture of coat, the
standard is the same as for the other varieties of long-haired cats.

TORTOISESHELL AND TORTOISESHELL-AND-WHITE PERSIANS.

(_From a Painting by W. Luker, Jun._)
]

“One curious fact in connection with long-haired tortoiseshells, which
is well known to fanciers, may be mentioned, namely, the non-existence
of the male sex. Among short-haired tortoiseshells toms are
exceedingly rare, though one or two do exist; but an adult long-haired
male appears to be absolutely unheard of. The writer knows of one male
kitten born some years ago, but it was either born dead or died in
very early infancy. Darwin’s theory that the orange tom and
tortoiseshell queen were originally the male and female of the same
variety is borne out by the fact that until recently orange females
were also rare. Of late years a good many of these have been bred and
reared, and therefore, if the Darwinian theory be correct, it seems
hard to believe that the tortoiseshell tom must be regarded as
unattainable. If the difficulty has been successfully overcome in the
one case, why not in the other? Breeding with this object in view is
very slow work, for some tortoiseshell queens will produce litter
after litter without a single kitten of their own colour, and a family
consisting entirely of tortoiseshells would be as welcome as it is
rare. But it would be a pity to despair of breeding the long looked
for tom; if he ever does make his appearance, he will be hailed with
sufficient interest to gratify any quantity of feline vanity.

“At present, breeders hardly seem to recognise the great value of a
tortoiseshell queen for breeding almost any variety of self-coloured
cat. If the queen is mated to an orange, a cream, or a blue tom, she
will be very likely to produce at least one or two really good
specimens of the same colour as the sire, and sometimes a far larger
proportion of the litter will ‘favour’ him. Much, of course, depends
upon how the queen herself is bred, and this no doubt accounts for
disappointment in some cases.

“Tortoiseshells compare very favourably with the other varieties of
long-haired cats in the matter of intelligence. The writer knows one
which enjoys the well-earned reputation of being the cleverest thief
in the cattery. Nothing is safe from her nimble paws; she has often
been known to remove the lid from the saucepan in which the meat for
the cattery supper had been placed, and make off with the contents;
and if the cook’s back should be turned for only half a minute, woe to
tomorrow’s dinner or to anything else tempting which may chance to be
within reach!

“Though tortoiseshells may be distinguished for brains, some of them
certainly fail considerably in temper. They seem to find it most
difficult to keep the peace with the other members of the cattery. I
sincerely hope this breed will receive more attention from fanciers in
the future.

MISS KATE SANGSTER’S “ROYAL YUM YUM.”

(_Photo: W. V. Amey, Landport._)
]