The Abyssinian

I now come to the last variety of the tabby cat, and this can scarcely

be called a tabby proper, as it is nearly destitute of markings,

excepting sometimes on the legs and a broad black band along the back.

It is mostly of a deep brown, ticked with black, somewhat resembling the

back of a wild (only not so gray) rabbit. Along the centre of the back,

from the nape of the neck to the tip of the tail, there is a band of

b ack, very slightly interspersed with dark brown hairs. The inner sides

of the legs and belly are more of a rufous-orange tint than the body,

and are marked in some cases with a few dark patches; but they are best

without these marks, and in the exhibition pens it is a point lost. The

eyes are deep yellow, tinted with green; nose dark red, black-edged;

ears rather small, dark brown, with black edges and tips; the pads of

the feet are black. Altogether, it is a pretty and interesting variety.

It has been shown under a variety of names, such as Russian, Spanish,

Abyssinian, Hare cat, Rabbit cat, and some have gone so far as to

maintain that it is a cross between the latter and a cat, proving very

unmistakably there is nothing, however absurd or impossible, in animal

or everyday life, that some people are not ready to credit and believe.

A hybrid between the English wild cat and the domestic much resembles

it; and I do not consider it different in any way, with the exception of

its colour, from the ordinary tabby cat, from which I have seen kittens

and adults bearing almost the same appearance. Some years ago when out

rabbit-shooting on the South Downs, not far from Eastbourne, one of our

party shot a cat of this colour in a copse not far from the village of

Eastdean. He mistook it at first for a rabbit as it dashed into the

underwood. It proved not to be wild, but belonged to one of the

villagers, and was bred in the village. When the ground colour is light

gray or blue, it is generally called chinchilla, to the fur of which

animal the coat has a general resemblance. I have but little inclination

to place it as a distinct, though often it is of foreign breed; such may

be, though ours is merely a variety--and a very interesting one--of the

ordinary tabby, with which its form, habits, temper, etc., seem fully to

correspond; still several have been imported from Abyssinia all of which

were precisely similar, and it is stated that this is the origin of the

Egyptian cat that was worshipped so many centuries ago. The mummies of

the cats I have seen in no case had any hair left, so that it was

impossible to determine what colour they were. The imported cats are of

stouter build than the English and less marked. These bred with an

English tabby often give a result of nearly black, the back band

extending very much down the sides, and the brown ticks almost

disappearing, producing a rich and beautiful colouring.



I find there is yet another tint or colour of the tabby proper which I

have not mentioned, that is to say, a cat marked with light wavy lines,

and an exceedingly pretty one it is. It is very rare; in fact, so much

so that it has never had a class appropriated to it, and therefore is

only admissible to or likely to win in the class "For Any Other Colour,"

in which class usually a number of very beautiful varieties are to be

found, some of which I shall have occasion to notice further on. The

colour, however, that I now refer to is often called the silver tabby,

for want of a better name. It is this. The whole of the ground colour is

of a most delicate silver-gray, clear and firm in tone, slightly blue if

anything apart from the gray, and the markings thereon are but a little

darker, with a tinge of lilac in them making the fur to look like an

evening sky, rayed with light clouds. The eyes are orange-yellow, and

when large and full make a fine contrast to the colour of the fur. The

nose is red, edged with a lilac tint, and the pads of the feet and

claws are black, or nearly so. The hair is generally very fine, short,

and soft. Altogether it is most lovely, and well worthy of attention,

forming, as it does, a beautiful contrast to the red, the yellow, or

even the brown tabby. A turquoise ribbon about its neck will show to

great advantage the delicate lilac tints of its coat, or, if a contrast

is preferred, a light orange scarlet, or what is often called geranium

colour, will perhaps give a brighter and more pleasing effect.






This is by no means so uncommon a colour in the long-haired cats,

some of which are exquisite, and are certainly the acme of beauty in the

way of cat colouring; but I must here remark that there is a vast

difference in the way of disposition between these two light varieties,

that of the former being far more gentle. In fact, I am of opinion that

the short-haired cat in general is of a more genial temperament, more

"cossetty," more observant, more quick in adapting itself to its

surroundings and circumstances than its long-haired brother, and, as a

rule, it is also more cleanly in its habits. Though at the same time I

am willing to admit that some of these peculiarities being set aside,

the long-haired cat is charmingly beautiful, and at the same time has a

large degree of intelligence--in fact, much more than most animals that

I know, not even setting aside the dog, and I have come to this

conclusion after much long, careful, and mature consideration.