The Black-and-white Cat

This is distinct from the white-and-black cat, the ground colour being

black, marked with white; while the other is white, marked with black.

The chief points of excellence for show purposes are a dense bright

brown-black, evenly marked with white. Of this I give an illustration,

showing the most approved way in which the white should be distributed,

coming to a point between the eyes. The feet should be white, and the

chest, the nose, and the pads white. No black on the lips or nose,

whiskers white, eyes of orange yellow. Any black on the white portions

is highly detrimental to its beauty and its chance of a prize.



The same markings are applicable to the brown tabby and white, the dark

tabby and white, the red tabby and white, the yellow tabby and white,

the blue or silver tabby and white, and the blue and white. One great

point is to obtain a perfectly clear and distinct gracefully-curved

outline of colour, and this to be maintained throughout; the blaze on

the forehead to be central. It is stated that if a dog has white

anywhere, he is sure to have a white tip to his tail, and I think, on

observation, it will be found usually the case, although this is not so

in the cat, for I cannot call to mind a single instance where a

black-and-white had a white tip to its tail; but taking the various

colours of the domestic cat into consideration I think it will be found

that there is a larger number with some white about them than those of

entirely one colour, without even a few white hairs, which if they

appear at all are mostly to be found on the chest, though they often are

exceedingly few in number.