Fashionable Pets.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXIV, Issue 14, 8 April 1905, Page 58

Fashionable Pets.

SIAMESE CATS. By Miss Frances Simpson, authoress of “The Book of the Cat.”

There are two recognised varieties of Siamese eats—the royal and the chocolate. Tiie former, however, is certainly the more beautiful in appearance; and whereas a number of fanciers keep and breed the Royal Siamese. I only know of one or two that have gone in for the chocolate variety. A visitor to Bankok

lias stated that no trouble is taken in Siam to keep this breed of eats pure, and that a great deal of twaddle is talked as to their being bred under royal supervision. also that more tabby, blacks and whites were to be seen in Siam than the cat known in England as the Royal Palace eat. There is a legend, however.

that these quaint creatures were kept exclusively and with great care in the King of Siam’s Palace, and that a sort of religious sanctity surrounded them. The Buddhists, who believe in transmigration, considered these animals were a fitting resting place for the souls of their gods. Whether there is any truth in these traditions or not the fact remains that the Siamese cats most common in this country are called "Royal Siamese,” and many of the eats exhibited nowadays are supposed to trace back their ancestry to dwellers in the royal palaces in Bankok. The Royal Siamese cats greatly resemble pug dogs in appearance, the body being pale fawn or eream, with dark chocolate points. The markings on

head, legs and tail should not merge into the cream. Siamese are rather prolific breeders, the litters being generally large ones and the females, as a rule, in the minority. There is no doubt that Siamese cats are extremely intelligent, being almost dog-like in their nature. They are eharming companions and are specially suited for home pets. The sole objection to a Siamese house eat is the trying nature of its unmelodious voice. The males are terribly antagonistic to others of their sex, and fight with great persis teney. There is an immense fascination about this peculiar breed of cat, which is yearly becoming more popular and fashionable.