“For adults suffering from bad throat complaint and total refusal of all food I have found no remedy to equal the following prescription, if given in time. I have administered it with great success to numberless cats: Forty drops Calvert’s pure carbolic acid, two drachms spirits of wine, six ounces pure water. Not quite half a teaspoonful to be mixed with a teaspoonful of warm milk, poured down the throat three times daily; for very young cats a smaller quantity of the mixture should be given. I doubt if it would be advisable to give it to young kittens. Even if the cat does not swallow the whole dose, it acts beneficially as a mouth-wash and disinfectant, apparently removing an unpleasant taste and re-establishing the power to smell—the loss of this sense often preventing a sick cat from eating. Weak eyes, sickness, and diarrhœa are tedious ailments to which all kittens are very subject, and to effect a permanent cure the treatment must be very persistent.

“I do not know when Siamese were first introduced into England, but Lady Dorothy Nevill possessed some several years ago. Sir Robert Herbert imported some; and Miss Forestier-Walker and her sister (Mrs. Vyvyan), who have owned and bred many beautiful specimens, first made acquaintance with this breed in 1883, and soon afterwards were presented with ‘Susan’ and ‘Samuel’ direct from the palace at Bangkok. ‘Tiam-o-Shian I.’ also came from Bangkok. All these cats had kinked tails. From ‘Susan’ and ‘Tiam-o-Shian I.’—mated with Mrs. Lee’s ‘Meo,’ Mr. Harrington’s ‘Medu,’ and Miss Moore’s ‘Siam’—descended, amongst others, the following well-known and typical cats: ‘Bangkok,’ ‘Tiam-o-Shian II.,’ ‘Goblin,’ ‘Kitza Kara,’ ‘Queen Rhea,’ ‘King Wallypug,’ ‘Prince of Siam,’ ‘Tiam-o-Shian III.,’ ‘Adam,’ ‘Eve,’ ‘Cupid,’ ‘Mafeking,’ ‘Rangsit,’ ‘Vishuddha,’ ‘Tiam-o-Shian IV.,’ ‘Suzanne,’ ‘Ah Choo,’ ‘Tornito,’ and ‘Evangeline.’ In awarding prizes in the Siamese classes at the Cat Club show at Westminster in 1901 I found ‘Suzanne’ quite the best cat present, and upon referring subsequently to a catalogue was not surprised to find that Mrs. Vyvyan was her owner. ‘Champion Wankee’ for a long time held his own in the show pen, and has sired some very good kittens; but, of course, as is usual, age has darkened him.

“Mrs. Robinson’s ‘Ah Choo’ and Mr. Cooke’s ‘Zetland Wanzes’ are well-known cats of to-day. Lady Marcus Beresford’s ‘King of Siam’ is imported, has glorious eyes of sapphire-blue, and sires exceptionally good kittens; he is short on the leg, has a coat like satin and an excellent constitution. ‘Royal Siam,’ the property of Mrs. Spencer, of Eye Vicarage, Suffolk (who has bred some of the best kittens I have ever seen), is a superb creature with eyes of deepest blue; he was given to a friend of Mrs. Spencer in Siam, is a genuine royal palace-bred specimen with bright blue eyes, a handsome cat with, strictly typical points, and—he is never ill! Miss Harper’s (late) ‘Curly Tail,’ a daughter of ‘King Kesho,’ was an excellent example of the breed, all her points were very good; unfortunately her life was not of long duration—she died a victim to dropsy. It is so long ago since I first possessed a Siamese kitten that I cannot remember from whom I purchased her; she was a very perfect little creature, absolutely adorable with her quaint ways appealing and yet assertive nature.

“After her death from rapid decline I tried to put aside all thoughts of securing another, and not until September, 1893, did I again fall a victim to the attractions of this breed, purchasing a female of about one year old from Zache, of Great Portland Street. I named her ‘Yuthia’; she was supposed to have been imported, had very expressive blue eyes, and she lived until February, 1899.

“In October, 1893—immediately after the Crystal Palace show—I became the owner of ‘Kitza Kara,’ a very perfect male, bred by Miss Forestier-Walker, which won first prize and several medals and specials. He also carried all before him at Bath in March, 1894. Unfortunately, he died that year from congestion of the lungs.

“‘King Kesho,’ the well-known male (sire of many beautiful kittens), I bought from Mr. Forsgate in 1894; he claimed descent from the Duchess of Bedford’s, Mrs. Seton-Kerr’s, and Miss Forestier-Walker’s cats; he had large bold eyes of a glorious shade of blue, and very dark points; he won many prizes and specials, but died in 1897. ‘Lido,’ a male bred by Mrs. Chapman and sired by ‘Champion Wankee,’ was descended from some of the best of his time; he was of the long-bodied, narrow-faced type, most graceful in his movements.

“Amongst the many females I have possessed, ‘Cameo’ was one of my best, her pale body colour being relieved by intensely dark points; this little pet died suddenly in July, 1896, from failure of the heart’s action. ‘Koko’ was a very large cat, comparatively coarse in appearance for one of this variety; she won the Duchess of Bedford’s special at Holland Park in 1896, for the best adult Siamese. ‘Princess To-To,’ 1900, bred by Mrs. Bennet, became a great favourite; no words of mine could ever do justice to her remarkable individuality, her fascinating moods, her expressive little face and sense of the comic. She loved to be sung to sleep, closing her eyes with an unmistakable air of enjoyment and confidence, and clearly requesting an encore when the song ceased. I taught her to dance, and every night at ten o’clock she frantically enjoyed prancing round the room on her hind legs.

“Alas, that these little companions to whom we are permitted to become so deeply attached should be only lent us to brighten our weary way for so short a period! ‘To-To’ was always very delicate, and after lying at death’s door on several occasions she finally entered in; with her very last breath she crept into my arms to die. ‘Yolanda,’ the female I now own, was presented to me by Mrs. Hankey, and bred, I believe, by Mrs. Foote. She is a small cat with very blue eyes, and has recently had a litter of five kittens by Lady Marcus Beresford’s ‘King of Siam’; these kittens all possessed the gloriously blue eyes to which both of their parents can lay claim.

“‘Attaché’ (a neuter) was given to me in October, 1900, when six months old, by Mrs. Spencer, of Eye Vicarage, Suffolk; he is a very large and powerful creature, with massive limbs, and an unconquerable antipathy to all other cats of any description, excepting only my Russian neuter, whose presence he tolerates. So great is his aversion to even the semblance of a cat, that he has attacked a life-size print of an assertive-looking Persian that acted as a stove ornament in the room he occupied during the summer months, scratching it several times across and across, and then retiring behind it, evidently to watch the effect from another point of view! He has large and luminous eyes, in whose unfathomable depths linger many and varied expressions; he is of a peculiarly jealous disposition, capable of intense devotion. In spite of his living the life of a recluse, he is by no means a victim of ennui, possessing his own special playthings, which he keeps under one particular cushion, hunting them out when he feels inclined to play; for so large a cat he is remarkably athletic, and as yet his health has caused me no anxiety.

“It is highly desirable that all who own cats should keep a few simple medicines always at hand. Personally, I am never without the remedies previously alluded to. Delay, in neglecting to note and treat at the very commencement certain symptoms of illness, often proves fatal, whereas a ‘stitch in time saves nine,’ and may even save one of the nine lives that a cat is (or was) supposed to possess.”

The love of Siamese cats has not seemed as yet to have developed in America, and specimens of the breed are few and far between. Lady Marcus Beresford sent out two good cats to Mrs. Clinton Locke, and I believe several fine litters have been reared, and some fine exhibits appeared at recent shows. I give an illustration of some of these pets, with Mrs. Robert Locke, on page 256.

In the foregoing remarks of noted breeders of this variety many useful hints are given, and some peculiarities of the breed mentioned. I would, however, draw attention to a curious and rather remarkable fact in connection with Siamese cats.

When they are ill, a sprinkling of white hairs invariably appears all over the face and head. The bright blue of the eye vanishes, leaving it a sort of pale opal colour. It often takes many weeks before the cat regains its ordinary appearance. Harrison Weir, in his allusions to Siamese, tells us that he had observed a great liking of these cats for “the woods,” and goes on to describe them as not passing along like an ordinary cat, but quickly and quietly creeping from bush to bush; nor do they seem afraid of getting their feet wet—like the feline tribe in general. The male Siamese will take a most friendly and parental interest in the welfare of madame’s family; indeed, he shows a great liking always to have the company of a lady, and frets greatly when left alone.

The males are, however, antagonistic to others of their sex, and fight with a terrible persistency. I have heard of a stalwart fellow who, being allowed his liberty, cleared the neighbourhood of all other wandering toms. When made neuter, Siamese become most charming home pets, and can be taught to do tricks more easily than other cats. The sole objection to a Siamese house cat is the trying nature of its unmelodious voice. Siamese are rather prolific breeders, the litters being generally large ones, and the females, as a rule, in the minority.

I do not believe that Siamese will ever become common in England, for many reasons. These cats are expensive to purchase, difficult to rear, and fanciers are afraid to risk them in the show pen; but in spite of these drawbacks, I think, as time goes on, and the Siamese Club extends its labours, we shall see and hear more of these really curious creatures, for what we call the royal Siamese bears no resemblance to any other cat, and the distinguishing differences, being so great, tend to make the breed one of our best show cats and a clear class to itself, for the Siamese of the purest blood should not be crossed with other cats. We have heard of “any other colour” Siamese, but these cats of varied hue claiming to be Siamese are but the offspring of a cross. We have been told of black and blue and tabby Siamese; but the fanciers of Siamese look askance at these freaks, and feel that it is worse than useless to attempt to produce any other variety than that which we have learned by custom to designate the Royal cat of Siam.