Felis Historica - April 2021, Volume 1 Number 10

APRIL 2021 Volume 1 No. 10

FEATURES: LONGHAIR – ROMALDKIRK ADMIRAL SHORTHAIR – MISS TOODLES

IDOLS OF THE FANCY – LOIS WESTON - SIMBELAIR

BREED – THE DEVON REX

PURRSONALITY – MR. ENOCH WELBURN - AND MORE!

INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE FOR LINECHASERS & FANCIERS OF FELINE HISTORY

“Today’s achievements are part of tomorrow’s history”

HARRISON WEIR COLLECTION © A-Cat-Emy Concepts

PUBLISHED BY A-CAT-EMY CONCEPTS for THE HARRISON WEIR COLLECTION

APRIL 2021

EDITOR

VOLUME 1 NUMBER 10

EDITORIAL The Editor outlines topics covered in Issue 10 of Felis Historica!

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CONTRIBUTING TEAM MEMBERS Gallery of our Team of Columnists, Contributors & Correspondents

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CHAMPION MISS TOODLES (1903) - by John G. Smithson History of an outstanding Silver Classic Tabby English Shorthair

12

ICONS OF THE CAT FANCY – by Karen Lawrence A Review of the contribution of Lois Weston and her Simbelair Cats

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EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GENETICS YOU CAN LEARN FROM YOUR CAT! PART 10 - by Dr. Leslie Lyons Straightening the curls!

A Gallery of Devon Rex cats and kittens, and their owners!

36 43

(Hong Kong)

THE DEVON REX - Our Feature Breed - An historical overview - by Linda Peterson, Kristin Nowell & Carolyn Jimenez

52

Laura Vocelle

THE DEVON REX LONGHAIR - An introduction - by Di Hobson

70

(Muscat, Oman)

THE CAT – Her Place in Society and Treatment (Harrison Weir Collection)

76

Dr. Keith Hammett (QSM)

BEHIND EVERY FAMOUS PERSON IS A CAT – Cartoon by Graham Harrop

79

CHAMPION ROMALDKIRK ADMIRAL (1896) – by John Smithson The history of a popular 19th century Cream Persian male.

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DEVONSHIRE TEA PARTY - A Devon Rex Limited Edition

88

TEN CATS – Cartoons by Graham Harrop

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John G. Smithson editor@felishistorica.com HISTORY PARTNERS The CFA Foundation COLUMNISTS & CONTRIBUTORS

Karen Lawrence (St. Catharines, Canada)

Lorraine Shelton (California, USA)

5

Dr. Leslie Lyons (Missouri, USA)

5

Chloe Chung

(Auckland, NZ)

Valerie Sheldrake Feline Historian (Suffolk, UK)

Jamie Christian (Ohio, USA)

PHOTOGRAPHY & GRAPHICS

Helmi & Ken Flick (Florida, USA)

5

Jack Terry (Florida, USA)

CONTENT All Rights Reserved © A-Cat-Emy Concepts SUBSCRIPTIONS Published Monthly Single Issue $4.00 USD ANNUAL $48.00 USD

CELEBRATING MODERN CATS – IN OUR FEATURED HISTORICAL BREEDS Short-hair Breed Type – Devon Rex Silver Patched Mackerel Tabby & White CFA GC, BWR. NW READY OR NOT SWEET EMOTION 90 Long-hair Breed Type – Cream Persian male FIFe MW, NW, SC DIAPASON SIMBA OF WHITE’R’US DSM 96 MR. ENOCH WELBURN - by John Smithson An historical Purrsonality Portrait of a 19th Century Cat Judge Owner of the ‘Lee’ Cattery, and eclectic lover of many breeds.

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Editorial ’FELIS HISTORICA’ JOHN G. SMITHSON EDITOR (with Devon Rex)

OUR COVER CAT ‘Comix Wolverine’ DEVON REX bred by Todd and Michelle Richards Photo by HELMI FLICK, August, 2013 COPYRIGHT ISSN: 2744-4430 National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa © A-CAT-EMY CONCEPTS / FELIS HISTORICA THE HARRISON WEIR COLLECTION No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, screen capture, or otherwise, without prior written permission.

No responsibility is accepted for accuracy of advertisements or information.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED www.felis-historica.com www.harrisonweir.com

The April 2021 edition is an extravaganza for the lovers of the Devon Rex – literally the impish ‘Pixie cat’ of the cat world! And although we cannot go back to the 19th century to find evidence of a similar mutation, in this issue, we have an article dealing with the early foundation of the breed, its subsequent development, its path to recognition and the strides made by breeders to take it to the show heights in the exhibition world.

Sincere thanks to the panel of writers Linda Peterson, Kristin Nowell and Carolyn Jimenez.

We also include a piece about the newly recognised Devon Rex Longhair, coming from the recessive gene for longer coats that comes via decades of outcrossing to domestics and then latterly to British shorthairs. Remember the roots, all go back to English domestic cats, many of which carried long hair.

A Devon gallery gives a glimpse into the Devon Rex at home, the Devon Rex at play, the Devon Rex with young people, the Devon Rex as exhibits and as pets!

Dr. Leslie Lyons this month provides insight into how one gene can be associated with multiple curly coat mutations.

This month, Karen Lawrence gives our readers another very insightful ‘Idols of the Cat Fancy’ article, this time focusing on a true hero of the White Persian, in the person of Lois Weston of the famous Canadian-based SIMBELAIR cattery. It shows how Lois was gifted with an uncanny ability to choose wisely, and then, to line-breed and outcross for the phenotypical traits she chose to improve on. Lois was not afraid to challenge widely accepted conventions, and by her own aptitude carved a legacy with her lines, that benefited many others, whilst finally bringing her the accolades she so richly deserved.

Our history files this month take us on a journey back to late 19th century England and the development of the Silver Classic

April 2021

IN CELEBRATION OF

DEVON REX CATS

Tabby English shorthair, in this case, to the lines behind ‘Miss Toodles’, who was a trail-blazer for the colour variety at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries.

Our second history article is about an early Cream Persian, known alternatively in earlier times as ‘Fawns’. Champion Romaldkirk Admiral was one of the earliest Cream champions, one of a duo, known as ‘The Heavenly Twins’.

Our third and last history piece, takes a look at the life of Mr. Enoch Welburn, a dog, rabbit, cavie and cat enthusiast who became a much-beloved judge during the latter years of the 19th century, but whose judging career was cut short by his sudden death in 1902. Our article brings to light aspects of his character and his abilities and the respect that he earned in the process.

As is our custom, we celebrate the successes of modern contemporaneous cats that match our feature topics, and this issue is no exception. We review the achievements of a highly ranked American-bred Devon Rex, and a superb modern day Cream Persian, born in Europe.

In some parts of the world, cat shows are resuming – while this is great news, be mindful to take care of yourselves, while respectfully ensuring the safety of others.

Enjoy!

John EDITOR with Devon Rex photos from DOWNUNDER

by Dale Hobson

OUR TEAM OF COLUMNISTS & CONTRIBUTORS

KAREN LAWRENCE

LORRAINE SHELTON

LESLIE A. LYONS Ph. D

ADVERTISING MANAGER advertising@felis-historica.com Director: CFA Foundation, Inc Manager: Feline Historical Museum Co-Editor: The History Project

AUTHOR/LECTURER ‘Robinson’s Genetics for Cat Breeders & Veterinarians’ Director: CFA Foundation, Inc www.wegies.net www.featherland.net

RESEARCHER/COLUMNIST FELINE GENETICS SPECIALIST Prof. of Comparative Medicine Dept. of Vet. Medicine & Surgery University of Missouri

JAMIE CHRISTIAN

CHLOE CHUNG

LAURA A. VOCELLE

WRITER/COLUMNIST TICA INTERNATIONAL JUDGE OF THE YEAR 2016

COLUMNIST/PRESENTER CAT BEHAVIOURALIST/LECTURER CFA ALL BREEDS JUDGE Based in China & Hong Kong

COLUMNIST/AUTHOR FELINE HISTORY & ART HISTORIAN Creator and Founder The Great Cat www.thegreatcat.org

DR. KEITH HAMMETT

HELMI & KEN FLICK

JACK TERRY

PLANT BREEDER President of the Royal NZ Institute of Horticulture

HELMI FLICK CAT PHOTOGRAPHY www.helmiflick.com

‘THE RESTORIAN’ Photo & Graphics Specialist Photo Humourist

OUR TEAM OF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENTS

DARRELL NEWKIRK

PAM DELABAR

GAVIN CAO

(CFA, USA)

(CFA, EUROPE)

(CFA, CHINA)

NEVADA, UNITED STATES PRESIDENT CFA

TAMPERE, FINLAND

CFA DIRECTOR, REGION 9

CHENGDU, CHINA CFA CHINA BUSINESS ADVISOR

JOHN HANSSON

CHERYLE U’REN

ANNELIESE HACKMANN

(GCCF, UK)

(CCC of A, AUSTRALIA)

(WCF, EUROPE)

LONDON, ENGLAND CHAIRMAN GCCF

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA PRESIDENT CCC of A VICE-PRESIDENT WCC

ESSEN, GERMANY PRESIDENT WCF

JOHAN LAMPRECHT

BOB GLEASON

JANE WEBSTER

(SOUTH AFRICA)

(CCA, CANADA)

(NZCF, NEW ZEALAND)

DURBANVILLE, SOUTH AFRICA PRESIDENT, C.A.S.A. (WCF)

LONDON, CANADA CHAIR - CANADIAN CAT ASSOC. LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE

PALMERSTON NORTH, NZ NZCF HISTORIAN

OUR TEAM OF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENTS

JUN KOHNO

RUSSELL LAW

CHATE RUENGRUGLIKIT

(CFA, JAPAN)

(CFA, HONG KONG)

(CFA, THAILAND)

TOKYO, JAPAN SEC: MICINA CAT FANCIERS

HONG KONG SEC: UNITED FELINE ODYSSEY

CHAYAPON PUCHAROENYOS

ROBBIE WALKER

BANGKOK, THAILAND SEC: SIAM BLE-EYED CAT FANCIERS

SANDRA ALSUMAIT

(WCF, ASIA)

(ACF, AUSTRALIA)

(CFA, KUWAIT)

BANGKOK, THAILAND CHAIR: WCF DISCIPLINARY COMMISSION

GOLD COAST, QLD, AUSTRALIA PRESIDENT, FCCQ. QLD

KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT PRESIDENT, K-CATS CLUB

IZADDIN SYAH YUSOF

FARAH DIANA

BAMBI J. EDWARDS (ANCATS, AUSTRALIA)

(CFA, MALAYSIA)

(CFA, INDONESIA)

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA NAT.SEC: ANCATS AUSTRALIA

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA CFA INT.DIV. CLERK OF THE YEAR 2016

JAKARTA, INDONESIA RICIMACKA CATTERY

OUR TEAM OF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENTS

ELLEN CROCKETT

STEVEN MESERVE

LUIZ PAULO FACCIOLI

(TICA, UNITED STATES)

(TICA, EUROPE SOUTH)

(TICA, SOUTH AMERICA)

PORT TOWNSEND, WA, USA TICA DISTINGUISED JUDGE

VILA DE CUCUJAES, PORTUGAL TICA REGIONAL DIRECTOR

PORT ALEGRE, SOUTH BRAZIL TICA REGIONAL DIRECTOR

LIESBETH VAN MULLEM

EVA PORAT

DONATELLA MASTRANGELO

(TICA, EUROPE NORTH)

(FIFe, SWEDEN)

(FIFe, BELGIUM)

UTRECHT, THE NETHERLANDS TICA REGIONAL DIRECTOR

OREBRO, SWEDEN PRESIDENT SVERAK, (FIFe)

ROME, ITALY CHAIR: JUDGES & STANDARDS COMM.

STEVEN JONES

JINSON CHOI

LISBETH FALLING

(FIFe, NORWAY)

(CFA, SOUTH KOREA)

(NRR, NORWAY)

STAVANGER, NORWAY SEC: JUDGES & STANDARDS COMM

PAJU-SI, SOUTH KOREA PRES. CAT FANCIERS OF KOREA

OSLO, NORWAY PHOTOGRAPHER/EDITOR - ARISTOKATT

CHAMPION MISS TOODLES English Shorthair, Silver Classic Tabby: Born July 1, 1903 Photo: ‘Our Cats’ Magazine, September 1904. © Courtesy of The Harrison Weir Collection. Article backgrounds © www.gograph.com

AN HISTORICAL PORTRAIT OF

SILVER CLASSIC TABBY FEMALE (English SH) BY

JOHN G. SMITHSON

Adapted from the author’s text for ‘Miss Toodles’ @ The History Project www.cat-o-pedia.org

INTRODUCTION In the narrow sphere of Silver Tabby Shorthairs, three males and three females had particularly startling show careers. All were related. All were descended from the same foundation root stock, down from Mr T. Sugden’s ‘King of the Fancy’, born in the early 1880’s.

The first three stars in this firmament, were Mrs Herring’s ‘Champion Jimmy’, a son of Mr Sugden’s ‘King of the Fancy’. The other two, were his close relatives, his sister ‘Champion Laurel Queen’ owned by Mr Charles Lane, and her son, ‘Champion Laurel King’. Although there were other Silver Tabbies that competed with these three, they combined were the dominant and representative specimens of the variety. Mr Charles Lane comments: “I believe it is not only unique in the fact that the three champions were so closely related, brother, sister, and nephew, and had taken more and better prizes than any three shorthaired cats living or ever seen, but that it was the only instance on record where there were three champions in existence at the same time of any variety of shorthaired cat.” ¹⁵

Although ‘Champion Laurel Queen’ amassed two Gold and many Silver medals, plus thirtyfive Specials and hundreds of First Prizes, ‘Champion Jimmy’ was overall the pre-eminent show cat, with Gold and Silver medals and Specials innumerable!

But ‘Champion Jimmy’, who was born in 1890, was finally replaced and eclipsed in glory by his own son and namesake, ‘Champion James II’, born in 1901, and owned by Mrs Collingwood.

‘James II’ had unprecedented success on the show bench in his day, winning many championships, as well as multiple Best Shorthair Cat and Best Cat in Show awards. He was a highly respected show cat and sire, and it was his own daughter, in the form of ‘Champion Toodles’, who blazed into the limelight in 1903 as a kitten and then outstripped all-comers again as a young adult, in 1904.

Her successes were then unmatched until 1908, when in the United States, another descendant of ‘James II’ a female named ‘Genesee Valley Jane’ began a short but equally spectacular career on the show bench.

Both ‘Miss Toodles’ and ‘Genesee Valley Jane’ were quite remarkable examples of their breed, and in all likelihood would be still be winners, if their like were able to be shown in this day. What is singularly remarkable in hind-sight, is that all of these great silver tabbies were descendants from one and the same family tree!

shown to the feline race than is displayed at Bossington. Mrs Collingwood is ever ready to support cat shows by entries, by guaranteeing classes, and by giving handsome prizes. Her cats are all shown in the pink of condition, and it is seldom that they appear in the pens unless their devoted mistress is in attendance.” ²

The best reference for any show quality specimen, is the respect shown in kind judgment by a knowledgeable contemporary, who gives their opinion first hand. In describing ‘Miss Toodles’, Frances Simpson provides this glowing verbal illustration:

We then find an interesting tid-bit about the home-life of ‘James II’, along with early information on his daughter ‘Miss Toodles’ in an excerpt taken from an article about Mrs Collingwood’s cattery and cats, that was published in the Christmas (Dec.19th) issue of ‘Our Cats’ in 1903:-

“She is the most beautifully marked silver tabby short-hair, and has done alot of winning, frequently gaining the special honour for the best cat in the show over the long-haired specimens. She is absolutely pure in colour and is exquisitely shaped in head and limbs...” ⁹

PARENTAGE & OWNERSHIP ‘Miss Toodles’ was born on 1st July 1903, at the Bossington Cattery of Mrs Collingwood, of Leighton Buzzard. Her sire was Mrs Collingwood’s famous ‘Champion James II’ and her dam was ‘Nanie’. From the beginning she was a notably superior specimen of the variety and her show career began early when at the age of four months, she debuted at Cheltenham, in November of 1903. Even as early as December of that year, Mrs Collingwood was conscious of the fact that as an adult, there was potential for her to defeat her famous sire.

On the character of Mrs Collingwood as later his owner, Frances Simpson makes this observation: “I know many cat-loving people, but I do not think that I have ever seen greater devotion shown

“It is rare to find a lover of one kind of animal only. Those who have this taste inborn usually find room in their hearts for many, or, at least, several kinds. Mrs Collingwood is an enthusiast in the hunting field, and the stables at Bossington contain about a dozen horses.

“But we are more particularly concerned with the cats, and with the cat of all others, Ch. James II., the silver tabby short-hair, whose wins during a short show career constitute a record, and are recorded in full in another place in these pages.

“Jim is quite the pet of the establishment, and has the free run of the house. He appreciates the comfort of the kitchen fire, and always sleeps at the bottom of his mistress’ bed.

“It is not at all extraordinary that Mrs. Collingwood, having this perfect silver tabby male in her possession, should have turned her attention seriously to the breed. She has procured one or two very good queens as his mates, and has met with the most conspicuous success in her breeding this season.

MRS. COLLINGWOOD WITH ‘CHAMPION JAMES II’ – SIRE OF ‘MISS TOODLES’ Photo: Alice Hughes, London. Image © The Harrison Weir Collection

A Cat House and Run at Bossington Photo: ‘Our Cats’ Magazine, December 19, 1903 ¹ © Image courtesy of The Harrison Weir Collection

“Toodles, whose portrait appears in our supplement, taken at four months old, made her debut at Cheltenham, and has since been shown at Brighton and Birmingham. On each occasion she has won highest honours in her class, and we are inclined to agree with her mistress, who thinks that, when full grown, she will beat her famous sire! ‘Dame Fortune’, Mrs Bonny’s noted winner, is an elder daughter of ‘James II’. Mrs Collingwood has undoubtedly got the best strain of short-hair silver tabbies in existence, and has proved that not only are they invincible in the show pen, but breed true to type.

“As may be seen from our photographs, there are cat houses of various sorts and sizes dotted about the grounds at Bossington. But the cats are seldom shut up in them for any length of time. For instance, ‘Royal Bobs’, the Blue Persian who has done a good deal of winning, is allowed his freedom largely in the day and always at night. If he so wishes, he can retire into his cosy house, but if he feels restless he can roam the grounds at will.” ¹

SIBLINGS: Only one full sibling is known, born more than t

Another example of the Portable Cat Houses at Bossington.

Photo: ‘Our Cats’ Magazine, December 19, 1903 ¹ © Image courtesy of The Harrison Weir Collection

two years after ‘Miss Toodles’.

PRETTY FLOWER (Silver Tabby Female) born June 14, 1905. (OC: 30/Sept/1905) Sire: Ch. James II. Dam: Nanie. Listed as bred and owned by Mrs Collingwood.

However, there are of course, many sire siblings, some of which are ‘Miss Toodles’ own progeny, including two sons, a daughter and a granddaughter.

Sire Siblings include: Ch. DAME FORTUNE (Silver Tabby Female) born: March 1, 1902.

Sire: Ch. James II. Dam: Heather Belle Bred and Owned by Mrs J. Mellor Bonny.

An excellent show cat and breeder in her own right.

‘Dame Fortune’ in turn produced many fine specimens in her variety, notable among whom were ‘Dame Fortune II’ by ‘Sweet William’, and ‘Dame Fortune III’, sired by ‘Silvester’. ‘Dame Fortune II’ was exported to Mrs J. Cathcart (USA) (ACA:501) (ACA v2), where she won many prizes at shows, becoming an American Champion. ‘Dame Fortune III’ was ultimately retained by Mrs Mellor Bonny for breeding.

O’LIZA (Silver Tabby Female) born: May2, 1903.

(OC:28/Aug/1903) Sire: Ch. James II. Dam: Tiddles Bred and owned by Mrs Collingwood.

‘O’Liza’ was ultimately bred back to her sire to produce ‘Bubbles’ who was sold to Mrs Roch.

Mrs J. Mellor Bonny’s ‘Ch. Dame Fortune’ Photo: L.R. Stickels, Cranbrook. ‘The Book of The Cat’ (1903) by Frances Simpson ² Image courtesy of The Harrison Weir Collection

WYNNSTAY SYLVIA (Silver Tabby Female) born: April 28, 1904. (OC:28/ Aug/1904).

Sire: Ch. James II. Dam: Wynnstay Silver Princess.

Bred by Mr Walby and owned by Mrs F.W. Western (MCCC:1904).

WYNNSTAY SILVER JIM (Silver Tabby Male) born: April 28, 1904. (OC:03/Sep/ 1904) Sire: Ch. James II. Dam: Wynnstay Silver Princess Bred by Mr Walby and owned by Mrs F.W. Western (MCCC:1904)

YOUNG LADY (Silver Tabby Female) born: May 21, 1904. (OC: 11/Feb/1905).

Sire: Ch. James II. Dam: Muttie Bred and owned by Mrs Collingwood.

‘Young Lady’ would also be bred back to her sire, to produce ‘Simple Simon II’ BUBBLES (Silver Tabby Female) born: June 12, 1904. (OC: 10th/Jun/1904) Sire: Ch.James II. Dam: O’Liza. Bred by Mrs Collingwood and owned by Mrs Roch.

Mrs E.T. Moore’s ‘Holmefield Tabby Boy’ Photo: The Cat: Its Points and Management (1908) by F.T.Barton ⁷ Image courtesy of The Harrison Weir Collection.

SALLY UGLY MUG (Dgtr) (Silver Tabby Female) born: April 20, 1905.

(MCCC: 1905) Sire: Ch. James II. Dam: Ch. Miss Toodles.

The product of a father/daughter breeding, ‘Sally’ could claim to be from the two best silver tabby shorthairs known to be living at the time.

JA-ME (Son) (Silver Tabby Female) born: April 20, 1905.

(MCCC: 1905) Sire: Ch. James II. Dam: Ch. Miss Toodles.

Litter brother to ‘Sally Ugly Mug’, ‘Ja-Me’ was also retained by Mrs Collingwood. (OC: 29/July/1905).

FLASH JIM (Son) (Silver Tabby Female) born: April 20, 1905 (MCCC: 1905) Sire: Ch. James II. Dam: Ch. Miss Toodles.

Litter brother to ‘Sally Ugly Mug’, ‘Flash Jim’ was retained by Mrs Collingwood. (OC: 29/ July/ 1905).

HOLMEFIELD TABBY BOY (Silver Tabby Male) born April 23, 1905 (MCCC: 1905) (aka Holmefield Silver Tabby Boy) Sire: Ch. James II. Dam: Titsie (aka Tessie) Bred by Mrs Chivers and owned by Mrs E. T. Moore. Well-known under his original name, but also listed under the name of ‘Holmefield Silver Tabby

Mrs J.C. Mitchelson’s ‘The Buzzing Silver’ Photo: Stud Book & Register of the Cat Fanciers Association (1909) Vol.1 ⁸ Image courtesy of The Harrison Weir Collection

Tabby Boy’ as the sire of ‘Silver Prince Fortunatus’ (ACA:502) out of ‘Dame Fortune II’, (ACA:501).

‘Silver Prince Fortunatus’ was bred by Mrs Bonny and exported to Miss J. Cathcart (USA). He was later sold to Lady Decies, when his name was then changed to ‘Fulmer Tabby Boy’ (NCC:5810).

PRETTY CORRECT (Silver Tabby Male) born: October 28, 1905.

(CFA: 18, Vol.1) Sire: Ch. James II. Dam: Bunnie (CCR).

Bred by Mrs Collingwood. Owned by Miss J.R. Cathcart, New Jersey.

HOLMEFIELD TABBY GIRL (Silver Tabby Female) born: 23rd April, 1905 (MCCC: 1905). Sire: Ch. James II. Dam: Titsie (aka Tessie) Bred by Mrs Chivers and owned by Mrs E. T. Moore. Litter sister to ‘Holmefield Tabby Boy’.

SILVER STRIPES (Silver Tabby Male) born: October 28, 1905 (ACA: 424, Vol 2) Sire: Ch. James II. Dam: Bunnie (CCR).

SIMPLE SIMON (Silver Tabby Male) born: May, 1905 (MCCC: 1905).

Sire: Ch. James II. Dam: Rambling Kate. Bred

by Mrs Thompson and owned by Mrs Collingwood.

Bred by Mrs Collingwood. Owned by Miss J.R. Cathcart, New Jersey. ‘Silver Stripes’ went on to sire some exceptional kittens, among them being the outstanding ‘Genesee Valley Jane’, whose dam was his niece, ‘Dame Fortune II’.

A corner of the Bossington Catteries Photo: A. J. Anderson & Co., Luton. The Book of The Cat (1903) by Frances Simpson

THE BUZZING SILVER (Silver Tabby Female) born June 9, 1906 (CFA: 312v1) Sire: Ch.James II. Dam: Sally Ugly Mug. Bred by Mrs Collingwood. Owned by Mrs J.C. Mitchelson, Tariffville, Connecticut. ‘The Buzzing Silver’ was the most line-bred of all the cats sired by ‘Ch. James II’ being his daughter, grand-daughter,(as sire of ‘Sally Ugly Mug’) and great-grand-daughter,(as the sire of ‘Miss Toodles’).

SIMPLE SIMON II (Silver Tabby Male) born: October22, 1906.

(MCCC: 1907) Sire: Ch. James II. Dam: Young Lady.

Bred and owned by Mrs Collingwood.

SHOWS: ‘Miss Toodles’ was the outstanding short-hair kitten of 1903. She was only able to be shown three

A morning meal at ‘Bossington’.

Photo: A.J. Anderson & Co, Luton. ‘The Book of The Cat’ (1903), by Frances Simpson

three times during that short season, but managed to accumulate the following outstanding kitten wins: 1st and Special for Best Shorthair Kitten, Cheltenham, 1903. 1st and Special for Best Shorthair Kitten, Brighton, 1903. 1st and Special for the Best Kitten in the Show, Birmingham, 1903.

Then as a young adult in 1904, she had almost unprecedented success. The following are just a sampling of comments gleaned from some of the published show reports. At the Sandy Show of 1904, ‘Miss Toodles’ was Best Short-haired Cat in Show, opposite ‘Don Pedro of Thorpe’ who was Best Long-haired Cat.

“At Sandy on August 25th, Mrs Herbert Ransome and Mr Mason judged. Mrs Balding being unfortunately unable to fulfil her engagement. Most of the best cats put in an appearance, and noted winners took most of the prizes. Two silver tabbies won as best long and short-hair respectively – Ch. Don Pedro of Thorpe and Ch. Miss Toodles” Judge’s commentary on ‘Miss Toodles’ on her win at the Sandy Show of August 1904 and other shows were: “Silver Tabby – 1, Championship and Special for Best Short-hair, Mrs Collingwood, Miss Toodles, who continues to improve steadily; she has an unusually neat shape and head for a

Mrs Collingwood’s ‘Miss Toodles’, a winner at The Crystal Palace Show in 1904.

Photo: ‘The Tatler’, November, 1904.⁴ © Image courtesy of The Harrison Weir Collection

a short-hair, and her dense markings show up most beautifully on the pale silver ground. 2. Mrs Bonny, Ch. Dame Fortune, sister to winner, another exquisite queen, if one may criticise, her markings are a trifle heavy on the back. “

Toodles repeated their wins as best in their respective sections. More than one noted winner fell from their high estate on this occasion. The judges were Lady Marcus Beresford, Mr. Mason and Mr. Ambrose.

“Sheffield Championship Show, on November 17th, was a wonderful success for a first venture.

Miss Simpson and Mr T.B. Mason judged the Open, and Mrs Tom Fletcher, the Local classes.

Old winners scored in most of the classes. Ch. Zaida won as Best Long-hair and Ch. Miss Toodles as Best Cat in the show.”

Only one litter of record can be found for ‘Miss Toodles’. In that instance, she was bred back to her sire and in a litter born 20th April, 1905, she produced three Silver Tabbies, two males and one female. The males were ‘Flash Jim’ and ‘Ja-Me’ respectively.

“Birmingham Show had a capital entry, indeed a record one in blues. Ch.Don Pedro and Ch. Miss Toodles

The female was ‘Sally Ugly Mug’ which from her name may suggest that she was not considered to be of sufficient merit in the head, to be a show specimen.

Champion Miss Toodles - A Cowan’s ‘Noted Cats’ Series collectors’ card, from 1925. ⁵ Clearly based upon the photograph opposite. Image © The Harrison Weir Collection

head, to be a show specimen. This is somewhat surprising considering her breeding, as she could boast the best possible pedigree and her parentage was the best that could be had, for her variety. Her dam, ‘Toodles’ had what was considered to be a near perfect head.

Never-the-less, there are no show records to be found for ‘Sally Ugly Mug’. She was, however, used for breeding, and in an unusual move, this double daughter of ‘James II’ was put back to her sire/grandsire in a direct tripling on ‘James’. The result was another female, ‘The Buzzing Silver’, who was exported to the United States, to Mrs J. C. Mitchelson. No doubt Mrs Mitchelson was keen to obtain such a line-bred (and inbred) cat based upon the most successful Silver Tabby Short-hair male to date!

IN SUMMARY: The rise of ‘Miss Toodles’ was immediate and meteoric. In her only three shows as a kitten, she was Best Shorthair Kitten, three times. A more purr-fect result could not have been expected. As an adult, she blazed a similar trail gaining Best Shorthair Cat

Shorthair Cat and even Best Cat in Show over the Longhairs. These exceptional wins followed on the tail of a long list of great wins by her sire, firmly setting Mrs Collingwood’s fame in shorthaired silver Tabbies.

When taking a closer look at the decisions made

by Mrs Collingwood in her breeding program, we cannot but admire her tenacity and her wisdom. Her cats were given as much freedom as possible, without prejudicing their safety or the long-term goals of her breeding plans. They were pets first, and show cats second. She was careful to keep back-up males and females, selling only those kittens that she could afford to let go, to insure there was always a future in her own cattery.

She was ultimately convinced to share her studs’ lines with others, which she did, and she personally contributed to the gene pool internationally with her exports.

There are lessons to be learned from this. How often have you seen exceptional lines lost, simply because the breeder concerned would not let out or share their championship bloodlines?

‘Miss Toodles’, after her Best Short-hair Cat in Show win at ‘Sandy’ in 1904.

Photo: ‘Our Cats’, September 1904 ³ © Image courtesy of The Harrison Weir Collection

not let out or happily share their championship bloodlines? What benefit is this to the breed?

What does that breeder achieve in the long term, but to prove that they knew how to select and produce show winners, and to take them to success on the show bench? Where is the heritage that they have passed on to succeeding generations? The win will always pass, and ‘all is vanity’.

The answer is, - love your cats, do all that you can to preserve the best lines, but share them with other responsible breeders who will do the same.

Ultimately, the only contribution worth making, is the one which adds value to the future potential of your breed. It certainly does not lie in the accolades collected on the way.

References: 1.

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‘Our Cats’ Magazine’ December19, 1903 ‘The Book of The Cat’ (1903) by Frances Simpson.

‘Our Cats’ Magazine, September, 1904.

‘The Tatler’, November, 1904.

‘Cowan’s Noted Cat’ Series Collectors Cards (1925) ‘Every Woman’s Encyclopaedia’,1909.

‘The Cat: Its Points and Management’ (1908) by F.T. Barton.

‘Stud Book & Register of The Cat Fanciers Assoc. (Vol.1), 1909.

‘Cats for Pleasure and Profit’ (1920) by Frances Simpson.

‘Incorporated Cat Fanciers Association of Great Britain’ (1909).

‘Our Cats’ Magazine, Various issues, 1904.

‘Our Cats’ Magazine, Various issues, 1905.

‘Stud Book of the American Cat Association’ (Vol.2).

‘Show Catalogues’ of the Midland Counties Cat Club (19021907) ‘Rabbits, Cats and Cavies’ (1903) by Charles H. Lane.

CHAMPION SKYWAY’S RAJAH OF SIMBELAIR DM Bred by Mrs. V.V. Schuh and owned by Mr. & Mrs. S. Weston Photo by Grant Weston, from the Simbelair Archives of The CFA Foundation.

BY KAREN LAWRENCE Lois Weston registered her first litter of Persians in 1960, and her last in 1987. Over the 27year span of the Simbelair cattery, Lois produced 42 Grand Champions and 5 Grand Premiers, an amazing feat considering the large number of solid color Persians that were competing in those days.

For an example of how keen the competition was at the time, in 1967 the Championship Class at the National Cat Show at Madison Square Garden had entries of 6 blue-eyed whites, 11 copper-eyed whites, 2 odd-eyed whites, 11 blue, 6 black, 3 reds, and 11 creams – a whopping 50 solid colors!

Lois began her journey with cats when she became the owner of a pet quality Persian purchased by her mother, who lived with Lois and her husband, Stan. She took the time to visit cat shows and study the Persians there, determining just what she wanted to see in the Persian and deciding that whites were going to be her destiny.

Once she knew what she wanted in the “look” and the “boning”, she set out to find cats that would hopefully produce her “ideal” Persian. Her Simbelair cattery name, registered with CFA in 1966, is a combination of the name of her first cat “Sim” and the Weston’s car at the time, a Chevrolet “Bel Air”.

Lois’ first purchase for her new breeding program was one of the smartest moves she ever made – she acquired CH Skyway’s Rajah of Simbelair, a copper-eyed white male from Vi Schuh. Rajah was born April 4, 1964; sire - Skyway’s Gai Duke of Evergreen, copper-eyed white; dam - CH Skyway’s Charlene, a blue. If the Skyway cattery name is familiar to you as belonging to Don Williams, you should know that he inherited the name from his motherin-law who was Vi Schuh.

The next year, Lois returned to Mrs. Schuh to purchase GC Skyway’s Gai Doll of Simbelair, DM. Gai Doll was a copper-eyed white female born January 12, 1965 out of Gai Duke, the same sire as Rajah, and a copper-eyed white female, Doris of Skyway (out of Castilia and Klinkhammer lines). Gai Doll achieved her Grand Championship the first year she was shown in CFA and was also a Canadian Cat Association (CCA) Grand Champion.

One of Mrs. Weston’s early CFA Yearbook advertisements, featuring offspring of Skyway’s Rajah of Simbelair and Skyway’s Gai Doll of Simbelair.

Image: CFA Yearbook, 1967.

It was a breeding of these two cats, Rajah x Gai Doll, that produced GC, NW Simbelair Aristocrat in their first litter. The Simbelair cattery was up and running, having produced a cat that was undefeated and had 46 Best Cats in a row to his name. Lois had hit the jackpot in her first litter… not a bad way to start!

Aristocrat, an odd-eyed white male born November 22, 1966, was the first of the Simbelair National Winners. Aristorcat was eventually sold to Marcena Myers, and was awarded #2 LH male (2nd Highest Scoring Cat) in CFA’s Hydon-Goodwin All-Star Awards.

In total, Rajah was used extensively in the Simbelair breeding program, and earned his Distinguished Merit status by being the sire of 20 white Grand Champions, many becoming the foundation cats of other catteries. His DM status would be confirmed by linechasers, well after his breeding career had ended.

Lois again returned to Mrs. Schuh for another white, this time the odd-eyed male GC Skyway’s Perri of Simbelair. Perri was a son of Lois’ Rajah, out of a copper-eyed white female, Evergreen’s Penelope of Skyway. During her 1985 interview with The Persian Quarterly, Lois admits that she did a lot of inbreeding: “It was successful for me because I felt there was a lot of improvement to be done by crossbreeding and staying within the line. Each litter was bettering itself.”

Above: GC, NW SIMBELAIR ARISTOCRAT born November 22, 1966 Multiple Best in Show winner.

Image: CFA Yearbook, 1968 Below: GC. SKYWAY’S PERRI OF SIMBELAIR. Photo: Creszentia Allen, The Persian Quarterly, Fall 1985

GC, NW AZULITA PALEFACE OF CASA CIELO – CFA’s CAT OF THE YEAR 1963 The only outcross male that Lois Weston used, over GC Skyway’s Gai Doll of Simbelair.

Photo: Rochester Times Union, ‘Our Cats’ Magazine, Oct/Nov, 1963

The majority of Lois’ outcosses were attained through the purchase of new cats from different lines, with only one exception when she sent a female out for stud service. Lois sent Gai Doll to the copper-eyed white male GC, NW Azulita Paleface of Casa Cielo, who has been CFA’s Best Cat in 1963. The hope was for inheritance of the boning for which Paleface was well known. The Litter resulted in three whites that were sent to other breeders, and a blue female, Simbelair Pale Doll, that Lois kept for breeding.

Pale Doll was bred numerous time to Lois’ in-house studs, producing GC, NW Simbelair Fantastic and GC Simbelair Tecumseh of Jeannel, and the CCA Grand Champion Simbelair Don Juan of Kilarney.

Lois’ ultimate goal was to produce a white Persian that was as “typey” as those cats found in the other colors. She was a big fan of the Babalong lines, so for assistance with her whites, she added Babalong Babs and Babalong Bebe to her cattery in the 1970’s. Both of these whites traced back to earlier Simbelair cats, following Lois’ belief in inbreeding.

Against all advice, Lois introduced cream, blue and bluecream into her white lines to assist with depth of eye color and boning. She says she “used blue and bluecream background because they had what I was looking for.” In The Persian Quarterly interview, Lois admits “That combination, going back and forth, is what I used primarily right up to my last breedings.”

GC SIMBELAIR FLASH, a blue-eyed white male born May 21, 1970, was the son of GC Skyway’s Perri of Simbelair and GC Simbelair Sachet of Chota-Li. Photo: The Persian Quarterly, 1985.

Lois didn’t take in any cats for stud service, but she very generously sold kittens and cats to other breeders, many of them just starting out. In fact, the vast majority of Simbelair kittens were shared with others, numerous of them overseas. Simbelair cats were exported to Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, and South Africa. Lois said, “I sold them and placed them where I hoped and felt that these people would carry on with the tradition of keeping a pure bloodline…”

NATIONAL WINS While Lois generously shared her cats, she also worked closely with other breeders in southern Ontario, notably her friends Edna Field (Chota-Li) and Luisa Barsi (Marlu). Her friends south of the border also faired well in the exchange of cats. Tom Hollister and Tom Campbell (Sofondakatts) of Michigan were great friends with both Lois and Luisa, and regularly exchanged or co-owned cats.

In particular, Lois’ friend Peggy Blackburn (Northbrook) hit the jackpot, showing three Simbelair cats to five National Wins including Best Cat and Best Kitten. I have fond memories of spending fun times at shows with Lois, Edna, Luisa, Tom and Tommy.

National Awards for the stunning Simbelair cats naturally followed as a result of Lois’ tightly controlled breeding program. In total, nine cats bred by Lois attained CFA’s National Winner title – eight were white and one was a bluecream. Again, Lois didn’t keep many of these excellent cats for herself – she simply shared her lines with other breeders. As is expected, Lois thought the highlights were CFA’s Best Cat in 1891-1982 with GC, NW Simbelair Carla of Northbrook and CFA’s Best Kitten in 1983-1984 with GC, NW Simbelair Etcetera of Northbrook. Both of these cats were shown by Lois’ good friend, Peggy Blackburn.

GC, NW SIMBELAIR LITTLE MEISHA CFA’S 3RD BEST KITTEN 1982-1983 Photo: Jane Howard

SIMBELAIR CATTERY NATIONAL WINS #2 LONGHAIR MALE – 1968 (Hydon-Goodwin Awards) GC, NW SIMBELAIR ARISTOCRAT OF CASTILIA 0104-00000289, odd-eyed white male, born 11/22/1966 Owner: MARCENA MYERS 2nd BEST KITTEN – 1969 (Hydon-Goodwin Awards) GC, NW SIMBELAIR FANTASTIC 0102-00002210, copper-eyed white female, born 03/28/1968 Owner: MRS. S. WESTON 10th BEST CAT - 1973-1974 GC, NW SIMBELAIR AZARAF 0104-00000843, odd-eyed white male, born 11/05/1972 Owner: MRS. S. WESTON 11th BEST CAT – 1978-1979 GC, NW SIMBELAIR HIMSELF 0102-0009655, copper-eyed white male, born 01/26/1978 Owner: PEGGY-ARNOLD BLACKBURN

CFA’S

3RD

GC, NW SIMBELAIR CARLA OF NORTHBROOK – BEST KITTEN & CFA’S 6TH BEST CAT 1979-1980 – CFA’S BEST CAT 1981-1982 Photo: Creszentia Allen

3rd BEST KITTEN – 1979-1980 / 6th BEST CAT – 1979-1980 BEST CAT – 1981-1982 GC, NW SIMBLAIR CARLA OF NORTHBROOK 0103-00014952, copper-eyed white female, born 02/26/1979 Owner: PEGGY-ARNOLD BLACKBURN 3rd BEST KITTEN – 1982-1983 GC, NW SIMBELAIR LITTLE MEISHA 0151-00122289, bluecream female, born 04/13/1982 Owner: MR-MRS JOHN T. MORGAN 7th BEST KITTEN – 1980-1981 GC, NW SIMBELAIR KARINA OF ARISTY 0103-00016253, copper-eyed white female, born 05/13/1980 Owner: CARLOS-EDENIA ARISTY 4th BEST KITTEN 1981-1982 GC, NW SIMBELAIR FANTASIA 0103-00076829, copper-eyed white female, born 06/15/1981 Owner: DR. TAIT RATCLIFFE BEST KITTEN – 1983-1984 GC, NW SIMBELAIR ETCETERA OF NORTHBROOK 0103-00160793, copper-eyed white female, born 05/10/1983 Owner: PEGGY-ARNOLD BLACKBURN

Photos: CFA Yearbook, 1972

SIMBELAIR DISTINGUISHED MERIT CATS Besides having Skyway’s Rajah as their main stud cat and a DM himself, plus Skyway’s Gai Doll who was a female DM, the Simbelair cattery produced three Distinguished Merit cats for other breeding programs.

Interestingly, none were cats that Lois has kept for her own breeding program, and none of them were whites! They were: SIMBELAIR FANFAIR OF WIL-O-ROSE, DM 0106-00005572, blue male born 08/30/1970 Owner: WILLIAM-ROSEMARY HERRMAN GC SIMBELAIR GOLDEN APRICOT OF LEE, DM 0115-00004438, cream female born 03/29/1974 Owner: MR-MRS WILLIAM LEE CH. SIMBELAIR ENCORE OF LANDMARK, DM 0115-00008229, cream female born 08/13/1980 Owner: MR-MRS JOHN T. MORGAN Among other outstanding cats bred by Lois were GC, NW Simbelair Fantastic, as female, and GC, NW Simbelair Azaraf, a male who can be found in the background of pedigrees to this day.

Lois also set another record by granding white cats in all three eye colors: - shown opposite, at the top, is her GC. SIMBELAIR TIFFANY (an odd-eyed white); with bottom left, her GC. SIMBELAIR FELICIA (a copper-eyed white); and at bottom right, GC. SIMBELAIR FLASH (a blue-eyed white).

Lois had the temerity to stop breeding when she felt that she had achieved her goals. That, plus she didn’t care for the super extreme look of the Persian head that was becoming popular in the late 1980’s. In the interview with The Persian Quarterly Lois said: “The picture in my mind has always been the sweet, open look. Extreme, but not losing the sweetness. If they get too extreme, you sometimes lose that. In my opinion, this doesn’t give the sweet look and takes away that expression.”

To her dying day, Lois was always a lover of the Persian cat. In the last ten years of her life, she found the maintenance of coats to be too much for her and she was given two Exotic Shorthairs by her friend, Edna Field. To my knowledge, these cats were the only other breed Lois ever owned, and they were her beloved companions in her later years. Upon Lois’ death in 2002, these Exotics were returned to Edna, where they lived out their remaining days.

GC, NW SIMBELAIR CARLA OF NORTHBROOK

Everything you need to know about Genetics…

You can learn from your Cat! PART TEN – CURLY COATED BY

DR. LESLIE LYONS

College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri

Straightening the Curls!

Many cat breeds come in a variety of coat colors and patterns, some of which are unique to the breed or even define the breed. Russian blues, chartreux and korats must all be solid blue.

Each cat within the breed is “fixed”, i.e., homozygous, for the recessive dilution (dd) variant in the locus called Dilute (D), which is controlled by the gene called melanophilin (MLPH)1. Siamese must be homozygous for the points (cscs) mutation at the Color (C) locus, which is controlled by the tyrosinase (TYR) gene2,3.

But many coat color variants are also found in random bred cats and these mutations are a normal part of the cat populations all over the world. Although new colorations have more recently been discovered and genetically defined, i.e., amber in Norwegian Forest Cats4 and russet5 or mocha in Burmese6, most of the cat breeds that have been recognized in the past 50 years are due to DNA variants causing physical differences, including different types of hair coat.

These variant phenotypes are originally recognized in non-breed cats, thus, these variants represent de novo mutations that occurred by sporadic chance in the feral, random bred cat population.

EDITOR: This is the Tenth in a series of articles based on feline genetics

by Dr Leslie Lyons being published in FELIS HISTORICA during the 2020/2021 period Article Graphics ©www.gograph.com

The process of developing a new breed based of these new mutations is known as “Novelty Selection”. Many newer cat breeds are defined by novel mutations, thus, all cats within the breed have the mutation and the mutation is not, generally, found in other breeds.

One of the first examples of “Novelty Selection” within the cat fancy is the Devon Rex breed. The first Devon Rex was discovered by Beryl Cox in Buckfastleigh, Devon, UK, in 1959 – 19607.

This breed represented the second type of rexoid hair coat in cats and was proven to be genetically different from the Cornish Rex 8,9. By breeding a Devon Rex with a Cornish Rex, the first generation (F1) hybrid cats had straight hair coats.

LOGANDERRY’S MERRY MARY Photo: Chanan

A collection of ‘CurliWinks’ Devon Rex Photo: Dale Hobson

This type of mating scheme is known as a backcross mating, which is an efficient means to determine if a variant is recessive. Backcross matings are often used to identify health problems within a breed or a specific lineage of a breed.

The Devon Rex curly coat is caused by a DNA mutation in the keratin 71 gene (KRT71)10. The mutation is interesting as the DNA for the Devon Rex allele has a loss of 81 bases of DNA, including part of an intron 6 and exon 7. In addition, eight bases of DNA are added into the gene and then also a single base insertion.

EDITOR: This is the Tenth in a series of articles based on feline genetics

by Dr Leslie Lyons being published in FELIS HISTORICA during the 2020/2021 period

The allele for the Devon Rex has historically been known as “re” and Devon Rex cats are homozygous for the variant “re/re”. By itself, this DNA variants acts in a recessive manner. However, two additional alleles are known in the same gene, also causing variation in the hair coat. The Sphynx hairless mutation is in the same gene and acts recessively to normal coat but dominantly to the Devon Rex coat10. The Sphynx mutation occurs earlier in the gene than the Devon Rex mutation and is very simple mutation, just a substitution of a guanine base with an adenine base.

Blue Tortie & White LH Devon Rex, ‘CurliWinks Patch N Sass’ Photo: Dale Hobson

Black & White Female, ‘Kyapark Pagan’s Hexed Flier’ Photo: Dale Hobson

But like the Devon Rex mutation, the Sphynx mutation also disrupts the protein produced by the gene by altering the splicing together of the exons. Some Sphynx cats have been shown to carry the Devon Rex variant!

Selkirk Rex also have a variant in KRT71, but their curly coat is caused by a dominant mutation11. This mutation is also very simple, a switch from a guanine to a cytosine of the coding sequence, which likely disrupts the acceptor splicing site of intron one, thus this mutation is the earliest one in KRT71 for the cat curly coats. However, the gene splicing is reestablished, thus the KRT71 protein is functional.

EDITOR: This is the Tenth in a series of articles based on feline genetics

by Dr Leslie Lyons being published in FELIS HISTORICA during the 2020/2021 period

Crosses of cats with all three KRT71 variants have not been documented, thus, the phenotypes of all the various combinations are not readily known. The Devon Rex, Sphynx and Selkirk Rex cats demonstrate that one gene can have different mutations, some acting dominantly, while some acting recessively, with some minor overlap of the phenotype.

The alleles are now presented as KRT71hr, KRT71Se, and KRT71re, likely with the allelic series as KRT71+> KRT71Se > KRT71hr > KRT71re, but as mentioned, cats with all the different combinations have not been documented.

Curly coated cats also demonstrate the concept of phenotypic heterogeneity. Heterogeneity implies some phenotypes or diseases may look very similar but can have very different genetic causes.

Blue & White Female, ‘CurliWinks First Love of Naia Photo: Dale Hobson

The Cornish Rex coat is caused by a recessive mutation in the gene called lysophosphatidic acid receptor 6 (LPAR6)12, and Ural Rex have a recessive mutation in the gene called lipase H (LIPH)13.

Other curly coated cats, such as, LaPerm, Tennessee Rex and American Wirehair are yet to have the genetic cause of their hair coats discovered, however, most of the known genes have been eliminated as having causal variants.

The mutations for curly coated cats disrupt the production of the hair coat, mainly disrupting the guard hair production. The physiology of the hair production has not been closely investigated, however, Sphynx cats demonstrate hair follicle dysplasia, with abnormal shaft production but without a decrease in follicle quantity14.

College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri

Due to the lack of production of hair, Devon Rex and Sphynx also tend to have greasy seborrhoea dermatitis, which leads to yeast (Malassezia pachydermatis) infections in the ears and between the toes, leading to discolored claws and teeth15,16. Some Devon Rex and Sphynx cats have a variably progressive myopathy characterized by appendicular and axial muscle weakness, megaesophagus, pharyngeal weakness and fatigability with exercise. This condition is known as “spasticity” and is a type of congenital myasthenic syndrome (CMS)17. This condition is not associated with the curly hair coat. Overall, the curly hair coat mutations are not highly associated with dramatic health conditions in the breeds.

Blue Tortie & White female, Ch. Kyapark Sashaying On The Beach Photo: Dale Hobson References

College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri

1. Ishida et al., Genomics. 2006 Dec;88(6):698-705.

2. Lyons et al., Anim Genet. 2005 Apr;36(2):119-26.

3. Schmidt-Küntzel et al., J Hered. 2005 Jul-Aug;96(4):289-301.

4. Peterschmitt et al., Anim Genet. 2009 Aug;40(4):547-52.

5. Yu et al., Anim Genet. 2019 Apr;50(2):182-186.

6. Gustafson et al., Anim Genet. 2017 Feb;48(1):116-120.

7. https://www.gccfcats.org/Cat-Breeds/Devon-Rex 8. Robinson et al., Genetica 40, 597–599 (1969).

9. Robinson R. Genetics for cat breeders, 1991, 3rd. Pergamon Press, Oxford.

10. Gandolfi et al., Mamm Genome. 2010 Oct;21(9-10):509-15.

11. Gandolfi et al., Sci Rep. 2013;3:2000.

12. Gandolfi et al., PLoS One. 2013 Jun 27;8(6):e67105.

13. Manakhov et al., Anim Genet. 2020 Aug;51(4):584-589.

14. Genovese et al., Vet Dermatol. 2014 Dec;25(6):523-9, e89-90.

15. Ahman et al., J Feline Med Surg. 2009 Dec;11(12):970-6.

16. Bond et al., Vet Dermatol. 2008 Oct;19(5):299-304.

17. Gandolfi et al., Anim Genet. 2015 Dec;46(6):711-5.

A GALLERY OF DEVON REX

Cream Mink & White male, ‘CurliWinks Louis de Pointe’ Photo: Dale Hobson

A GALLERY OF DEVON REX

Photos: Courtesy of Carolyn Jimenez (3) and Linda Petersen (1)

A GALLERY OF DEVON REX

. Carolyn Jimenez Photos: courtesy of

A GALLERY OF DEVON REX

Photos: courtesy of Dale Hobson

A GALLERY OF DEVON REX

Photos: courtesy of Dale Hobson

A GALLERY OF DEVON REX

Above: ‘Fiddlestick Ariana Skye’ a Devon Rex Longhair. Below: Relaxation and Temptation

Photos: courtesy of Sandie Aroha of Aroanui Devon Rex.

A GALLERY OF DEVON REX

Left: ‘The Girls’ – Photo: Mark Hannon. Right: ‘Chloe’ doing an impression of E.T. Photo: Linda Peterson

Left: ‘The Babies’ – Photo: David Raynor. Right: ‘Baby Decker’ Photo: Linda Peterson

Left: Rachel Anger judging a Devon Rex. Middle: Mark Hannon exhibiting a Devon Rex. Right: Russell Webb, judging a Devon Rex.

A GALLERY OF DEVON REX

DEVON REX CATS & THEIR KIDDIE ADMIRERS Photos: Courtesy of Carolyn Jimenez

A GALLERY OF DEVON REX

DEVON REX EXHIBITORS Photos: Courtesy of Devon Stalker Productions

‘KIRLEE’ the founding progenitor of the Devon Rex Breed (born July 1959) Photo: Courtesy Linda Peterson

A 21st century Devon Rex – GC, BW, NW Karmacatz All Jazzed Up Photo: Linda Peterson

FOUNDATION & DEVELOPMENTAL HISTORY OF THE

by Linda Peterson, Kristin Nowell & Carolyn Jimenez The Devon Rex breed originated in Buckfastleigh, Devonshire, England and was discovered by Miss Beryl Cox. Miss Cox, and others, had previously sighted a curly coated tom cat living in a deserted tin mine near Miss Cox’s home. One day, in July 1959, a feral tortoiseshell and white female gave birth, in a field near her home, and one of the kittens was covered with curls. Miss Cox was quite taken by this kitten, with his curls and ringlets down his tail, and decided to keep him, naming him “Kirlee”.

It was later determined Kirlee’s mother was the daughter of the curly coated male spotted near the tin mine, and she must have mated back to him, in order to produce a curly coated kitten. Miss Cox was delighted by Kirlee’s wagging tail when praised, his intelligence, his fun-loving personality, and his ability to learn tricks; such as walking a tightrope and fetching toys. Generations later, Kirlee’s descendants continue to delight us with these wonderful traits.

A full ten years before Kirlee’s birth, another curly coated kitten had been found in Cornwall, England. That kitten was named “Kallibunker”, and his descendants are now known as the Cornish Rex Breed (originally called the “Gene I” Rex cat).

Breeders were trying to establish the Rex cat as a breed and were very excited with the discovery of Kirlee. They convinced Miss Cox to send him to them for use in their Rex programs. Kirlee was bred to females descended from Kallibunker, however, all the kittens born were straight-coated!

It became apparent therefore, that Kirlee did not carry the same genetic mutation for the curl in his coat, as the Cornish Rex. A second new curly-coated breed was subsequently recognized, and Kirlee and his descendants are known as the Devon Rex (originally called the “Gene II” Rex cat).

DEVON REX AND CORNISH REX DIVERGENCE Both the Devon Rex and Cornish Rex have a wave to their coats, but very distinctly different characteristics of the coat, head type and body. The Devon Rex coat is an open wave and varies in density, texture, and length (while remaining a short-hair breed). In contrast, the Cornish Rex coat is a tight marcel wave, with no guard hairs.

GC, BW, NW Karmacatz All Jazzed Up, in the ring with CFA Judge Donna Jean Thompson Photo: Linda Peterson

The Devon has a wide, short head, with a distinctive “pixie” or “elfin” expression, and large ears set low on the side of their head. The Cornish has a long egg-shaped head with large ears set on the top of their head. The Devon has a medium style body, with what is referred to as a “wishbone stance” or “bulldog stance”. The Cornish has an elegant style body likened to a greyhound.

THE DEVON REX BREED IN CAT ASSOCIATIONS The first Devon breeders based their standard for type and coat on the first Devon Rex, Kirlee, and continue to do so. Breeders, through careful outcrossing and health testing, have preserved Kirlee’s mutated coat gene and type while achieving genetic diversity. Today, Devon Rexes come in every color and pattern genetically possible.

Devon Rex cats developed quickly in England and in 1967 the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF), the oldest registry of its kind, granted separate breed standards for the Devon Rex and Cornish Rex for championship status and the original GCCF standard was written referencing Kirlee.

The Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe) followed suit in the same year.

The American Cat Fanciers Association (ACFA) accepted the Devon Rex for championship status in 1972 and when The International Cat Association (TICA) was organized in 1979 they accepted the Devon Rex for championship status the same year. This was also when the names of Devon Rex and Cornish Rex were chosen for the two mutations.

The Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) recognition took longer as their position was all rex coated cats should only be registered in the already accepted Rex breed (based on the Cornish Rex standard).

An attentive ‘GC, BWR, NW Ready Or Not Sweet Emotion’ Photo: Carolyn Jimenez

Devons could be registered, however, but not as a separate breed! The majority of Devon Rex breeders opposed this, so there was minimal participation in CFA at that time.

In February 1979, the CFA board unanimously voted to grant the Devon Rex separate breed status and registration effective as of that date and advanced to provisional status effective on May 1, 1981.

Instrumental in this was Anita White, who provided the history and background of the breed, and Dr. Ann Gibney, who was the spokesperson for the breed, and played the key role in the breed’s advancement. Breeders began to register their cats and also received CFA approval for a Devon Rex Breed Club that is still in existence. At the February 1983 CFA Board Meeting, the Devon Rex was advanced to Championship effective May 1, 1983. By 1985, Devon’s were recognized in all colors and patterns that cats can come in.

THE DEVON REX IN THE CAT FANCIERS’ ASSOCIATION (CFA) The Devon Rex standard in CFA was developed maintaining the look that Kirlee brought to the breed.

Early versions of the 100 point standard, assigned most points to the Devon coat (35), with an equal amount of points given to the head (30) and body (30) and 5 points to color.

Changes to the point distribution were done based on the need to emphasize the unique aspects of the Devon Rex head as these features make it distinct from those other breeds with curly coats, giving it, its “impish” appearance which make it easy to identify as a Devon Rex.

The coat remains a critical defining characteristic and the redistribution of points did not reduce or diminish the value of the Devon Rex coat.

The late Gerri Logan with ‘Derry ‘Derry-Hill Hill Sugar-Toes’ Sugar-Toes’ Photo: Photo:Carolyn Lisa Sandnez Jimenez

These changes emphasized to the Judges the need to attend to the head, in addition to the coat, as a means of effectively preserving the defining characteristics of this breed. Today’s CFA standard gives the head 40 points, the coat 30 points, the body 25 points, and color remains 5 points.

In the first show season, GC Enshallah Sitamun, a gold-eyed white female bred by John Benitez and John Gallagher and co-owned with Adele Gay, achieved grand championship status as the first Devon Rex grand in CFA. The first CFA National Win by a Devon Rex was in Championship during the 1989-1990 show season.

The cat was GC, NW Kotickee’s Rassy Sassoul, DM, a copper-eyed white female bred and owned by Dr. Shally V. Carlson. This was seven years after the breed was accepted into championship status.

It was four more show seasons before another Devon achieved a National Win, this time in Premiership. GP, NW Bluegenes Trouble, a gold-eyed white female bred and owned by Judie and John Kethley.

The first National Kitten Win was achieved in the 1997-1998 show season by GC, BW, NW Loganderry’s Turtle of Dilettante, DM, a chocolate tabby female, bred and owned by Gerri Logan and Wendy Renner. (shown opposite).

Turtle not only achieved the first Kitten National Win, but also a National Win in Championship the following show season. She was the first Devon to achieve both a Kitten National Win and Championship National Win.

CFA Almanac Cover May 2000, featuring GC, NW Loganderry’s Turtle of Dilettante.

Image with permission of The Cat Fanciers’ Association.

In the 2000-2001 show season GC, NW Karmacatz Angelina of Tigerwings, a gold-eyed white female, bred by Linda and Susan Peterson and co-owned with Kathy Rutledge, achieved a National Kitten Win. What makes this notable is that Angelina was born to an F2 straight-coat hybrid dam bred to a curly coated sire. One of four kittens, Angelina was the only curly coated kitten in the litter. Next to her three

GC, BW, NW Karmacatz All Jazzed Up with CFA Judge Wain Harding Photo: courtesy of Linda Peterson

straight-coat siblings, and her brown patched mackerel tabby straight-coat mother, Angelina truly looked like a little alien pixie.

It would be nine years before another Devon achieved a National Win in CFA. In the 2009-2010 show season GC, BW, NW Karmacatz All Jazzed Up, a chocolate silver patched mackerel tabby and white female, bred and owned by Linda and Susan Peterson and Denis Downey, broke the dry spell.

Since the 2013-2014 show season, there have been Devon Rex National Winners every year. Often, multiple National Winners in a single season. Of note, in the 2014-2015, two female littermates achieved National Wins in Championship, a first for the breed. These cats were GC, BW, NW Jobara’s Nicolette of Java Café, a silver mackerel tabby female bred by Bobbi Irie and Jade Kleider, and owned

by Gavin Cao and GC, NW Jobara’s Opal, a natural silver mink mackerel tabby female bred and owned

by Bobbi Irie and Jade Kleider.

In Premiership, after GP, NW Bluegenes Trouble, it was 23 years before another Devon Rex achieved a National Win. In 2016-2017 there were two. Of note, GC, GP, BW, NW Curlfect’s Aphrodites of Marcus, bred by Terry and Stephanie Michaud, owned by David Raynor and Mark Hannon, was CFA’s Second Best Cat that year in Premiership, and achieved the honor of being CFA’s Highest Ranked National Winning Devon Rex. 32 Devons have achieved a total of 35 National Wins since the breed’s acceptance to CFA. There have been 16 National Winning Devons in Championship, 13 in Kittens, and Six in Premiership. There have been 28 Females (One achieving a win in both Kitten and Championship, two achieving wins in Championship and Premiership), and four Males.

GC, BW, NW Jobara’s Nicolette of Java Café with CFA Judge Darrell Newkirk. Owned by Gavin Cao. Photo: courtesy of Bobbi Irie

Below left: GC, NW Jobara’s Opal with CFA Judge Vicki Nye. Owned by Bobbi Irie & Jade Kleider.

Below right: GC, GP, BW, NW Curlfect’s Aphrodites of Marcus with CFA Judge Melanie Morgan Owned by David Raynor & Mark Hannon.

Photos; courtesy of Bobbi Irie (Opal) and Linda Peterson (Aphrodites)

In 2004 the CFA Board approved Feline Agility competitions, which had become increasingly popular throughout the feline world. In October 2018, top 10 National Awards for Feline Agility were added.

Devons are well known for loving to romp, run through tunnels, jump, and play with toys, so agility was right up their alley.

In the 2018-2019 show season GPD, RW, AGN Meikai’s Toberlone (“Dale”), bred by Doug Schmidt and owned by Rhonda Smith, was the first National Winning Devon Rex in Feline Agility.

EARLY DEVON REX BREEDERS Devons became very popular as many fell in love with their unique appearance and distinctive personalities. Breeders from many European countries, as well as New Zealand and Australia have been working with the breed since the late 1960s.

In 1968 the first North American breeding program was established when Marion White and her daughter Anita imported two female Devons from England to their home in Austin, Texas.

The distinctive ‘Pixie’ look to Devon Rex head shape shown here was drawn by Anita White and is considered to be the correct interpretation of the Devon Standard.

Image courtesy of Linda Peterson

Annelida Aubretia and Wigmel Black Witch were the foundation for their cattery, Anglo-Tex. Shirley Lambert (Bob’N Shir) imported the first two pointed Devons in America in 1969 and worked with Marion and Anita White to establish a larger genetic breeding pool of Devons.

Between 1968 and 1980, Devons gained popularity and several new breeding programs were established in the United States and Canada, becoming the foundation of Devon Rex in North America.

In the United States, Becky Curneen (Far North) in Washington State and Delores Johnson (Dee Jon) in Oregon imported Devons in 1974. Frank and Wendy Chappell (Yclept) in British Columbia and Frances Kirkham (Cal-Van) in Alberta imported Devons.

Ann Gibney (Scattergold) in 1977 brought back from England her first Devon and in 1980 added her second one. British breeders Roma and Lajla Lund (Homeacres) moved to the United States in 1978 with several of their Devons.

Mary Robinson (Marya) imported three Devons from New Zealand to Canada in 1980.

Anita White created a series of drawings in the mid-1970’s showing the proper head and body of the Devon Rex. These drawings are still used today by breeders and in breed presentations at judges ’ workshops as a resource for learning the proper head and body structure.

Above and below: Two additional views indicating proper head structure drawn by Anita White.

Images: courtesy of Linda Peterson.

A BREEDER OF DISTINCTION In 1982 Gerri Logan attended a cat show and fell instantly in love with a Devon Rex. Gerri went on to establish her cattery, Loganderry, with the blessing of her husband, Bob. Initially, Gerri showed primarily in ACFA, and some in TICA and CFA. In 1993, she moved to showing exclusively in CFA. Gerri was considered the "Grande Dame" of the Devon Rex Breed as she worked tirelessly to improve the breed utilizing outcrosses, and breeding to the look she wished to pursue. She selected breeding pairs based on her endless study of pedigrees, working towards her inner vision.

Two portraits of Gerri Logan, as we remember her exhibiting her Devon Rex cats at shows.

Images: Courtesy of friends of Gerri Logan.

She wanted to create a line that other breeders would recognize as a particular look that was distinctive yet met the Devon Rex breed standard. She succeeded and this day, many refer to “the Loganderry look” when speaking about her cats.

Gerri joined the Devon Rex Breed Club (DRBC) in 1991 and served the club in many leadership roles. In 2015, the DRBC established the Gerri Logan Kitten Award in her memory and recognition for her outstanding commitment and valuable contributions to the Devon Rex breed as breeder, exhibitor, and mentor. Gerri was deeply passionate about the Devon Rex. She had a special affinity for kittens, which she felt represented the future and potential of the Devon Rex Breed.

Gerri’s first CFA National winning Devon Rex was the incomparable GC, BW, NW Loganderry’s Kiss And Tell, a beautiful brown patched mackerel tabby female, in the 1995-1996 show season, and who is still the Highest Scoring Devon Rex in CFA history. Kissy has been behind the pedigrees of many National Winners since.

DEVON REX HEALTH All Devons descend from one cat, Kirlee, so there is the concern of small gene pool. As a result, the Devon Rex is still allowed by CFA, as well as most world-wide cat associations, to outcross to other breeds for genetic diversity. Current approved outcross breeds for CFA registered Devon Rex are limited to the American Shorthair and the British Shorthair. First generation kittens will be straight-coated and these hybrids are registered as Devon Rex using the AOV prefixes.

Devons are no more susceptible to injuries, ailments or congenital conditions than any other cat. Devons have historically been diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), Hip Dysplasia, Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD),

GC, BW, NW Loganderry’s Kiss And Tell – bred and owned by Bob & Gerri Logan.

Photo: Chanan

The DEVON REX Banner and Breed Booth at the CFA International Show.

Photo: Devon Stalker Productions.

Kidney Disease (PKD), and Luxating Patella. Breeders have utilized heart scans, genetic testing, and careful breeding to reduce these health issues.

Devons come in all three blood groups: A, B and AB and breeders utilize blood typing to determine how they want to proceed with their breeding cats. Breeding a B female (queen) to an A or AB male may result in A or AB blood type kittens developing a life-threatening condition called Neonatal isoerythrolysis, if these kittens nurse during the first 24 hours of life. The queen produces colostrum

Above left: GC, NW Bellshire’s Delphinium of Karmacatz.

Above right: GC, NW Karmacatz Chloe (in front) & GC, RW Karmacatz Kokomo (behind).

Photos: Linda Peterson

which contains alloantibodies and in the A, or AB kitten, these will lead to the destruction of the kitten’s red blood cells. These kittens must not nurse from the mother for the first 24 hours. Breeders will either place the kittens on a lactating A or AB queen or supplement every 2-3 hours with a kitten milk replacer. After 24 hours they can be returned to their mother.

GENERAL INFORMATION The Devon Rex is called the “Pixie of the cat fancy” due to their wide cheekbones, large oval shaped eyes, large low set ears, and elfin expression. They have a mischievous, yet intelligent look about them and their personality fits their description.

Devons range in size with the typical female being between 5-8 pounds and male between 7-10 pounds.

They are considered to be a small to medium sized breed.

Devons are good for anyone looking for a companion. Regardless of age or abilities, a Devon Rex owner will find their cat to be attentive, affectionate, and devoted. Any owner must be prepared for a cat that is always “in your face”, as Devons love to be on your shoulder, your lap, your papers, keyboard, or just about everywhere you are. Their goal is to always be front and center.

Given their very social nature, Devons will share their love with all family members, friends, the visiting repair person, and even the vet. They do best with some form of constant companionship - a person, another cat, a dog, or even a rabbit. Devons are the consummate cuddlers and can think of nothing better than snuggling in bed at the end of a long day.

Above left: GC, NW Bellshire’s Delphinium of Karmacatz with CFA Judge Teresa Keiger.

Above right: GC, NW Karmacatz Rudy with CFA Judge Melanie Morgan.

Photos: Linda Peterson

Devons are playful throughout their lifetime. They are a moderate energy cat, engaged without being destructive. Devons can turn just about anything into a cat toy - bottle cap, wadded paper, lipstick tube, or box. They frequently will “fetch” their toys and wait for the toy to be thrown, so they can retrieve it. They enjoy being up high, so are quick to jump on a passing shoulder, scamper to the top of a door frame, or hop on a windowsill. A tall cat tree for scratching and climbing are ideal for Devons.

They are also curious little cats. It is always a good idea to do a head count before leaving to be sure they are not locked in a drawer, cabinet or closet. It is their natural personality to want to be involved, so it is inevitable a Devon will be in the middle of any project you are attempting. You may find your most frequent expression is “Stop helping!”

Devon vocalization varies from cat to cat. They frequently communicate with coos and trills, but have also been known to sound off with a loud “Meow”. They do not have natural predatory skills, so a Devon should never be permitted outside. Nor should they be declawed, because given their small size, they need some way to defend themselves.

Devons love food. It is easy for a Devon to become overweight, as they will readily convince you they have never been fed. Not to mention, they also enjoy people food. One has to guard against the theft of a pizza slice, or chicken wing. Anything left out on a counter becomes fair game and will be quickly surrounded by Devons, who will enjoy the feast. Even when “naughty”, it is hard to resist those darling little faces and those big expressive eyes.

Above left: GC, NW Jobara’s Opal with CFA Judge Pam DelaBar. Above right: GC, RW Karmacatz Rudy with CFA Judge Gene Darrah.

Photos: courtesy Bobbi Irie (Opal) and Linda Peterson (Rudy)

FUN FACTS In 1978, a white Devon Rex was cast to play “Pixie”, in the widely acclaimed “Superman” move. In the opening scene, Superman rescues Pixie from tree, returns the curly feline to her young owner, and then gives Pixie an affectionate pat.

It is rumored that film director, Steven Spielberg, had a pet Devon Rex and it served as the inspiration for the appearance of E.T. and Yoda in his movies.

In the 2019 Disney live-action remake of the film “Lady and the Tramp” two fun-loving Devon Rex kitties, replaced the original movie’s Siamese cats, and played the mischievous characters of Devon and Rex. ***

GC, NW Karmacatz Chloe, with CFA Judge Ellyn Honey Photo; Linda Peterson

GC, NW Permarex Boogie Child, as a kitten (left), & (right) with Bobbi Irie and CFA Judge Darrell Newkirk.

Photos: Bobbi Irie.

GC, NW Karmacatz Simply Ear’Resistible, as a kitten (left) and an adult, (right).

Photos: Linda Peterson, and Mary Kolencik.

Above left: GC, NW Castellija’s Lite Brite of Jobara. Above right: GP, NW Jobara’s Nijiiro Photos: Bobbi Irie.

Gerri Logan, (left), with GC. Loganderry Darkman of Hilltop Park & Ch. Loganderry Buddha of Hilltop Park And (right), with ‘Derry-Hill Got Milk’ (aka. Millie) Photos: courtesy of Carolyn Jimenez

INTRODUCING

BY

DI HOBSON

…THE NEW WAVE ON THE SHOW BENCH! CurliWinks Devon Rex Cattery

It’s. a Long Wave from Here!

After an extended break from the cat world, I returned to breeding Devon Rex and had my first litter from ‘Kyapark Sashaying on the Beach’ and ‘Kyapark I C Hot Times Ahead,’ in May 2019.

From this litter I kept one kitten, CurliWinks Patch N Sass “Milly”, a Blue Tortie & White.

While Milly had the common baldness, pattern found in a lot of Devon’s of having very short hair on her sides, top of head, belly and chest she had the best type in the litter, and I chose her despite my reservations about her baldness.

There was another kitten in the litter, CurliWinks Princess Lulu Belle with a soft, longer wavy coat with full body coat cover which I, on reflection, should have kept also. However, at the time I didn’t feel her type was strong enough to keep for breeding. (This cat has never been tested for the Longhair gene however from photos I believe she is longhair or a longhair carrier).

I managed to show Milly at one show in 2019 with Catz Inc and at this show she was 4 months old and was entered as a Devon Rex and judged by 4 different judges (2 being past and present Devon Rex breeders) and Milly was awarded 3x Reserve Best In Show, 1x Breeders Award of Merit and 2x 4th Best In Show, Judges Choice and a 7th Best In Show.

‘CurliWinks Patch N Sass’ as a baby kitten with distinctive curly coat and pleasing pattern.

Photo: CurliWinks Devon Rex Cattery

‘CurliWinks Princess Lulu Belle’ a well-coated pet Devon Rex female that appeared to develop a long coat.

Photo: Dale Hobson Around this time, I noticed that Milly (aka Patch N Sass) was developing some longer hair on her tail, legs, and ears. While different curl is a common occurrence in Devon Rex this seemed different then what I had experienced previously. With the availability of genetic testing, I decided to test Milly for colour and coat inheritance with UC Davis in February 2020 when Milly was 9 months old.

These tests came back that Milly was Longhair – M4/M4

Well! This opened a can of worms for me! I then tested Milly’s parents for Longhair with UC Davis, and both came back N/M4.

Research then teaches me that Longhairs have been popping up in NZ litters for years since I had been on break and I came across many photos of stunning Devon Rex with longer coats. I was hooked straight away but found to my disappointment that I could not show Milly or any other Longhair Devon Rex which I bred.

In June 2020 I entered Milly in a TICA international online show in Preliminary /Advanced New Breeds & Traits, knowing that Milly was Longhair now, with these outcomes: Reserve Best in Show with Johary Gomez, 4th Best in Show with Rick Hoskinson, Reserve Best in Show with Susanna Shon, 5th Best in Show with Ellen Crockett, and Best in Show with Brenda Russo. It was such a delight to be able to show Milly and compete against another Longhair Devon Rex which had been entered by a Devon Rex breeder based in the United States.

‘CurliWinks Patch N Sass’ at two different stages of development, showing curly coat, and longer on her tail and rear of flank.

Photos: Dale Hobson

Why Go Long?

Originally all I wanted was to have the option to show my Longhair and Shorthair Devon Rex in New Zealand. I love both and relish the challenge of getting Longhair Devon Rex recognised, known and shown in New Zealand.

Longhair Devon Rex gained this recognition in February 2021 with the support of the Devon Rex breeders in New Zealand and the Breed Section Representative for Rex breeds.

Where to from here?

I would like to develop a line of Longhair Devon Rex M4/M4. As a Devon Rex breeder I knew nothing about longhair genes so now that I have started down this path I am learning – fast! As I am the only breeder focused on keeping the longhair gene in New Zealand this is a long-term plan as it will take time to have a healthy line of M4/M4 Devon Rex. Currently I feel that the carriers do frequently have a different coat appearance and my preference would be not to use them in my breeding for Shorthair Devon Rex and focus on using N/N for this breeding.

The reality is that there will be mixing with all 3 types of genes in the Devon Rex pool being used in breeding. I will however be testing all breeding cats and able to correctly register offspring. The future is exciting! I look forward to bringing Longhairs to the shows this year onwards and love this new challenge ahead to produce the best of the “Long and Short” of Devon Rexes!

What is a Longhair Devon Rex? A Longhair Devon Rex looks exactly like a Shorthair Devon Rex in every way apart from the coat. Like the Shorthair Devon Rex coat there are noticeable variations in coat in the Longhair and what is the desired coat is a matter of opinion.

Types of Devon Rex in Gene Pool N N/M4 M4/M4

Shorthair Shorthair carrying Longhair gene Longhair

Possible Mating Outcomes SIRE

DAM

N /N M4/M4 N/M4

N/N M4/M4 N/M4

M4/M4

N/M4

N/N

N/M4

M4/M4

N/N

OFFSPRING All Shorthair (not carrying LH) all N/N *All Longhaired (LH*Recessive) Shorthaired (not carrying LH) – N/N Shorthaired (Carrying LH) – N/M4 Longhaired - M4/M4 Longhaired - M4/M4 Shorthaired (Carrying LH) – N/M4 Shorthaired (Not carrying LH) – N/N Shorthaired (Carrying LH) – N/M4 *All Shorthaired (Carrying LH) – N/M4 *Shorthair is dominant over Longhair

What is a Recessive Trait?

The long hair gene is recessive. This trait is carried and not expressed, two like alleles are required for the gene to be expressed – longhair coat. i.e., N/M4 mated to N/M4 produce longhair, shorthair and shorthair carrying longhair gene. The carriers will not necessarily have the ear streamers, squirrel tail and leg warmers (longer hair on back of legs) however cats carrying the longhair gene seem to have softer, longer coats with more of a wave then tight curl. I have also noticed that Longhair kittens seem to molt their coat on sides, head, belly and chest so the recessive gene for baldness seems to come into play here also.

‘CurliWinks Patch N Sass’ from varying angles.

Photos: Dale Hobson

The Harrison Weir Collection’s The Cat - Her Placement in Society and Treatment Original drawings or paintings of cats by Harrison Weir are extremely rare, and due to his recognition as the ‘Father of the Cat Fancy’, are often considered more significant than those of other subjects. In truth, he was also famous as a poultryman and a consummate expert in that field, so some of his early poultry paintings are highly prized and of more than equal value.

In 1896, he was teamed up with the writer Edith Carrington, to produce a wonderful but little-known work entitled ‘THE CAT, Her Place in Society and Treatment’.

Carrington and Weir were both campaigners for animal welfare, and their friendship was a robust one.

About the time of Weir’s death in early 1906, Carrington had started a new journal called ‘Our Animal Brothers’, in the first issue of which she wrote a long and glowing obituary of Weir, which included this brief commentary in which she quoted from Weir himself: “As an Artist, not even Landseer himself, has done more to plead with all hears, especially those of children, on behalf of the Speechless. He, “opened his mouth for the dumb,” though he believed in the silent art, rather than the eloquence of the tongue. “The Eye-gate is easier than the ear-gate,” he would say, “and where people are slow to grasp what is written, they are quick to read it in the form of a picture.”

“A good picture,” wrote Weir, “often softened sorrow. Art can teach as well as Literature.”

She then finished her tribute by quoting from a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: “Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing o’er life’s solemn main, A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, shall take heart again.

A little over ten years earlier, she and Weir had collaborated on a small series of Children’s books about Animals, written by Carrington and illustrated by the aging artist, who was already by that time past his 70th year. Although not a part of that specific series, ‘THE CAT, Her Place in Society and Treatment’ was published by George Bell and Sons; containing many new drawings and anecdotes about cats. The original drawings were rendered in Pen and Ink, using either blue, black or sepia coloured inks; and almost all were signed and dated.

PERSONAL TRAGEDIES What is not generally known about Weir, is that he suffered significant personal losses during his lifetime.

He somewhat tragically outlived two of his three wives, and three of his four children. His first wife was Ann Herring, the eldest daughter of the famous horse painter John Frederick Herring Snr. With Ann, he had four children, two sons and two daughters. They were married for 29 years, Ann dying after a relatively short illness in 1874. He was married a second time, to Alice Mary Upjohn, in 1875 and this marriage lasted another 23 years, until Alice also died in 1898, when Harrison was 74 years old.

Even though all his children lived well into adulthood, it is estimated that his eldest daughter Edith, died on an as-yet unspecified date between 1885 and 1891, after a long and protracted illness, leaving a husband

latest finds…

husband and no issue. His eldest son, Arthur Herring Weir; who was a Civil Engineer working at the time in La Paz, Bolivia, died suddenly in 1902, leaving a wife and two children. Then his unmarried youngest daughter, Grace Harrison Weir, died after what appears to have been a short illness in 1903. Weir himself, is known to have himself suffered long and repeated bouts of various illnesses, dying in in January 1906, in his 82nd year. He was survived by his third wife Eva, and only remaining youngest son, John Gilbert Weir, who was married with two children and who lived well into his mid-nineties, dying a couple of years after the end of the Second World War. ALICE MARY WEIR (nee UPJOHN) In this instance, an image was produced of a woman convalescent, in bed, cossetting an appreciative domestic cat with her hand, after the cat had jumped up onto the bed. It is highly unlikely that Weir would have looked outside of his own home for a suitable model, as his second wife, Alice Mary Upjohn (to whom he had dedicated epic book ‘Our Cats’ to, in 1889) was already often convalescent at home when this drawing was executed in 1896. She suffered from frequent and worsening episodes of bronchitis, and possibly bronchial asthma, passing away from complications associated with her illnesses, only a little over two years later, in December of 1898. Harrison’s dedication to her in his book, reads thus: TO MY DEAR WIFE ALICE MARY I DEDICATE THIS BOOK. IN TOKEN OF MY APPRECIATION OF HER GENTLE AND TENDER KINDNESS TOWARDS ALL ANIMAL LIFE, MORE PARTICULARLY “THE CAT.” “Iddesleigh,” Sevenoaks, March 12th, 1889

The Harrison Weir Collection

The drawing by Harrison Weir, in Sepia Ink, signed and dated 1896, that was published in ‘THE CAT – Her Place in Society and Treatment’, by Edith Carrington.

Original Pen and Ink, held in The Harrison Weir Collection

CHAMPION ROMALDKIRK ADMIRAL Cream Persian male, born June 11, 1896. (NCC:3110) Photo: G.W. Vidals, ‘The Book of The Cat’ (1903) by Frances Simpson.

Courtesy of The Harrison Weir Collection. Article backgrounds www.gograph.com

AN HISTORICAL PORTRAIT OF

CREAM LONGHAIR (Persian) BY

JOHN G. SMITHSON

Adapted from the author’s text for ‘Romaldkirk Admiral’ @ The History Project www.cat-o-pedia.org

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Among the earliest breeders of Creams of note was the famous Romaldkirk Cattery of the Misses Winifred and Mildred Beal, (Romaldkirk Rectory) near Darlington, from which came a notable litter containing two remarkable early males, who made an immense mark on establishing the Cream as a recognized and sought-after colour variety.

These were namely Romaldkirk Admiral and Romaldkirk Midshipmite (1896), who were never known to be shown in anything but superb coat and condition, becoming commonly referred to as ‘The Heavenly Twins’.

At about this time also, breeders of Orange cats (Reds) began to realise that Creams were essential in the breeding of consistently good reds, by helping to clear the coat of barring and to produce the elusive ‘orange females’, the Victorian breeders not yet understanding the principles of the sex-linked red genome. So this added to the appeal of the good ‘Cream or Fawn’ cat and helped to raise its profile as a valued member of the Persian family.

On the colour of Creams and the difficulties of breeding cats of sound colour, the following notes are from the renowned breeder and judge of Cream Persians, Mr Frank Norris (of Kew Cattery): “Cream cats are of a modern colour in Persians, but are now being more freely bred and finding numerous supporters. There are however, very few good ones in the fancy, for size, and colour are difficult to obtain. The great failing with them is that, although they are called cream cats, the best and soundest coloured ones are really of a fawn shade. So many show markings, patches, or shadings, whereas the colour should be one shade and sound throughout; better to be a little dark in colour rather than shade from cream to white, as is the case with so many specimens exhibited.”

PARENTAGE & OWNERSHIP: The litter which produced ‘The Heavenly Twins’, was born June 11 1896, from a pairing of Romaldkirk Laddie (1894) a Blue, to Romaldkirk Fluffie (1892) a Blue-Cream. Although both parents were pure dilutes, it is interesting to note

Left & above: Champion Romaldkirk Midshipmite (Cream litter sibling and ‘heavenly twin’) of Champion Romaldkirk Admiral.

Left: Photo from ‘Captain Kidd Jnr and Sinbad the Sailor’ (1908) by Caro Senour.

Above: Watercolour by Rosa Bebb, from ‘Rabbits, Cats and Cavies’ (1900) by Charles H. Lane.

note that Fluffie’s dam was a Red or ‘Orange’ female of some repute, named ‘Jael’ of whom the following is recorded by Frances Simpson: “Jael was quite unique as an orange female, and at fifteen years of age could yet win in her class by reason of her grand colour, perfectly shaped head, short face, and tiny, well-set ears. Such a cat stands out in any breed, and such a cat may never again be bred. Jael died in 1902 after a long and successful career.” ¹ Knowing as we do now, that the gene for ‘Orange’ was inherited by Fluffie from her dam, and subsequently passed to her two famous sons in the dilute form of cream, little Jael’s contribution to the establishment of the Cream has been immense, but has seldom if ever been noted!

has been immense, - but has seldom if ever been noted! Miss Beal does herself however, make mention of the humble beginnings of Creams out of Orange cats: “The cream or fawn Persian was a few years ago looked upon as a ‘sport’ and when cream kittens appeared in an orange strain they were considered spoilt oranges, and were either given away or sold for a few shillings……now however, it is very different.” ¹ SIBLINGS & SHOWS: Admiral’s singularly notable sibling was his own ‘heavenly twin’ Romaldkirk Midshipmite. But there were other siblings from later repeat breeding

breedings. From a litter born in March 1898, came the Blue male Romaldkirk Commodore, and Blue female Romaldkirk Flora, both retained

by Miss Beal. From a litter born in April1899 came both Romaldkirk Iris, a Blue female retained by Miss Beal, as well as Crème De La Crème, a valuable Cream male who was sold to Mrs Woodcock, another ardent admirer of Cream Persians.

Of their winning form, we once again refer to a commentary by Frances Simpson who made the following observation: “I have made frequent mention of Miss Beal’s noted creams during my chapters on orange and cream cats. These two celebrated champions are commonly known in the fancy as the ‘heavenly twins’, their registered names being Romaldkirk Admiral and Romaldkirk Midshipmite. They are really fawn Persian cats, very sound in colour, well made, big boned, and are always exhibited in the pink of condition, and at all seasons of the year are in marvellous coat. Certainly the cold climate of the Romaldkirk cattery, which is situated 730 feet above the sea level, must, anyhow, suit this variety of Persian cat. I suppose the day will come when these well-tried and well-seasoned veterans will have to retire from public life and make way for some of their already noted offspring. In the North, South, East and West, these ‘heavenly twins’ have reigned supreme, and Miss Beal must almost have lost count of the number of prizes won by them, which, I think I am safe in saying, would give an exact record of the number of times exhibited.” ¹ On the subject of the accommodations of the Romaldkirk cats, we have the following description from the pen of Miss Winifred Beal: -

Miss Beal and her kittens.

‘The Book of The Cat’ (1903) by Frances Simpson.

“I have recently utilised an old granary, which is over the coach-house. This is about 40 feet long and has a room at one end, with five windows and good ventilation above. In addition I have three big cat houses and a loft, where most of the queens reside. ‘Middy’ and ‘Admiral’ (the ‘Heavenly Twins’) have small wooden houses, felted inside and out, with wired runs and concrete floors.” ¹ Of Romaldkirk Admiral’s specific wins, the NCC register confirms the following early wins, which were claimed hand in hand and in opposition to his equally successfully sibling: 1st and three 2nds Crystal Palace 1897; 2nd Crystal Palace 1898; 1st Botanic 1898; 2nd Botanic 1899; 1st Westminster 1899; 1st Brighton 1899; 2nd Crystal Palace 1899.⁴

Romaldkirk Cattery Advertisement from 1903.

‘Cats, Show and Pet’ (1903) by C.A. House.

From ‘Cats for Pleasure and Profit’ (1909), Frances Simpson enlarges upon his successes: “This grand Cream stud cat has never been beaten in his class, except by his brother. His prize-winning record is too long for insertion. This cat is in the proud position of being a Champion in the N.C.C. and the C.C., having carried off no less than 14 championships.⁵ BREEDING & PROGENY Both of the ‘Heavenly Twins’ were popular and successful as sires. Among the better known of ‘Romaldkirk Admiral’s’ progeny are: Crème D’or, (Cream Persian Female) originally owned by Mrs Wellbye, she went under the stewardship of Mrs Frank Norris of Kew, and from this daughter of ‘Admiral’ mated to Mrs Ransome’s blue ‘Darius’ came the second generation of twins, known as Kew Laddie and Kew Ronald.

Romaldkirk Daphne, (Cream Persian Female) born 1900, although carrying the Romaldkirk prefix, is listed as bred by Mrs Darcy Hildyard, from her ‘Josephine of the Durhams’ and subsequently exported to Mrs Dwight Cutler of Detroit, Michigan. It would appear that she was purchased under a syndicate, as the USR shows her owners as jointly Mrs Cutler, Mrs E.Pierce (Ohio) and Mrs Woodward (Georgia). ² Ch.Wildon Wily of Thorpe, (Cream Persian Male) born 4th June, 1904, out of Wildon Winsome, the cream daughter of Admiral’s sibling, ‘Midshipmite’, and so representing a direct double up of the famous original Romaldkirk strain of creams.

Romaldkirk Flirt, (Cream Persian Female) born April 1900, another direct double-up of the Romaldkirk males, she being out of ‘Romaldkirk Garnet’(1898), the red daughter of ‘Midshipmite’.

Above: ‘Romaldkirk Daphne’ Below: ‘Ch. Romaldkirk Admiral’

Cover Page of ‘Our Cats’ Magazine, featuring Landor’s photograph of ‘Romaldkirk Admiral’ © Image courtesy of The Harrison Weir Collection

CHAMPION ROMALDKIRK ADMIRAL Photo: by Landor. Image from a Period Photo Postcard. Courtesy of The Harrison Weir Collection.

Ch.Wildon Wily of Thorpe, (Cream Persian Male) born 4th June, 1904, out of Wildon Winsome, the cream daughter of Admiral’s sibling, ‘Midshipmite’, and so representing a direct double up of the famous original Romaldkirk strain of creams.

Romaldkirk Flirt, (Cream Persian Female) born April 1900, another direct double-up of the Romaldkirk males, she being out of ‘Romaldkirk Garnet’(1898), the red daughter of ‘Midshipmite’.

Romaldkirk Calliope, (Cream Persian Female) born July 1897, out of ‘Richmond Mistletoe’ , a cream daughter of the Red Tabby male, ‘Cyrus the Elamite’.

References: 1. ‘The Book of the Cat’ (1903) by Frances Simpson.

2. ‘The U.S.Register and Stud-Book for Cats (1906) 3. ‘Rotary Photo Series Postcard by E.Landor’ 4. ‘NCC Register’ 5. ‘Cats for Pleasure and Profit’ (1909) by Frances Simpson.

6. ‘Captain Kidd Jnr and Sinbad the Sailor’ (1908), C.S.Senour.

7. ‘Cats, Show and Pet’ (1903) by C.A. House.

8. Photos and Quotations as per credits noted.

‘DEVONSHIRE TEA PARTY’ AN INTERNATIONAL LIMITED EDITION PRINT RUN OF ONLY 250! featuring a famous Devon Rex cat, attending at tea!

Drawn in Pen and Ink, using the Pointillist technique,

by New Zealand artist, John Grant Smithson.

Printed on quality card, individually signed and numbered in gold by the artist, and issued with a Certificate of Authenticity.

Approximated Dimensions Outer Edges of Card: 32cm high x 44.5cm wide Image area: 23.2cm high x 36.8cm wide Most prints already sold.

$50 USD each Shipping additional, dependent upon location Orders/Enquiries to:

editor@felis-historica.com Detail

CFA GC, BWR, NW READY OR NOT SWEET EMOTION

FACTFILE Pet name:

‘Stevie’

Breed & Colour:

Devon Rex. Silver Patched, Mackerel Tabby and White

Champion July 7, 2018 Sternwheel Cat Fanciers, Ohio

November 1, 2017

RW - North Atlantic Best Cat (#1) 2019 (2018-2019)

Date of Birth: Sire:

GC, RW Clarick Sugar Sugar of Ready Or Not

Dam: GC. Ready Or Not Ears To You

Awards & Titles

Grand Champion July 14, 2018 One Fine Day (Penn.)

North Atlantic Best of Breed Devon Rex North Atlantic 9th Best Kitten

Breeders:

Kristin Nowell & Carolyn Jimenez

BWR – Best of Breed Regions 1-9, 2019 (2018-2019)

Owners:

Kristin Nowell & Carolyn Jimenez

NW – 5th Best Cat in Championship 2019 (Regns 1-9)

GC, BWR, NW READY OR NOT SWEET EMOTION (aka ‘Stevie’) We got our start with pet Devons from Gerri Logan (Loganderry, Derry Hill) and Claudia Hasay (Hilltop Park, Derry Hill). We were so obsessed with Devon Rex breed and attended so many cat shows as spectators, that we became known as “The Devon Stalkers.” After a year, Gerri and Claudia assured us they would get us our own show cat. They provided us with Derry Hill Lovie’s Little Kiwi and said if we wanted to breed, they would assist us. Feeling somewhat unprepared, we named our Cattery, Ready or Not. Kiwi went on to achieve multiple titles (Grand Champion, Grand Premier, Regional Wins, Grand of Distinction) and started our breeding program.

In addition to Claudia and Gerri, as we attended shows, we had the chance to meet several Devon Rex breeders. In particular, Linda Peterson of Karmacatz; David Raynor and Mark Hannon of Marcus; and Celestia Wright of Clarick, who were all willing to answer our questions, provide guidance, and ultimately helped us in our show and breeding efforts. GC, BWR NW Ready or Not Sweet Emotion (Stevie) was the product of the first combination of the Clarick and Ready or Not Catteries.

Two years before Stevie was born, Celestia Wright (Clarick) was showing a red and white, mackerel tabby boy, by the name of Murphy. He was a Devon of excellent type, with large, low set ears, a wonderful wavy coat and a fantastic personality. We talked to Celestia about getting a boy from her, particularly one that looked like Murphy. She told us we were in luck. She had just repeated Murphy’s breeding and if there was a kitten that looked promising, she would be willing to place the kitten with us. There was a boy Celestia thought had potential. That kitten, a red and white mackerel tabby boy, was Clarick’s Sugar Sugar of Ready or Not (Archie). After Archie achieved his Grand Champion title and earned Regional Wins as a kitten and adult, we bred him to our own GC Ready or Not Ears To You (DD).

The parents of GC, BWR, NW. Ready Or Not Sweet Emotion (aka ‘Stevie’) Left: Her sire - GC, RW Clarick Sugar Sugar of Ready Or Not (aka ‘Archie’) Right: GC Ready Or Not Ears To You (aka ‘DD’) Photos: Devon Stalker Productions.

On November 1st, 2017 Stevie was born. There were 5 kittens in the litter, four girls and one boy.

Stevie, a silver patched, mackerel tabby and white kitten, was the one that excited us. As the kittens developed, it became obvious that Stevie would be the kitten to show. Stevie and her litter mates were eligible to be shown at the Genesee Cat Fanciers Club Show (New York), held March 3-4, 2018. We thought it would be fun to take all of the kittens to see how they looked in the judging ring.

‘Stevie’ (at front) snuggling up with her littermates Photo: Devon Stalker Productions

Mother Nature had other plans. On Friday, March 2nd, the East Coast of the United States was hit by a huge snow and wind storm, called a Nor’easter, that dumped close to 2 feet of wet snow in Eastern Pennsylvania where we live. We debated what to do and decided we would leave at 2:00 AM on Saturday for the show, after the storm moved through. Around 7:00 PM on Friday, the power went out and the next thing we knew, our neighbor’s 80’ pine had fallen across our yard, across our patio and was resting against the edge of the house, with branches pressed up against our patio doors.

Miraculously, little damage was done.

‘Stevie’ practicing her best Devon ‘Stretch’ with CFA Judge Melanie Morgan and her charming Devon ‘long smooooch’ with CFA Judge Teresa Sweeney.

Photos: Devon Stalker Productions.

We decided one of us should stay home to manage the cats in the dark and figure out what we were going to to do about the tree. Kristin drew the short straw.

The all-night drive in the snow to New York was definitely worth it! Not only did Celestia make the trip to meet the kittens her boy had sired, but Stevie was the third highest scoring kitten in show!! Her very first show! She proved herself to be the consummate show cat, quickly mastering the pole and the unique Devon stretch. Stevie was a split-season kitten, so we set our sights on doing as well as we could in Kitten class and then would see if we could make a run for a national win in Championship.

Stevie came close to being a one-show grand at the Sternwheel Cat Fanciers (Ohio) show in early July 2018. We finished her grand title at One Fine Day (Pennsylvania).

We were ready for our first big test at Garden State (New Jersey) where Stevie showed us that she could hold her own against many of the top cats in Championship. She was 5th highest scoring cat in Championship that weekend. It allowed us to think we had a good chance of attaining a national win with her, during the 2018-2019 show season. Since this was the first time we were going to try to campaign a cat, we knew we needed to have a strategist by our side. We were very fortunate and appreciative that a good friend, Mary Kolencik, who has bred multiple national winning Color-Point Shorthairs, was willing to share her wisdom.

We had some memorable shows during the show season. Stevie showed herself well and rarely disappointed a judge who let her strut her stuff. The CFA International show, in October 2018, is one show that particularly comes to mind. The International Show is actually two shows running simultaneously, with a 500 cat entry limit in each show. A cat may be entered in only one of the shows.

Above: Kristin Nowell holding ‘Stevie’ and the Best Cat ribbon, alongside CFA Judge Sharon Roy. Below left: Carolyn Jimenez holding ‘Stevie’ at the Nova Cat Show, Easton, Pennsylvania.

Below right: Kristin Nowell carrying ‘Stevie’ back from the ring at the International Show, October 2018.

That year it was the Purple Show and the Teal Show. We entered the Purple show where Stevie was second highest scoring cat in show and earned a 2nd Best Finalist Award for Best in Show. We then made some bucket list trips by taking Stevie to two long-standing shows, Cotton States (Georgia) and Lincoln State (Illinois).

Carolyn Jimenez Carolyn with Jimenez Kristinwith Nowell Kristin holding Nowell ‘Stevie’ holding and ‘Stevie’ her Winner’s and herrosette CFA International at the CFA International Show 2018, nd nd for 2 2BestBest Finalist Finalist Award Award for for BestBest in Show. in Show.

Carolyn Jimenez, with Kristin Nowell, holding ‘Stevie’ after her wins at the CFA International Show, 2018 Photos Photographs on bothon these bothpages pagescourtesy courtesyofofDevon DevonStalker Stalkers Productions.

Productions nd The rosette is for 2 Best Finalist Award for Best in Show.

Photos on these two pages courtesy of Devon Stalker Stevie also has a place in the Devon Rex History.

With her finish as Productions. the 5th best cat in Championship,

Steviealso is the CFA Championship (Regions This meaningful Stevie hashighest a placeplaced in the Devon Rex in History.

With her finish as the 1-9).

5th best catisinespecially Championship, Stevie ushighest as the the record record waspreviously previously held held by byLoganderry Loganderry Kiss Kissand &1-9).

Tell, Tell,bred bredisby by our our mentor mentor Gerri Gerri Logan istothe placed was Devon Rex in CFA Championship (Regions This especially meaningful to usofas Loganderry Devon Rex. Kissy the highest Devon Rexmentor in CFAGerri Championship.

It is also the record was previously held remains

by Loganderry Kiss &scoring Tell, bred by our Logan of Loganderry noteworthy thatremains Stevie’sthe grandmother is Loganderry a cat from litter Gerri Devon Rex. Kissy highest scoring Devon Rex Merry in CFA Mary, Championship.

It is the also last noteworthy that produced before her isdeath.

Stevie’s grandmother Loganderry Merry Mary, a cat from the last litter Gerri produced before her death.

Stevieisisnow now in in retirement retirement from from showing and is in our Stevie our breeding breeding program. program. She Shehas hasbeen beenbred bredonce, once, producingonly onlyone one kitten. kitten. Unfortunately, Unfortunately, he he is not of sufficient producing sufficient type type to tobe beshown. shown.We Welook lookforward forwardtoto additionalbreedings breedingsand andmany manyStevie Stevieoffspring. offspring. additional Stevieisisthe theconsummate consummateDevon.

Devon.She Sheloves lovesbeing being a lap under covers. strong opinions Stevie inin a lap oror under thethe covers.

SheShe hashas strong opinions and not afraid to share theoftop her voice. is always for game of chase and as hops isand notisafraid to share them them at theattop herofvoice.

StevieStevie is always up forup game of chase and hops she as she getsShe away. loves small as weloves learned, them too Justend after the National end of gets away. lovesShe small balls and balls as weand learned, themloves too much!

Justmuch! after the of her her National season,ashe a little under the She sick to her Winning ShowWinning season, Show she seemed littleseemed under the weather.

She weather. got sick to hergot stomach and stomach we saw a and we saw a small, glitter ball. Later up two more.

When she did notaimprove a small, soft glitter ball.soft Later she brought upshe twobrought more. When she did not improve after day we after decided dayneeded day, we wedecided decided she needed to toAn be beultrasound, seen seen by by aa vet. vet.

An An ultrasound, ultrasound, her belly to beadditional shaved, she to beshe seenneeded by a vet. which required herwhich belly required to be shaved, revealed revealed balls still in her stomach!!

24 hours intravenous resolved glitter ballsadditional still in herglitter stomach!!

Fortunately, 24 hoursFortunately, of intravenous fluidsof resolved it andfluids no surgery was it and noStevenie surgery was required.

Stevie notfinish have her been able to Winning finish herseason National Winning season required. would not have beenwould able to National with a shaved belly. with a shaved Needless to has say,access Stevie to noglitter longerballs! has access to glitter balls! K.Nowell Kristin & Carolyn Needless to say,belly.

Stevie no longer & C.Jimenez.

FIFe MW, NW, SC DIAPASON SIMBA OF WHITE’R’US DSM

The Sire and Dam of FIFe MW, NW, SC DIAPASON SIMBA OF WHITE’R’US Ch. Catchers Baileys of Diapason & GC Diapason Diva – owned by Diana Ciliento (Italy)

FACTFILE Personal Data

Awards & Titles (FIFe)

Pet name:

‘Simba’

CH. - Champion – Dec.3 2016, Santarem.

Breed & Colour:

Persian, Cream

IW - International Champion – Feb.5 2017, Lisboa

Date of Birth:

August 10, 2015

NW - National Winner, 2017 (First)

Sire:

Ch. I-Catchers Baileys of Diapason (Red)

GIC – Grand Int. Champion – Jan 14, 2018, Porto

Dam:

GC Diapason Diva (Tortie)

SC – Supreme Champion – Nov.10, 2018, Braga

Breeder:

Diana Ciliento (Italy)

MW – Mediterranean Winner – 2018 (First)

Owners:

Jose Manuel Monteiro Dias (Portugal)

NW – National Winner, 2018 DSM – Distinguished Show Merit - 2018

SIMBA’S STORY It gives us great pleasure to bring our readers some of the background story behind this influential European-based Cream Persian male. Through emails, we posed some questions to his owner Jose Dias, in an interview conducted over several days. This has provided the text for this short story.

Editor:

Please tell me about Simba, his birth and his breeder.

Jose:

Simba was born on August 10, 2015 in Milan, Italy. His breeder, is Diana Ciliento, whom I greatly admire, of the Diapason cattery.

Editor:

And which of Diana’s cats was he from?

Jose:

He is a son of Champion I-Catchers Baileys of Diapason (a Red male) and out of the lovely GC Diapason Diva (a Tortie queen) bred by Diana.

Editor:

How old was he when you received him?

Jose:

I went to get him when he was still a kitten, and I instantly fell in love with him. He was of the most beautiful pastel colour, was beautifully balanced, with an easy temperament.

Editor:

How did he come by his call name?

‘Diapason Simba as a kitten’ – bred by Diana Ciliento, owned by Jose Manuel Monteiro Dias

Jose:

His breeder Diana Ciliento, said she chose his name Simba because as a child she recalled the lion cub from the Disney movie ‘The Lion King’. As a kitten, Simba was very robust and strong and his frill very much resembled that of a mature lion.

Editor:

So when exactly, did his show career begin?

Jose:

Simba was not shown as a kitten, His first show was in Braga, Portugal, on November 15, 2016, where he competed at the age of 1 year and two months.

‘Diapason Simba’ as a young adult, being exhibited by Jose Manual Monteiro Dias

Editor:

And how did he do?

Jose:

He was nominated for Best in Show and on that weekend he won two Best Male in Show awards. It was truly a brilliant start to his show career.

Editor:

Where did he go from there?

Jose:

Over the years, Simba has competed in numerous European countries. In FIFe he gained his Championship in December 2016 in the city of Santarem, also in Portugal. He then followed that up by gaining his International Champion title on February 5, 2017 in Lisbon, again in Portugal.

Editor:

And what were his wins in 2018?

Jose:

He gained his Grand International Champion (GIC) on January 14, 2018, in Porto, once again in Portugal, then closer to the end of the year, he won his Supreme Champion title on October 27, in the city of Tampere, in Finland.

LIKE FATHER – LIKE SONS ‘Simba’ (above) has passed his superb type, sound eye colour and boning to his sons.

Below left: the renown, red male FIFe NW, NSW, GIC, White’R’Us Izon Junior JW DSM And right: copper-eyed white male White’R’Us Simboop, who is yet to be shown.

Above, beloved ‘Poopsie’ the matriarch of the PinUpCats dynastic line, on the shoulder of her breeder, Cyndee Hill.

Right: her Great granddaughter, ‘Supa’ on the day she took Best Kitten in all rings atblue-eyed the Two ‘White’R’Us’ white Queens and partners of ‘Simba’ Cotton November 2015.

She is DSM and right: White’R’Us Hello Dolly (as yet unshown) Left:States NSW,Show, NW, SC White’R’Us Betty Boop sitting in the Lilliput Perpetual Trophy.

Editor: Editor: Jose: Cyndee: Editor: Jose:

So, with all that, what National or other Regional titles has hejourney been awarded?

It would appear, that you have been on quite a roller-coaster since you first took He gained a National WinnerSphynx. title (NW) in both and 2018. Also in 2018 he gained up the challenge of breeding Is that a fair2017 summation? his Distinguished wellearly as his Winner Yes, that is fair. MyShow love Merit for the(DSM) breedaccolade, bloomed as in the theMediterranean 90’s when I was lucky (MW) 2018 title, in Lisbon, Portugal, in the adult male category. enough to meet these elegant creatures first-hand at a cat show in Atlanta Georgia. For Whatthey can were you tell of his progeny? me, theme ‘pin-ups’ of the cat world and it was love at first sight. I have been obsessed thingswhich Sphynx Simba haswith two all children weever havesince! retained, one being our red male, ‘FIFe NW, NSW,

GIC White’R’Us Izonand Junior JW DSM’. son offor Simba is now 7 month I have been showing breeding since The 2004.other I exhibited two years in aboth kitten old and beautiful copper-eyed whitetwo male ‘White’R’Us Simboop’. (both opposite). championship classes with lovely boys I received from Judypictured Webb Gunby of Skinzin Cattery 2004 2005., I had myNovember first PinUpCats Aril ofelse 2006.

Editor: Ah yes, in your redand male was before featured in our 2020litter issue.inWhat canThis youlitter tell produced my first National Winner, GC, BW, NW, SGC, RW PinUpCats Vision in Black and us about Simba’s personality? And what breedings you have planned for him in the White DM (aka ‘Poopsie’) who has titled in both CFA and TICA. She was also my first foreseeable future? double National Winner in CFA, obtaining this title in both Kitten and championship Jose: Simba is aShe loving cat,the who really likes in shows.

Hewill is very attracted our divisions. is still foundation to to myparticipate breeding program and happily turn 15toyears blue-eyed old in Aprilwhite 2021.females, ‘Betty Boop’, and ‘Hello Dolly’. It was from a breeding between him and ‘Betty Boop’ that our copper-eyed white male, ‘White’R’Us Simboop’ resulted.

Editor: Anything else you can tell us about Supa?

Editor: They are both striking blue-eyed white females. What is their breeding?

Cyndee: Only that she is my 6th PinUpCats Sphynx Breed Winner in CFA – the most from any Sphynx Jose: They areinboth same breeding. is our male FIFe cattery CFA from so far.the She loves to sleepTheir next sire to you at odd-eyed night and white eats treats fromMW, your NW.SC Genasaqua’s Prince of White’R’Us DSM and their dam is a Tortie, Vita’s Little ZZ hands. For many, she is one of the finest examples of the Sphynx breed and considered Top of White’R’Us. almost perfection to the breed standard.

Editor: Yes, our for feature Longhaired the the December issue.

Youus,have We would like to Prince thank was Cyndee taking the time cat to in share story of2020 ‘Supa’ with andan to impressive line-up of superb Persians!

Thank you for your time to assist with this article. congratulate her on having earned National Wins, in CFA, TICA and FIFe with this unique breed.

MR. ENOCH WELBURN (1853-1902) Respected Judge of Cats, Dogs, & Cavies Photo: ‘Our Cats’ Magazine, January 1902. © The Harrison Weir Collection. Article backgrounds www.gograph.com

AN HISTORICAL PERSONALITY PORTRAIT OF

19th CENTURY CAT FANCY JUDGE – (1890’s to 1902) BY

JOHN G. SMITHSON

Adapted from the author’s text for ‘Orange King’ @ The History Project www.cat-o-pedia.org

In searching for evidence of Mr. Welburn’s contribution to the early cat fancy, it is necessary for us to start at the end, and work methodically backwards to find records that will provide a clearer measure of who the man really was.

For those of you who are among that elite group of feline history buffs that are familiar with the writings of Frances Simpson, Charles A. House, and even Charles H. Lane; it might seem strange to you that you know so little about a well- respected early judge from the late 19th century and into the early turning of the 20th century. Mr. Enoch Welburn it would seem, was just such a judge.

And one of the reasons you do not hear about him, is that although he featured prominently in the cat world of the late 19th century, his great reputation as a Cat and Cavie judge was firmly established during the years when ‘Fur and Feather’ was the dominant pet magazine in circulation and the only one, covering cats to any extent – and copies of editions of that publication that pre-date 1900 are extremely rare!

This changed with the advent of ‘Our Cats’ magazine in November 1899, born just prior to the new decade and the new century. In ‘Our Cats he featured

featured prominently as any of the popular judges, and his opinion was as highly prized. A few of his show reports are also extant, but sadly, he passed away unexpectedly in January 1902, so that his fame was only notionally reported in Frances Simpson’s epic work, ‘The Book of The Cat’ in 1903, and not in any other publication that came post 1902.

Nevertheless, if we turn back to the early pages of ‘Our Cats’ and even further to ‘Fur and Feather’ a decade earlier, we can find traces of his influences and can gauge a measure of the man; a jovial soul, whose departure was heavily felt by all in the world of Cats and Cavies.

Our portrait, (shown opposite) remains the only one found to date and comes from his obituary, published in ‘Our Cats’ in January 1902. It is from that, and other notes in the same edition that we are able to draw an initial picture of the man at the time of his death, while gaining a limited insight and helpful information about his early life, upbringing, career and hobbies.

Above all else, he was known to be a man of strict principle and absolute truth, so if you did not agree with his judgment or wished to challenge him

challenge him on it, then you had better have your facts straight and your ducks firmly in a row. This by no means meant that he was unapproachable, and in fact all references to him appear to confirm that he was a most congenial man. But he stood strongly on the facts, hence it was unwise to tackle him without careful consideration.

In the Editorial columns of ‘Our Cats’ magazine published on January 11, 1902 appears evidence of just such a situation which occurred at a cat show, only weeks prior to Mr. Welburn’s’ sad demise. It is head: ‘Death of Mr. Welburn the Judge’.

“A melancholy interest will always attach itself for me to the death of Mr. Welburn, which is referred to fully in another column. At the last Brighton Cat Show, where he officiated as a judge, Mr. Welburn was taken to task by a certain exhibitor over his awards in the long-haired blue classes.

Our reporter, and others, had also occasion to slightly disagree with certain of his placings, and in a letter, not intended for publication, which he sent to me, replying on the subject, he used the following remarkable and sadly prophetic expression: ‘After my next engagement., which is the Northern Counties Cat Club, I do not think your reporter, or anyone else, will have to complain of my awards again.’ He meant that he contemplated resigning from the cat world, but, alas, poor fellow, his words have come true in another sense. He left the world itself behind.”

A few pages further on, is the official notice and obituary of Mr. Welburn, which was accompanied by the portrait of him at the head of this article: -

DEATH OF MR. WELBURN “It is with great regret we have to record the death of Mr. Enoch Welburn, the well-known and highly esteemed judge, which took place last Friday at his

Friday at his residence, the Pack Horse Inn, Beverley. He was seized with an attack of bronchitis and pneumonia a fortnight ago today and had since been in a very critical state.

On the Tuesday an operation to permit of artificial respiration was successfully performed, and since then hopes had been entertained of his recovery. Indeed, on Thursday he was particularly cheerful, and expressed the belief that he would soon be well again.

A change for the worse, however, occurred during Thursday night, and though he rallied on Friday morning, his condition later again changed for the worse and he died suddenly about half past eleven.

“In the cat world the late Mr. Welburn was a very prominent figure, and indeed for many years past he has never been absent from the list of judges at the Crystal Palace Show, where his portly form and genial face were ever welcome. The last important occasion upon which he adjudicated on cats was at the Autumn Show of the Northern Counties Cat Club at Manchester.”

This was immediately followed by this short biographical sketch, which provides further insight into his earlier life: “Deceased was the second son of the late Mr. George Welburn, of Grovehill, and like his father was by trade a blacksmith. He served his apprenticeship at his father’s foundry, and also worked there for some years as a journeyman. He subsequently became an innkeeper, and about the same time became known as a fox terrier fancier and exhibitor. He rapidly acquired a great reputation as a judge, and his services were in great request

Mr Welburn’s classified advertisement for Cavies at stud.

‘Fur and Feather’, July, 1891. © Image: The Harrison Weir Collection

Stud Advertisement for ‘Orange King’ ‘Fur and Feather’, 1891. © Image: The Harrison Weir Collection.

and exhibitor. He rapidly acquired a great reputation as a judge, and his services were in great request at all the large shows in the country, including those held at the Crystal Palace, as an impartial and able judge of dogs, cats and other pets.

Writer can ascertain, the earliest known shorthaired cat to be featured on the cover of ‘Fur and Feather’. (Shown opposite).

“Deceased was 48 years of age, and highly respected by all who knew him. He is survived by a widow and two up-grown daughters, one of whom was left a widow a few months ago. Mr. Welburn’s father and mother both died within the past 15 months.

When we think back to some of the early English (British) shorthairs, and especially with regard to Red Tabbies, the cats that usually come to mind are the memorable ones such as Lady Alexander’s Champion ‘Ballochmyle Perfection’ (formerly Champion Perfection bred by Mr. R. Betts and owned by Mr R.Kuhnel)⁷; or perhaps Mrs McLaren Morrison’s ‘Puck’.

“The funeral took place on Sunday last, and was a very long one.”

It is clear from this report, that he was for many years involved in the dog, cavie and cat worlds and a well-known breeder, exhibitor and judge in each!

To that end, and to provide further clarity about his earlier interests and character, we now turn to the story of one of his famous shorthair cats, a Red Classic Tabby English Shorthair, named ‘Orange King’ who was retained at stud and is as far as the earliest

Our adapted text is taken from an earlier article by the writer, prepared for The History Project web-site, at www.cat-o-pedia.org.

But in fact, English shorthairs had already been around, competing at shows for quite some considerable time, and not just foreign blues (or Russians), but also blue-eyed whites, torties, (male and female!) or brown and or red (aka orange) tabbies.

The subject, of this short missive, is one of the earliest red tabbies to have made a mark on the early English show scene, namely ‘Orange King’.

Cover Page of ‘Fur and Feather’ featuring ‘Orange King’, drawn by H.E. Gilbert ‘Fur and Feather’ October 8, 1891 © Image” The Harrison Weir Collection.

earliest red tabbies to have made a mark on the early English show scene, namely ‘Orange King’.

What is perhaps singularly remarkable about this classic English tabby cat specifically, is that he was owned and exhibited by a cat fancier better known for his advanced knowledge of Cavies!

Mr Enoch Welburn was a man of considerable principle, and as such would not mince his words.

He was known to say exactly what he meant, and there are examples of him quite literally ‘putting his money where his mouth was!’ He became over time, a ‘small animal’ specialist and a highly respected judge of Rabbits, and Cavies. His active participation in the feline world, both as a breeder and exhibitor, ultimately resulted in him also being listed as one of the cat fancy’s late nineteenth century’s preferred judges.

PARENTAGE & OWNERSHIP ‘Orange King’ is not to be found in the Register of the National Cat Club, and therefore his parentage is unknown. From his image, we can see that he had a dark, well-defined classic pattern, so we can imagine how rich his colour must have been from a practical point of view. We do however, have a stud advertisement for him, which was invariably repeated in various issues of ‘Fur and Feather’ during the first two bound volumes dated 1890 and 1891 respectively. According, we can only speculate on his date of birth, which was probably circa 1889.

Proof of his ownership is found both under the portrait of the cat, featured on the cover of ‘Fur and Feather’, but also in the raft of stud advertisements for ‘Orange King’ that appeared multiple times in the classified columns in various issues. As to character and esteem in which his owner was held as a fancier and a judge, we can take our impression of the man himself, from the below excerpts, which are taken from a tribute published in ‘Our Cats’ magazine on January 11 th 1902, upon his unexpected death: -

previous excerpts, which were taken from a tribute published in ‘Our Cats’ magazine on January 11th 1902, upon his unexpected death.

SIBLINGS & SHOWS There are of course, no records of siblings for ‘Orange King’, as he is not found in any register.

As for shows, both the illustration of him, and his stud advertisement claim that he was the winner of ‘10 Firsts, and Specials’. In his stud advert, Mr Welburn also confidently asserts that he is ‘considered to be the best Red Tabby ever bred’.

It would be a bold person who would vain take on Mr Welburn in a challenge, but one relatively new breeder of Cavies, Mr L.S. Perren, did just that. He took specific umbrage when Mr Welburn asserted in his classified advertisement for his Cavies, that his agouti pig ‘Malbro’ was probably “the best agouti living”, and had beaten “’Yorkshire Lad’ on his last appearance”.

Mr Perrin, who had quite recently acquired the excellent ‘Yorkshire Lad’, challenged the claim in a letter to Fur and Feather, demanding that unless Mr Welburn corrected his advertisement, he would instruct his solicitor to commence an action against him.

Unfortunately, in his letter, Mr Perren also managed to openly impugn the reputation of a respected Cavy Judge in the process!

What followed, was Mr Welburn’s, wellconsidered response: - with a challenge of his own, and ‘putting his money where his mouth is’, into the bargain: “I notice in your issue of the 23rd a letter signed

by Mr. L.S. Perrin (sic). Mr Perren was not the owner of champion ‘Yorkshire Lad’ at the time, which is within the last two months. I fail to see why he should dispute the truth; therefore I refuse to give him the time, but leave for Mr. T. Hewson, who was then the owner, to either contradict my statement or uphold the fact.

Mr Welburn’s adjusted classified in response to Mr. Perren ‘Fur and Feather’, July 30, 1891 Image © The Harrison Weir Collection

why he should dispute the truth; therefore I refuse to give him the time, but leave for Mr. T. Hewson, who was then the owner, to either contradict my statement or uphold the fact. It is only six weeks since Mr.Perrin (sic) rushed into the Cavy Fancy.

Therefore no honours which the pig had gained are due to him, and I think the Fancy knows their owner then. Mr. T. Hewson never was guilty of showing them out of form. Mr. Perren’s short space does not justify him in such an unwarrantable attack on me, as I think my three years of experience and success is quite sufficient to overbalance a man with only six weeks, and no experience.

Talking of mongrels, I think my claim to ‘Malbro’ being probably the best agouti living is right, for his career in the show pen justifies it. It is now about twelve months since I purchased him from Mr. Astley. He was then known by the name of ‘Young Malbrough’. Since then he has been resting in my caviary, with the exception of six shows, winning four and losing two, beaten at one by ‘Yorkshire Lad’, at Bradford. ‘Malbro’ is one of the very best bred cavies, being by ‘Old Malbro’, out of ‘Misfire’, a daughter of ‘Old Dowager’, the dam of ‘Goldfield’, ‘Cabbury’, ‘Marigold’, and that good sow, lost at Hull, of Mr. Astley’s, besides numerous other winners; so there’s no mongrel in ‘Malbro’.

And again I repeat that on his last appearance he beat ‘Yorkshire Lad’, and if Mr Perren is not satisfied I will match him to do so again. I enclose conditions and for ₤5, to match ‘Malbro’ against ‘Yorkshire Lad’.

E. WELBURN, Beverley.”

Needless to say, there is no evidence that Mr. Welburn’s challenge was ever taken up my Mr. Perren, and in fact, in the following issue, he published a retraction and apology for offending the reputation of a judge he had impugned in his original letter to the Editor. Mr Welburn however, in the same issue that included the above response, did amend his advertisement that one time, but probably not as Mr. Perren would have expected, making his tongue-in-cheek point unmistakeable!

original letter to the Editor. Mr Welburn however, in the same issue that included the above response, did amend his advertisement that one time, but probably not as Mr. Perren would have expected, making his tongue-incheek point unmistakeable!

The aforementioned is a blunt reminder from a seasoned campaigner, that being sure of one’s facts is paramount before embarking on instigating an argument. Note also, that as a result, Mr Welburn also generously provided his boars at stud at a reduced fee, perhaps to give an opportunity to other new exhibitors to improve their bloodstock.

BREEDING & PROGENY

Sadly there are no locatable records of progeny from ‘Orange King’ but the author has no doubt that many existed. The stud advertisement for ‘Orange King’ (shown on page 5 of this article) appeared semi-regularly in the Classified columns under ‘CATS’ in ‘Fur and Feather’.

Other cats to appear in these columns included the Brown Tabby Persian ‘King Gama’ (the sire of ‘Young King Gama’); Mr Townsend’s Blue Persian ‘Goblin’, (a son of Mr A.A. Clarke’s foundation Blue male ‘Turco’); and Miss Gresham’s Silver Persian, ‘Silver Lambkin’, the famous progenitor of the Chinchilla. It is interesting to note the moderate stud fee for ‘Orange King’ set at only 5 shillings, compared to those of his contemporary long-haired counterparts, whose stud fees averaged out at 10 shillings a piece at the same time.

IN SUMMARY Through ‘Orange King’ we gain an opportunity to take a rare glimpse into the life, morality, and common decency of a man of principle, who was to become one of the most respected judges of felines in the latter part of the nineteenth century.

One of Two identical ‘WELBURN MEMORIAL VASES’ held by the National Cat Club. The inscription reads: ‘The Welburn Memorial Vase; Established 1902 by Voluntary Subscripton, T.B. Mason, Secretary.

Photo: courtesy of the National Cat Club. Scanned by The Harrison Weir Collection.

was to become one of the most respected judges of felines in the latter part of the nineteenth century.

In the Cat Fancy, Mr. Welburn was both a popular and genial adjudicator. It was generally accepted that he both knew and applied the written standards to the exhibits he was adjudicating, but did so with a fair-minded and common-sense approach. This quote from him, is reported by Miss Simpson in her chapter on Black Long-hairs: “I scarcely think that eyes alone should carry an award, yet it is always best to uphold the desired properties so hard to obtain.”

In her classic work ‘The Book of the Cat’ (1903), Miss Simpson added the following about Mr. Welburn: -

“Mr E. Welburn, also a blue Persian judge, was long known and respected in the fancy, and his death in 1902 was a great loss to the cat world.

Two silver bowls have been subscribed for by his many admirers in memory of this uprght judge, and these are competed for annually at the two largest shows of the National Cat Club and the Cat Club.”

Both of these Memorial bowls, (Vases), which are exact duplicates of each other, are still held by the National Cat Club. They are today notated, as respectively for Burmese and Siamese ‘Champion of Champions’. (Scanned directly from photos, while on loan to The Harrison Weir Collection.

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