Correspond,enee CornerReaders are <strong>in</strong>vited to send contributions to this feature and sotojo<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> the useful exchange <strong>of</strong>ideas, experiences and knowledgc.Letters should be concise and dear preferably with iterrs <strong>of</strong>general <strong>in</strong>terest.COLOUR CONSCIOUS CATSI've just rearl Tailplc, e. 1p \uu1Januarl issu- and was <strong>in</strong>rercsred lo nor-.how scientists have established the colourvision <strong>of</strong> cats and how thev (the cats)<strong>in</strong>variably picked out the red from anarray ol various coloured buttons.I have becn mak<strong>in</strong>g ancl sell<strong>in</strong>g to catlovers various coloured I'elt mice. Whengiven the choice, cats <strong>in</strong>variably choosethe red one and proceecl to play with itlike a real mouse.Miss B. Ostrehan,'Iorquay, Devon.SIA-MANXI see <strong>in</strong> your issue <strong>of</strong>Januarv that aSiamese-Manx cross has been exhibited <strong>in</strong>San Diego. I th<strong>in</strong>k the Wcstern prov<strong>in</strong>ceCat Club <strong>of</strong> Cape Town may claim precedence.The late Father Fowler,s Sia-Manx was exhibited at their show iast;'ear. He resembles a Siamese Scal po<strong>in</strong>twith def<strong>in</strong>itely high h<strong>in</strong>d quarters anclcomplete absence ol' tail. He is also avery charm<strong>in</strong>g person.Miss P. Ashby-spilhaus, Regislrar,South African Cat llnion.WHAT IS A SIAMESE ?It is said that " onlookers see most oIthe game." If onlookers har.e .,cattr,',friends the.v certa<strong>in</strong>ly hear most <strong>of</strong> it. The" game " at the momcnt. aris<strong>in</strong>g out ol'proposed regulations regard<strong>in</strong>g the pedigree<strong>of</strong> cats eligible ibr registration,appears to bc summed up <strong>in</strong> a quizquestion : " What is a Siamese cat ? ,,Commonsense and the rules <strong>of</strong> tl.reFancy have hitherto provided a simpleanswer : " One that looks like one. i.e.,has the lamiliar short hair, body shapeand colour pattern.', Now it has beensuggested that its owners must first becatechised. What were its parents like,its grandparents and its great-grand_parents ? Onlv when ail questions areansl erecl satisfactorily can one say" Siamese " or. if one is the owner, sendthe cat to a sho$,.Any onlooker with a spice <strong>of</strong> curiositywants to know the cogent reasons foralter<strong>in</strong>g such a tradition. He will betold that cats with questionable ancestryhad won prizes and that it would be aterrible disaster ifsomeone bought-one <strong>of</strong>these to breed from and was faced with ared. white and blue Coronation kitten.Not be<strong>in</strong>g an admirer <strong>of</strong> grandmotherlylegislation, the onlooker might be <strong>in</strong>cl<strong>in</strong>edto reply, " If anyone was such afool as to buy a cat for breed<strong>in</strong>g withoutstudy<strong>in</strong>g its pedigree, serve them right.,,Enquiry among biological friendssatisfied the onlooker thar the idea thattwo cats with the familiar Siamesemark<strong>in</strong>gs could have black. blue, brown,la<strong>in</strong>borv or any other colour but Siamesewas an old wiy"es' tale. They would breedtrue till Judgnent Day. His scientificl'riends also told him that a S.p, Siameservas rcally a black cat rvith a factor <strong>in</strong>her_ited from both parents restrict<strong>in</strong>g thedark colour to its po<strong>in</strong>ts ; that a B.p.Siamese was a blue cat with similar restriction,quite possiblv hav<strong>in</strong>g orig<strong>in</strong>atedfrom a cross between a S.p. Siamese anda Blue self ; and that all the fuss was" much ado about noth<strong>in</strong>g.','fhen our onlooker lvas told :,, Theydo it with dogs.', He was amazed thatany lover <strong>of</strong> the lordly and superior catrvould want io br<strong>in</strong>g it <strong>in</strong>to l<strong>in</strong>e withdogs. Certa<strong>in</strong>ly, if he had suggestedexchang<strong>in</strong>g the royal name by which the22
A page for the proletarian puss No- 34:j+i1,'iti ,,t$ ;fffir!+;i';1.-,{HMr. James flampson <strong>of</strong> Farnborough, Ilants, contributes this delightfulpicture <strong>of</strong> a not-very-usual partnership. I{is son's Pet cat and whitemouse afe on the friendliest <strong>of</strong> tefms even-as you see-when it cornesto shar<strong>in</strong>g a bowl <strong>of</strong> rnilk.23
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