You my cat are a flatterer. You flatter the master who caresses you, you caress the maid who feeds you flee from the larger animal, you pounce on the little ones, my dear cat, you are a wise politician. you live in brotherly love with the dog who shares your table, out of consideration for me; you welcome all those to i am well disposed; you show your claws to those you suspect of bad intentions and you stick up your tale for my friends. You are my dear cat, a moralist. when you gracefully walk on the roof, you maneuver your body to avoid danger, your muscles contract or relax judiciously and find safety where other animals would be afraid. You are perfectly acquainted with the mechanics of inertia. If for some reason the feline quadruped should loose it's footing, ypu curve your back, carrying the center of gravity towards the umbilical region, and always land on your feet. You are an excellent physicist. 

Adapted from: The Most Beautiful Cats by Pola Weiss, Translated by Gerald Jones ⓒ 1970

"My pretty little puss",  So often people are praised to the skies who are worth far less than you", wrote a last-century author, " it is time for me to pay you the tribute you deserve. You are made to be painted: your tiger coat has the most delicate shades of color, your eyes are lively, yet gentle, your glance is velvet, your tail is of enviable beauty; your agility, grace and suppleness are admirable, the virtues of your character even more so, so let us enumerate them. First you love me less than a slice of meat or a chicken leg, but that is very simple: I am your master, and a slice of meat is better than one master or worth two times more than two masters. You have a lot of intelligence ,and the best kind, because the kind you have is useful to you, any other kind of intelligence would appear to be stupidity to you. Nature has given you nails, which we very politely call claws, and they are admirably constructed, well sheathed in a membrane; they go out and in like fingers in a glove, so you can have a velvet paw or threatening claws. You well know that you don't have them in order to use them, but that you use them because you have them. You do not believe in final causes; my dear cat, you are a great philosopher.

Source: The Most Beautiful Cat by Pola Weiss, Translated by Gerald Jones, A Pierre Waleffe Book, Minerva   ⓒ  1970.

 Oriental Shorthairs are similar in type and character to the Siamese cat. The difference between them is the coat color.. Many breeders tried to breed Siamese with non-pedigree cats to breed out the characteristic color points of the Siamese. The result was the Oriental Shorthair breed with many different color patterns from the tabby of different kinds, to black, red, cream, cinnamon, fawn, lavender, blue and others without the color points. The Oriental Shorthairs are noisy, sociable, and need much attention. Never leave them alone for extended periods. If you work all day, you should have more than one cat to meet the social requirements. They are attention seekers and very affectionate. They like to be stroked and cuddled and need lots of toys like ping pong balls, screwed up paper and toy mice. Oriental Shorthairs have green eyes or odd eyes unlike the Siamese that have blue eyes. Source: Encyclopaedia of Cats by Esther J. J. Verhoef - Verhallen  ⓒ 1998

 The Siamese is an easily recognizable cat, originating in Thailand (Siam) at least as early as the 14th century. The British where fascinated when they noticed these cats in their travels to Thailand with their long bodies, distinctive markings, and short, soft coats. They took a number of Siamese home where their wives kept them in heated conservatories surrounded by tropical plants brought back on previous voyages. The first imported Siamese were Seal Points, but breeding produced later colors of Blue Point, Chocolate Point, and Lilac Point. These four colors are the only ones recognized in the USA. Other colors; the result of cross breeding such as the Tabby Point, Tortie Point, Red Point, Cream Point, and the Cinnamon Point are classified as a separate breed under the name Colorpoint Short-Hair. Siamese kittens are all white when they are born - the color points that appear in the face, tail, legs and ears don't fully appear until they are about three years old. The Foreign White is a separate breed which in actuality is a Siamese cat. The white kitten retains its white into adult hood. Many white cats are deaf due to the genes that causes the white hair but not the Foreign White. Its white is due to its Siamese breeding. Source: Encyclopaedia of Cats by Esther J. J. Verhoef - Verhallen  © 1998

 The rare Korat is a short-haired cat originating in Thailand. It is strictly forbidden to breed a Korat with any other kind of cat in order to keep the breed pure. The Korat is named after the province of Cao Nguyen Khorat where the breed originated. Centuries ago in the Cat Book of Poems written in Thailand (then Siam), the Korat is described as having "smooth hairs, with tips like clouds and roots like silver, and eyes that shine like dewdrops on a lotus leaf." The first Korats to leave Thailand were taken to the USA at the end of the 19th century. Nowadays the breed is found all over the world but still remains rare, even in Thailand. The correct shade of blue is highly rated at cat shows, The hair is lighter at the roots, darkening along its length; the tip of each hair has a silvery sheen creating a very unusual effect. The adult cats have clear green eyes which may take two to four years to develop from the kitten's amber eyes. A rare cat breed indeed. Source: Encyclopaedia of Cats by Esther J. J. Verhoef - Verhallen  ⓒ 1998

 The Russian Blue cat originated in an area of the White Sea named Archangel and was brought to England early in the 19th century. It appeared in cat shows as the Archangel Blue. At the end of the 1800's the cat became known as the Russian Blue. After a long history of of being rejected at cat shows because the judges preferred British blue breeds, and the distain for the name Russian due to politics; the breed almost died out. By the end of the Second World War, there were so few individuals left that inbreeding was a fear, so they were bread with Siamese Blue Points which caused them to take on the look of a Blue Oriental Shorthair. In the mid-sixties, a group of breeders succeeded in breeding the original characteristics back into them. The coat on these cats is blue-grey, and the nose and paw leather are also blue-grey. but some are being born with an all black coat or an all white coat. These anomalies are not recognized by most cat associations as pure Russian Blues. All Russian Blues have intense green eyes. These are very agreeable, gentle, and docile cats that love peace and quiet.  Source: Encyclopaedia of Cats by Esther J. J. Verhoef - Verhallen  ⓒ  1998

 The Munchkin Cat was first bread in 1983. In Louisiana, USA, two cats with very short legs for found in the street. One of them was pregnant and gave birth to four kittens. Two of them displayed very short legs. Breeders picked up on this and developed the Munchkin through crosses with domestic cats. The gene that carries the trait for short legs is a dominant gene, so they can be bread with selected domestic cats to get the munchkin characteristics. The Munchkin cat became an official breed in 1995. They are currently bread in the United States and France where some of them were taken. The munchkins can play and climb trees like any other cat, but they have trouble jumping, therefore jumping on a table is a little difficult for them. They can display all eye colors and coat colors and are a very friendly cat.  Info taken from Encyclopaedia of Cats by Esther J. J. Vernhoff - Verhallen  © 1998