Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-01-16
AnGoRA CATS.
Several OF the Rare Animals to BE Found
in San Francisco.

In the hair store under the Baldwin
| hotel there can be seen at almost any
time two large snow-white cats, es-
pccially noticeable on account of their
long silken hair. During the day they
are usually found browsing in two
fancy work-baskets placed on the oun
! ter, and apparently undisturbed by the
constant chatter about them. After
dark they become very active and
frisky. The general expression of their
faces is much kindlier thar that of the
ordinary feline, and they are the object
of much attention and petting from
customers. Inquiry as to their breed
elected the information that they were
imported from Ansora, a city of Tur
kew in Asia, we'll known on account of
the long silken hair of the famous An
CORA goat, which is II of its chief
products. The cats are priced chiefly
for ornamental purposes, although
they evidently have 4 commercial value,
as catskins are found enumerated
among the exports. They are very
scarce and expensive, and
comparatively few have found
their way to this country. The
first two seen by the reporter weigh
about fifteen pounds each, but their
bushy growth of hair gives them the
appearance of being much larger in
size than ordinary cats. In the day
! time their eyes are of 4 pure ambcr
color covering the entire ball of the
eye, the pupil being contracted to the
minutcst black speck i'll the center. At
night the pupil dilates until there is
only an occasional rim OF yellow to be
seen. The ears, nose and toes have, a
pinkish hue. The most conspicuous and
attractive feature is the silken hair,
which is about an inch or two long. 1t
is especially thick and prominent about
the tail and neck, the former exception
ally long and bushy, while the latter
might be readily imagined to be encir-
cled with a series Of E%lizabethan ruff
! fles of finest lace overlapping each 9TH
er. They we're brought from abroad
by % wealthy lady living on O'Farrell
street, who appears to have a rcmarka-
BILE fancy and affection for these ami
mails.
A visit to the residence was rewarded
by the view of quite a family of them.
There are four full grown and three
kittens in the house. while at her oun
try seat at Menlo Park she has five or
six more. The animals show the same
general characteristics, but vary in the
color of the hair and eyes. Most of
them are white, but others are spotted,
and one is entirely black. One of them
| has the clearcst of Saxon blue ewes,
| ,rl,1, ,>otInv Ioc o,,n ~, hn,. a ND NM,
blue eve. This one is deaf, and it has
been discovered that where this pecul-
lar ycllowish blue eye occurs, the An
gora cats. suffer from this affection.
The lady has had many kittens i'm
ported, but they are exceedingly diff
cult to raise, and require rs much care
and attention as is usually devoted to
human babies. They demand not only
certain kinds Of food, but are very
regular in their habits, and only
eat at proper meal times. Their food
consists mostly OF mush and milk, very
little meat and that entirely devoid of
fat. They eat grass and are par
ticularly fond of catnip and most kinds
of vegetables, showing a strong prefer
ence for them instead OF meat. They
are exceedingly gentle in their DISPOSE
tons. and exhibit 4 devotion and faith
fulness only eqnaled by that OF a dog.
Noslingbut a~ggravating and continued
annoyance discloses any vicious tenn
permanent. The only violent temper
that has come under observation was
the case of 4 tom-cat, that had ac-
companicd the lady on a long voyage
to China and on her return home
showed symptoms of jealousy because
of the lady's attention to other old
household pets.
In the drug store under the Grand
The proprietor has repeatedly refused
$50 for it. 1t is a great ~favorite and
a good mouscr. Although it has entire
freedom, it never goes beyond the store
and never prowls outdoors at night.
after the manner of ordinary d~iSsipatcd
frlincs. A dealer in dogs and cats on
Kearncy street imported four kittens Il
few years ago. but they all died before
disposed of, probably from the lack Of
proper attention. They were valued at
fifty dollars each.
In order to get the opinion of some
one who might be considered expert in
Judging the value of such animals a
visit was made to Woodward's Gar
dens. i. A. Roop and T. Gruber, in
charge OF the menagerie and natural
history departments, upon being asked
il they knew of any Angora ats in
this country, stated that none had
ever been brought to this coast. They
were much surprised when informed
by the reporter where they could
be found. Beyond some general in
formation, which they kindly furnished,
they knew nothing from personal OBJ
serv alton. The cats are also found
in South Siberia, and bear the same
characteristics as those. from the Lee
want. They are of a very delicate
constitution. and are not prolific, San
francisco Chronicle.
Pie in Massachusetts.