Talk:Maltese cat

Moving "historical" entry to Talk:

The following material, contributed by 63:23:33:171 was interesting but unencyclopedic. If 63:23:33:171 (do you think you might identify yourself a bit better?) can supply some source references for the material, it may be appropriate for inclusion. I've already copy-edited it into something a bit more encyclopedic. But how do we know the stated material is true? Where did the information come from? The cat deserves a longer article. Thank you, 63:23:33:171, for your effort. Together we should be able to improve the article. Snezzy 03:15, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Historical material from 63:23:33:171

During the Black Plague in Britain the Maltese cat literally saved Europe from extinction. Regardless, this breed rarely appears on the charts that hang in veterinarians' offices.

When the Plague first broke out, its cause was unknown; it was eventually determined to be carried by fleas. Fleas, and presumably the disease, had been around for a long time, so why should there suddenly be an epidemic? The cause was the cats--not what the cats did, but rather what they did not do. Over time, England had bred their cats to magnificent sizes. Beautiful for show, they had become useless at catching, killing and eating vermin.

The British feline was no longer able to get into the small spaces where rats and mice hid. The rats proliferated, and their fleas brought the Plague.

The small Maltese Cat has tiny ears, tiny paws, a short tail, short legs, short fur, and the solid color and appearance of a gray rat. It has a somewhat flat face with round, green eyes, and a loving expression. In (an unknown year--what was it, please?) the English imported large numbers of these Maltese cats. They were not recognized as a special breed, and for centuries remained just the Maltese cat. In recent history (years???) the Maltese breed has been recognized in America, but currently seems to have been forgotten and for most purposes is extinct.

(End) Snezzy 03:15, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

The previous "contribution," aside from being unsourced, is illogical from start to finish. The plague came at a time long before anyone was breeding cats for shows or, for that matter, practicing selective breeding of cats at all. Certainly, the grainry cat, the barn cat and the street cat, the cats that hunted the rodents, were not being selectively bred. The plague hit many locations outside of the British Isles and there is no record, or even any claim here, that the Maltese Cat was imported to the many other places that saw the plague diminish and eventually die out. Of course, the importation into the British Isles isn't documented either but I'm just going after logical inconsistancies, not the likelihood that the whole thing is a lie or delusion. Perhaps the dumbest thing about the entire claim is the assumption that small cats are better at hunting rodents. The rodents that, for the most part, spread the plague were rats, not mice. Getting into a small space with Norwegicus, or even Indicus, would be inadvisable for the tiny cat described. The poor adorable thing would be killed. Big cats are better ratters and terriers are better yet. 65.79.173.135 (talk) 17:42, 18 May 2010 (UTC) Will in New Haven 65.79.173.135 (talk) 17:42, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

British Blue

The article states: "The blue variant of this breed was so common that many thought it was its own breed called the British Blue."

This begs the questions "What happened that the blue variant is no longer so common?" and "Why do people not believe anymore that the British Blue is its own breed?" 71.87.23.22 (talk) 01:27, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

"and so an exclusive mating between two solid gray cats should always produce solid gray kittens."

This is simply not biologically true, as any cat breeder would be able to confirm. Blue cats are genetically black, and are homozygous for the dilute gene, which changes the fur colour from black to blue. However, brown is recessive to black, so 2 blue cats that each carried the brown gene could mate and produce lilac (the dilute of brown) kittens. And cinnamon (the dilute of which is fawn) is recessive to both black and brown, 2 blue cats mate that both carry cinnamon, there is a chance of fawn kittens. Not all the offspring of a blue x blue mating will always be blue, unless one of the parents is homozygous for black (which is most often the case in non-pedigrees, strays, and ferals, but does not make it universal fact). The article is factually and biologically inaccurate.