THE "SILVER FOX" KITTENS (1970)
I recall these kittens from their appearance on the BBC children’s programme "Blue Peter,” and (if memory is correct) a mention in a Blue Peter Annual. Two kittens with white guard hairs were captured on a London bomb-site that was due to be redeveloped. Luckily the UK’s PAL TV format allowed viewers to see the silvery hairs.
Pure new strain of cat found on bombed site?
What may be the start of a new breed of cat has been found in London - on a Pimlico bombed site. Only two are in captivity. They are still kittens and extremely wild, but the man who rescued them from a colony of strays hopes they will breed to produce a pure new strain of domestic cat with fur like the luxurious silver fox. The man who took them in, Mr. Peter Davis, aged 53, of Romeyn Road, Streatham, London, took them to a cat genetics expert, Mr. Roy Robinson, who told him: "They could be new mutants - a completely new breed. " Mr. Robinson, who manufactures car-licence holders, said today: "It could mean a pure new breed of cat within a couple of generations." He said a similar breed was reported in America a few years ago, but it died out.
The female kitten, called Dennie because she was found in Denby Road, Pimlico, is black with a top sheen of silvery white hairs. Her brother is piebald, but he, too, has the same white silver fox-like hair on all black patches. Mr. Davis captured the kittens, amid much scratching and howling, on Christmas Eve, having fed the 50-strong colony for several weeks.
One theory is that the new mutation was caused by excessive inter-breeding among the wild colony, which consists entirely of black and white cats.
Mr. Davis is delighted with his find, but he is unable to breed them at home because his own tabby pet will not tolerate his unusual guests. "I’m hoping some cat breeder will take them from me, and organise interbreeding to produce a pure breed," he said.
Then it all went quiet with no follow-ups on TV or in the papers. So what became of the "Silver Fox" pattern kittens? The kittens went into the care of an experienced breeder and cat show judge, Mrs Alison Ashford (Annelida Devon & Cornish Rexes), and they impacted her reputation as a breeder because. I have only a little of the correspondence, but enough to find out why they did not lead to a new breed. Their silvery hairs were due to what is now called “fever coat” and were lost when they moulted.
The Truth About the So-Called Silver Fox Kittens
The months have proved that these kittens' strange coats are probably due to a nutritional factor (as my veterinary surgeon said from the start) and not to a genetical mutation. The cost of keeping the cats and of building a new house and pen has been astronomical, but it was a worth-while project and one which I had promised to undertake.
It is time that cat-owners accepted that the CIC is a commercial firm whose aim is to sell its pet-foods. Originally, it started off badly, with appeals to housewives to “breed cats for money.” The mistake of this approach was realised and the officials are anxious to receive advice. Surely it is better for anyone to be guided by the knowledge of our own experienced breeders.
(Mrs) Alison Ashford, Maidstone
So it seems that once put on a sound diet provided by the then infamous CIC, the kittens shed their silvery hairs and became normal black, and black-and-white, cats. Unfortunately, the media coverage led to various kittens being sold as "Silver Fox" kittens.
