Chapter 456: The Disappeared Chausie
Chapter 456: The Disappeared Chausie
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Snowy Lionet easily beat the Ashera cat. It ran back and sat down in front of Fina, wagging its head and seeming proud. "I want a kiss and a hug" was written all over its face.
All the customers who were watching gave loud shouts of approval. After seeing Snowy Lionet's adorableness, they all just wanted to pick it up and shower it with hugs and kisses as soon as possible.
It was an uncommon victory. Fina had witnessed everything and despised Snowy Lionet for doing it. It would never do such a shameful thing itself. But knowing that Snowy Lionet was just trying to help, it reached out one of its front paws and patted its forehead to show some encouragement.
"Wow! I'm so happy! Your Majesty, please pat me again! Your Majesty, please pat me again!" Snowy Lionet softened its body like it had melted and happily rolled itself along the floor with its four legs kicked up, begging for Fina to pet it again. Fina looked at it seriously. "Hurry and get up! You're acting so rude, rolling around in public! Mind your manners as a cat!"
"Sorry, I know." Snowy Lionet knew it was acting over the moon before hand and got up quickly. It meekely squatted next to Fina's side. This was the first time that Fina had touched it, and it was so excited that it had put raw beef sirloin out of its focus for the moment. All it wanted was to impress Fina and get more attention…
The customers there finally understood what had happened after watching the proud Snowy Lionet and the soft Ashera cat who was lying inside the cage, acting like a totally different cat from before. They couldn't believe what they had seen.
"D*mn! This white cat just meowed a little and it beat the lethal Ashera cat?"
"That's right, how did it do that?"
"It's not a big deal. Did you forget that the store manager can even teach kittens how to dance? So, how could dealing with an Ashera cat be that difficult?"
Everybody had their own opinions, each one very diverse.
"That white cat is so adorable! I really want to hold it in my arms and pet it!" Even the tomboy had the cute desires of a girly girl. She looked at Snowy Lionet and admired it.
Hearing that, Snowy Lionet took a look at her, and soon turned its head in disgust. "Pfft! I don't like you, I like girly girls."
Someone asked, "What kind of cat is that white cat? Is it a Persian cat?"
Next to the guy, someone answered patronizingly, "That's a Chausie. I have a white cat like this at home. I have pictures of it on my phone, do you want to see them?"
Another guy laughed and said, "What you have at your house is definitely different from this white cat. This is a real Chausie. Or, at least it mostly likely is. Your cat must be a Persian cat or just an plain white cat."
Zhang Zian noticed that this guy said things with confidence, and assuming he was determined and professional, he couldn't help but look in his direction. The guy was tall and strong, had a loud voice, and seemed to be in his forties. He looked weary from travelling, and was wearing a grey-black padded jacket, holding a bundle of keys. He seemed like he came from up north, although he was not as tall as Tim. However, his cute white cat cartoon keychain on his keys made him look less masculine.
The one who spoke before was not pleased and explained, "You haven't even seen my cat, how do you know it's different from this one?"
The tall man said confidently, "I can tell without looking. Let me ask you — is your cat's fur about 15 centimeters long?" He then took his car keys to his left hand and drew out a distance with his right thumb and forefinger. "15 centimeters, like this long. Is it about this length?"
"Hmm…well, I haven't measured it…" The first guy looked at the 15 centimeter length and didn't know what else to say.
The tall guy laughed. "According to their history, the Chausies' tails are called "flames from a Kylin's tail". This means that the fur on its tail must be strong and thick like flames, and just like the tail of the Kylins in ancient Chinese wall paintings. 15 centimeters in length is the minimum standard."
They looked at the Snowy Lionet's tail. The fur on it was so long and thick, it did resemble flames.
The first guy no longer wanted to show off his pictures and forced a smile. He put his phone back in his pocket, knowing that what he had at home was definitely not a Chausie, and it would be a shame for him to falsely show off in front of a bunch of people.
The tall guy continued, "Chausie cats are a mixed species from ancient Persian cats and Chinese domestic cats, also known as the offspring of Turkish Angoras and Chinese cats. They look alike and are commonly mistaken by people, but it is actually easy to identify these three kinds of cats. First,Chausie and Persian cats both have two layers of fur, one is the base layer and the other is the outer coat. Next, unlike Turkish Angora's extremely big ears, Chausie cats have tiny ears. Finally, Chausie cats' faces look like silver foxes' as their noses face down, while Persian cats' short noses are facing up. Once you remember these three features, you can check down the list and identify whether the cat is a Chausie, a Persian cat or a Turkish Angora."
In his pet shop, Zhang Zian was also selling pure white Persian cats. People observed them and made their comparisons. The all awed at the fact that what this guy said was true. Not only were the customers all agreeing, but Zhang Zian was also nodding at his statements. Who was this guy with so much knowledge about cats? Did they share the same profession?
The guy changed his tone and sadly said, "Chausies date back to the Song Dynasty and were mostly popular in the Ming Dynasty. Their population count was on the decline during the Qing Dynasty. There are only a few left existing in the current Chinese calendar. Up until now, Chausie purebreed records showed that they were nearly extinct and it is very rare to see them."
He pointed at Snowy Lionet. "This cat might be one of the last few alive Chausie cats. Folks, please look at the black line on its forehead which looks like black coal in the snow. Some random white cat might possibly have some black spots on its forehead as well, but it could never be as clear and pure as this one. This cat here is one out of ten thousand, even within the Chausie population. The purest Chausie cats have fur that's long enough to touch the floor, but the ones alive nowadays have fur nowhere near as long. If we were back in the ancient times, this cat would surely be sent to the palace as a gift to the emperor."
These words were just to inform the others, but Zhang Zian already knew that he was trying to explain the origins of Snowy Lionets.
Snowy Lionets were written about in Chin Ping Mei, a book claimed to be from the Song Dynasty, but was actually from the Ming Dynasty. It detailed the daily lives in the Ming Dynasty, and many of its sections had become important references for history scholars. There were over ten books addressing this topic. Under the author Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng's writing, everything that happened during the Ming Dynasty was recorded. Therefore it is reasonable to believe that, although Snowy Lionets are magical elfins, its ancestry was from the popular Chausie cat from the Ming Dynasty.
It was a shame that after that time period many wars began in China causing people to lose the urge to protect traditional animal breeds. The pure breed Chausie cats were dying out, just like the Chinese Pedant cats, who only exist in history.