due to the restrictive conditions that have deprived the cat of its actual use, its hearing has decreased because it is no longer needed for hunting its own food. with no need for watchfulness, it had no need of sharp hearing to listen for hidden things so its hearing became blunted and as a natural consequence its ears lost their upright nature, gradually becoming lower and becoming the hanging ear that is now the characteristic feature of the chinese cat. at first impression this is a surprising and amusing look, but this impression is lost with closer examination. if one ignores the characteristic of the ears, one sees a beauty similar to the angora cat: a long, close coat of hair, albeit less rich, covers the body. the hair is silky-soft and shining and the colour is usually isabelline or a dirty white yellow, although some have the usual colouring of the common house-cat. in size it is considerably larger and stronger than a housecat. the ears hang completely, as with our hunting dogs and are large in relation to the cat.