IRISH CATS FOR PLEASURE AND PROFIT.
There are people in Ireland to whom the name "cat" represents a gaunt and wandering beast whose cries make the night unlovely, and whose depredations reduce town gardeners to despair. To these the idea of keeping a cat tor pleasure or tor profit seems equally absurd; yet many people in this country do keep cats for pleasure, and in some cases tor profit; whilst in England and America there are thousands who keep cats tor profit – and pleasure. Numberless are the ladies who add to their pocket-money by keeping as a pet a pure - bred Persian or Siamese cat; and besides these there are many who, by devoting a certain outlay and a great deal of patience, thought, and care upon their pets, add not inconsiderably to their incomes. A short time ago, in "Our Cats," one of the best papers devoted to "the fancy," Mrs. Greenwood, being interviewed at her home in Southampton, told how her famous Persian cat, "Lord Southampton," brought her in annually as much as £2,500 invested in the funds would have done, and how eventually she sold him to Lady Decies for £60. This last-named lady is the proud possessor of another very noted cat, "Champion Zaida," who is said to be valued by her owner at £1,000, and certainly her winnings in prize money alone, without counting cups and medals, must have amounted by this time well into three figures. These, of course, are exceptional cases, though there are several other successful cats that must run "Lord Southampton's" earnings very closely.
The breeding of such animals as these is a science, and is not to be attained without time, care, and a real love for live creatures; but even with these qualifications, how few succeed! Without being at the head of "the fancy," however, perseverance and care will produce very satisfactory results, and, aiming still lower, the keeping of even one cat may, to repeat what has already been said, be made a source of pleasure and profit.
There are several ways of starting cat-keeping, and of these the method most likely to be successful is to purchase a kitten of about two months old. The little animal can then be trained to live where and, within reasonable limits, how its new mistress desires. If there is a healthy common kitten in the establishment, the little newcomer will be happier and thrive better if it is given a companion to share its bed, its meals, and especially its play.
The showing of cats in Ireland may practically be said to be non-existent. True, there are two or three classes for cats provided at the Belfast show held each winter, and there are one or two Irish fanciers who take or send their cats, under personal supervision, to the English shows, and one at least of these ladies is hard to beat; but, to the general public, showing can hardly be counted as a possible occupation. This dearth of shows makes the keeping of the perfect pet - a neuter - merely a matter of pleasure; but if this is what is aimed at, then give up all idea of a gentle, cleanly lady-cat, or a fierce magnificent tom, and go in for an affectionate, domesticated, sleepy, handsome neuter, and your heart will be at rest. No tiresome families coming at inconvenient times, and deposited in inconvenient places (amongst one's best clothes for preference); no yawling and fighting; no staying away for weeks at a time. The neuter is always at home, always clean; inclined to be selfish, perhaps, and decidedly lazy, but, for all that, a perfect pet.
If profit is expected, the purchaser should invest in a blue lady-kitten, or, as they are called in "the fancy," a blue queen, and preferably a kitten bred from blues. Anything from a guinea to five guineas is asked for such as this, and the beginner would do well to study one of the many small manuals on cat-keeping before starting on their quest, then they will know what they ought to expect in a kitten, what the various colours are called, what the special points are, and what is most to be avoided. Many people advertise in all good faith, and say their kittens, because they have long hair, are pure-bred Persians. They do not wish to deceive, only they do not know what a pure-bred Persian is or ought to be. It is well, if possible, to ask to see the kitten before buying, and very few sellers will refuse, in fine weather at all events, to send a kitten on approval, unless the proposed journey is a very long and troublesome one. Kittens, other colours but blue, can be bought from half a sovereign upwards, but, though many of them are prettier than the blues, there is more demand for these last, and, if private advertising fails to dispose of blue kittens, dealers will always give from ten shillings to fifteen shillings each for them; whilst for other colours, except chinchilla, which is so hard to breed true, they only offer seven-and-sixpence. In England the usual stud fee for a cat is a guinea, but there are several good Irish cats at ten shillings, and this sum is, in most cases, enough to pay in this country. Of course, if cat shows increased over here, the stud fees as well as the price of cats and kittens, and also the demand for them, would rapidly increase; but Irish cat-owners are so blind to their own advantages that they will do nothing to help the energetic lady already mentioned as a successful exhibitor, who has tried more than once to organise a show in Dublin. Even as it is, there is always sale for a good kitten, though not perhaps at the price at which its fond owner values it, still at a price that pays.
I have only mentioned one way of embarking on cat-keeping, but there are several others, two of which, if slightly less satisfactory, are much more speedy than the first. One is the purchase of a full-grown cat, but unless one is prepared to pay a high price - £5 to £10, or even more - a really first-class animal cannot be obtained. The other way to have quick returns is to borrow a cat from a fancier who is overstocked or leaving home, undertaking to give the owner one or more kittens from each litter that the queen may have. Still another and a very cheap way of starting is to buy a kitten to foster. When this is done, the common cat who is to act as nurse must be sent, with one of her own kittens, to the home of her aristocratic foster-child, and if the stranger is put into her basket at night she will make no difficulty about taking to it. To get a good kitten to foster, or in fact to get a good kitten at all, it is only necessary to study the advertisement columns of such papers as "Our Cats," "Fur and Feather," "The Bazaar," etc. Indeed, nowadays, in spite of the want of shows, there are often as good kittens to be had through the columns of the "Irish Times" as anywhere. Through this medium an Irish lady living in London bought a kitten some years ago for ten-and-sixpence. After winning for her at Richmond and the Crystal Palace show, the lady sold him for £5 5s. to a gentleman who in one season won over forty awards with him, after which he refused a big offer for the cat, who, I believe, has now gone to America – a journey, we may be sure, that was not undertaken without a satisfactory sum coming in exchange from the New World to the Old. Another Irish-bred cat carried off many honours in Scottish catdom only a short time ago, and now her descendants are to be found at most of the shows in that country.
On the other hand, some splendid cats have come from England to Ireland within the last few years. There must be good young stock to be found in a country where there are such cats as "Brushwood Boy" and "Pathan"; as "Phoenix" and "Aladdin," with his many sons; as "Blue Diavolo" and "Sampson"; as "Stalky Boy," and the sons of those fine cats now no more, "Peter" and "Peckaboo." Blues amongst the above are the best represented. There is room for chinchillas, silver tabbies, and blacks - in fact, there is room in Ireland for many more cat fanciers and many more cats; for if these go on increasing as they have done of late years, shows will become a necessity, and then those who have worked at cat-keeping without any encouragement from the public will have their reward. - T. V. S.