Mr. Jessop added that the defendant had deliberately put the live cat in the furnace, closed the door, and roasted it alive. A more inhuman piece of cruelty to a dumb animal it was impossible to conceive, and he hoped the bench would inflict the maximum fine of £25. Mr. Reginald Edwards appeared for the defendant, and said the defendant was a bird fancier, and cats had killed four of his pet birds. On the day in question the defendant saw the cat in the hotel bar with a bird in its mouth. He flew into a temper and wrung the cat’s neck. Thinking it dead, he went to throw the carcase into the furnace, but when near the boiler-room the cat showed signs of life, so he stunned it with a piece of iron before putting it in the fire. He now realised his mistake and was extremely sorry. Temper caused his excitable nature was the cause. The defendant had suffered much mental pain since the day of the offence.

[WHITE CAT] Somerset Guardian and Radstock Observer , 21st February 1941
"A white animal to be an albino must have pink eyes," said Mr. Brackstone, "and we have them in cats, and the Polish Beveren, and Angora rabbits, as well as mice. I wonder whether Alderman Stone can recall my old champion cat, 'Bath Surprise,' which won 75 first and premier awards at all the principal cat shows. It had the most beautiful china-blue eyes, and was regarded as the best white English cat ever exhibited.

DOG ATTACKS AND KILLS CAT. OWNER FINED. Bromley & West Kent Mercury, 2nd May 1941
When George Wilfred Russell Thomson, Kings Hall-road, Beckenham, was summoned at Bromley Police Court, on Monday, for failing to comply with an order made by the Court on November 4th, 1940, to keep a chow dog under proper control, evidence was given that on February 24th the dog, while not on a lead, attacked and killed a cat. Albert George Wilss, Copers Cope-road, Beckenham, export merchant, said that on February 24th he was called to the front of the house and saw a lady stooping over a chow, holding him by the collar. The dog had witness's cat firmly in its jaws and the cat showed no signs of life. After witness had tried to disengage the cat the dog let it fall to the ground. The dog made a vicious snap at him but was held back by the lady. For the defence it was submitted that the incident took place on private premises and the dog could not have been a danger to the public. There was nothing in the law respecting attacks on cats. It was further submitted that defendant was not responsible for the actions of his sister, who had the dog out at the time. A fine of 20s. was imposed.

CAT AND MOUSE ACT Yorkshire Evening Post, 5th November 1941
Having acquired a kitten because had he mice in the house, a colleague attempted to train It up in the way It should go, but wonders now whether he had not better have left it to Its own devices. Since the kitten, then a mere baby, had never seen a mouse before, he Introduced It to one which had been caught in a trap, out in the yard. The kitten ate the mouse with relish. This happened on several mornings for about three weeks, and it was expected that the kitten would become a good mouser. Now the blow has fallen. The half-grown cat seems to have got the Idea that it mustn't do anything about mice except in the yard where it was first introduced to them. A mouse showed up in a room where the cat was sitting, but instead of going for the mouse the cat ran into the yard and waited for the mouse. Problem, whether to get another kitten and let It train itself to catch mice, or wait and see If the cat will break itself of the habit of expecting mice to go into the yard and give themselves up.

CATS FOR VIVISECTION. PROFESSOR ACCUSED OF CRUELTY Lancashire Evening Post, 21st June 1946. Nottingham Evening Post, 21st June 1946
Oxford University undergraduates filled most of the public gallery in Oxford City Magistrates’ Court to-day, when a professor in the department of physiology at the University, and an assistant, were summoned by the R.S.P.C.A. lor cruelty to cats kept for vivisectlonal experiments. A cardboard box containing four dead cats was in the court room when Professor Edward George Liddell, living at The Hermitage, Old Headington, Oxford, and Mrs. Gladys Kathleen Scragg. of Southmoor-road, Oxford, pleaded not guilty causing unnecessary suffering to a number of cats by unreasonably failing to give them proper and necessary care and attention during the third week in May. Professor Liddell was described by Mr. Gordon Jones, prosecuting, as a distinguished scientist.

Mrs. Scragg was stated to have been in charge of the animal house where, Mr. Jones said, “There was a compound 15 feet by 10 feet in which there were 34 cats in every stage of misery and disease.” Mr. John P. Bourke. for the professor and Mrs. Scragg, denied the offence. Mr. Jones told a dead cat lying in the compound and of other cats in various stages of dying, some of the cats weighed two pounds instead of a normal weight of 12 pounds. "It seems as if the cats were simply left to take their chance either to die or live until the time came remove them for vivisectional experiments.’’ he said.

Acting Chief Inspector Rogers, describing his visit to the animal house at the department of physiology, said, “There was a horrible stench. I saw some monkeys and cats in individual cages on which were written apparently the history of their cases. In the compound were 33 live cats and a dead tortoiseshell cat. There was no bedding, but a thin sprinkling of sawdust. All but five of the 33 cats were suffering from what I call cat distemper. Some of the cats were unable to see and some had difficulty breathing.” Chief Inspector Rogers said that when food was put into the compound only about five cats showed any interest in it.

Professor Liddell was alleged to have told him: "These premises are inspected by Home Office officials. You should have written to me about your intended visit. I know that a number cats have an infection.”

A statement alleged to have been made by Mrs. Scragg referred to her cleaning and feeding the animals. “If the cats’ eyes were bad I dressed them, but I have not dressed the cats in the compound,” went on the alleged statement. “They were waiting for experiments to be made on them. I have no instructions for treating the cats in the compound.”

Mr. Bourke (to Inspector Rogers): “Are you saying the cats should have been destroyed or was it right to let them live or should they have had proper treatment?–l say some of the cats were past all human aid, and some should have been destroyed. I say 15 were in that state and the remainder should have been given very careful nursing and attention.

Mr. Bourke: Did the Professor tell you anything about any experiments he was authorised to make by special licence?–No, but as we passed the monkeys he said “You are complaining about the cats in the compound, but what are you going to do about these monkeys? The monkeys had their heads stitched and we said to him, “You are covered by Home Office licence for them.'’ (Proceeding)

JEALOUS CATS
The Children's Newspaper, Feb 14, 1943
ANY high-born cats at the Southern Counties Cat Club Show in London must have been furious when a tortoiseshell and white cat of unknown origin, named Noxa Teena, won three first prizes. No one knew anything about her father and mother, but her appearance had been good enough for the judges. " What a common cat!" hissed unsuccessful rivals with long pedigrees. But Noxa Teena's self-satisfied purring probably told them, in cat language, some- thing about sour grapes.

NO GRINNING MATTER
The Age (Melbourne), 11th February, 1946

London, Feb. 10 (A.A.P.). The mayor of Chester, in Cheshire, is wondering how to avoid disillusioning an American soldier who has written to him saying that at a recent cat show in Chicago he noticed that there was no class for Cheshire cats. The soldier asked if the mayor could supply or tell the soldier how to obtain a Cheshire cat. The mayor is now puzzling how to explain tactfully that the cat that Alice in Wonderland knew was no more real than the March Hare.

CAT THAT WAS STARVED. MUCHELDEAN MAN AND WIFE FINED
Gloucester Citizen, 4th May 1946
Photographs of a starved, emaciated cat were exhibited at Littledean Magistrates' Court, on Friday, when a charge of causing unnecessary suffering to the animal, by failing to give it nourishing food and proper care and attention, was heard against a Forest of Dean husband and wife. The couple, Francis E. Trigg (39), and Phyllis M. Trigg (27), of High-street, Mitcheldean, did not appear to answer the charge. In their absence they were fined a total of £3 and an order was made against them to pay £2/19/6 coats. "It was a very serious offence," remarked the Chairman (Mr. C. de Courcy Parry) at the end of the case. Mrs. Lily Gertrude Price, Lion House, Mitcheldean, who lives three doors away from the home of Trigg and his wife, told how the cat frequently went to her for food during the past two years. On March 25 she saw it come out of a shed. It was weak and emaciated, had no fur its hind legs and could hardly move along; in fact, it walked in spasms. "It was in a shocking condition and I never want to see an animal in such a condition again," she added. George M. Pettigrew (Newnham), veterinary surgeon, stated that the cat had to be destroyed. There was no trace of disease and, in his opinion, the condition of the animal was due to starvation. It was definitely a case of cruelty. F.C. Buckland (Mitcheldean) produced a statement made by Francis Trigg, who said that five years ago he was asked to look after the cat by a boy who joined the Army. His wife also made a statement in which she claimed she always looked after the cat. Lately It seemed ravenous and always wanted food. She fed it on March 28 and Intended to take it to Inspector Parry the following day. The constable added that Trigg and his wife had five children. They were in poor circumstances and lived in a place little better than a hovel.

POISON GAS EXPERIMENT
The Winnipeg tribune, 17th May, 1946
German Cats Flown To Britain For Test

Cats were smuggled out of Germany and shipped to England shortly after the outbreak of war just to prove an experiment in poison gas. This story of daring British efficiency was recalled in an interview by Lt.-Col. Athol R. Gordon, now returned to his medical practice in Winnipeg after more than six years overseas with the R.C.A.M.C.

"German cats were wanted for experimental purposes because there was a report that German phosgene RAS was more lethal than ours," recalled Col. Gordon, at one time in command of chemical warfare laboratories of the Canadian Army in England. "The physiologists wanted to be sure that the German cat, upon which the German experts based their claim, was of the same resistance and calibre as our cats," explained Col. Gordon. "The conditions of two experiments must be similar before an assessment of the potency of an agent can be made."

German cats were duly collected by intelligence agents, taken back to England the same night by plane, and exposed to English phosgene. The British expert came out with this cryptic conclusion: "The German cat is a poor thing."

CAT-BEASTS ARE BEING SOUGHT IN AUSTRALIAN WILDS The Victoria Advocate - Oct 17th, 1946
A recent report that a man had «hot "two unknown puma-like animals" at Tugun, near Maryborough, Queensland, has set Australian zoologists speculating again about the possibility of the existence of a giant Australian cat. If one were proved to exist it would be a discovery of first-class scientific importance. Reports persist about "large beasts of the cat-like tribe . . . the size of a mastiff, with tiger stripes." Australian zoologists don't write off the possibility of a large Australian marsupial (pouched) cat existing in some of the wilder and little-touched corners of Australia. There's little doubt, for example, that marsupial wolves exist in the wilder and more remote areas of north-western Tasmania. The marsupial wolf once was all over the mainland but has now become extinct there; a few specimens have been preserved. Its last stronghold is Tasmania where it was fairly frequent when the first white settlers came.

CAN CATS BE KIND? Cheshire Observer, 28th December 1946
A Cheshire woman correspondent raises the query: Do cats show kindness to one another? In the "Daily Dispatch" she relates that a neighbour keeps two cats, one an old, heavy Tabby and the other a sleek and sprightly youngster The old cat climbed on to a roof and couldn't–or daren't–risk the jump down again on to the top of a garden fence. Her younger companion seeing her plight, repeatedly climbed on the roof and performed a series of demonstration Jumps to safety, turning to look up at the old cat each time as though to assure her that the feat was not impossible. Was the young cat trying to be kind and helpful? A nice point for those who claim to understand feline psychology.

CATS POISONED: COURT SEQUEL West Sussex Gazette, 9th January 1947
“It was dreadful to see them die,” said a farm worker to the Magistrates, when he described how his three cats succumbed to poisoning. Proceedings were brought by the R.S.P.C.A. against William Bennyworth, Woodlea Cottages, Clemsfold, who was alleged to have knowingly placed edible matter which had been rendered poisonous upon certain land. He was not in Court to hear the case for the society, represented by Mr. J. I. Eager, who said three cats died in great agony from phosphorous poisoning. The owner of the cats, Mr. E. C. Wootton, Woodlea Cottages, stated that between October 20 and November 3 the cats died in a similar way, and a spaniel was also poisoned but recovered. On November 19 witness took possession of a tin which he found on defendant's garden, which contained food scraps, and handed it to Insp. Hawkins, of the society. Mrs. M. Paine, who had been housekeeper to defendant, said she had spoken to him about the stuff he had put on the garden and he said it was poison and that he put it down for Mr. Wootton's animals. She suggested that ft should be thrown in the dustbin, but he replied that he could not do that as someone might see it. insp. Hawkins said that Bennyworth told him he put the tin of scraps in the garden between the beans for rats. Mr. R. Wright. public analyst, stated that from the three-quarters of a pound of food scraps in the tin he extracted four-and-one-third grains of yellow phosphorous, which In his opinion was intensely dangerous. A small animal partaking of only a little portion of it would probably be killed by it. The Bench Imposed a fine of £5 and ordered defendant to pay £10 9s. costs

POLE-CLIMBING CAT CLUBBED TO DEATH Bury Free Press, 7th March 1947
Two men who pleaded guilty at Thingoe Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday to ill-treating a cat were said to have been under the impressiion that it was a “wild poaching cat,” and after hitting it as it clung to a pylon, thought it kinder to “finish it off” when it jumped to the ground. The defendants were Walter William Wallace, of Council House, Great Barton, and Ernest Sturgeon, Church Cottage, Great Barton. Inspector k. C. Newbury, R.S.P.C.A., told how Mr. Albert Hurrell, who was concealed in “hide" while on pigeon shooting, witnessed the incident. He saw defendants flinging sticks a black-and-white cat clinging to a pylon about 15 ft. from the ground. The cat was dislodged and Wallace ran up land beat it to death with his stick.

In an interview, Wallace stated that "It really started in fun. The cat flew at my dog, so I struck him with my stick. I thought it was a wild cat.” Mr. P. R. Turner, veterinary surgeon, Risbygate Street, Bury St. Edmunds, who examined the animal, described its injuries. Mr. J. N. B. Ashton, defending, said the men were thoroughly ashamed of themselves. The Bench fined Wallis £1 and Sturgeon 10s., and ordered the costs, £1 19s., to be shared.

THIEVES “TAKE IT OUT” OF THE CAT AT EVINGTON Leicester Daily Mercury , 19th March 1947
“Micky,” ginger and white cat, nearly parted with one of his nine lives last night when raiders who ransacked the home of its master, Mr. Walter Riddleston, a Leicester hosiery factor, No. 3, School-lane, Evington, seized it, and locked it in one of the downstairs rooms . . . Mrs Cummins, the housekeeper told the “Leicester Mercury” to-day . . . “The raiders certainly handled dear Micky roughly,” she said. “We found the cat in a rather frightened state in a locked room.”

CATS: DO YOU KNOW? BY G. CAMPBELL FRASER Fur and Feather, Rabbits and Rabbit Keeping, April 4, 1947.
Does the colour deepen with age in red Tabby L.H.?
Tip top reds are, as a rule, born dark. A stage of pale¬ness intervenes – and they then resume their original shade.
At what age should a male have his first queen?
If well developed he can be allowed one when round about a year, but he must not be living with the females when either is over six months old.
I have a Tortie kitten, her colour is not bright, and her legs are rather solid. Is she worth breeding from?
There is always a possibility the colour may come through; the legs, of course, should be well broken with the cream, red, and black showing brilliantly, but in choos¬ing a mate, bear her faults in mind, and try to out-balance them in the sire.
Are there to be any summer cat shows?
I heard Bournemouth might be on the tapis, and there may be a kitten show in London. Certainly, Sandy ch. show in August will be held.
My well-grown cream L.H. is in season, just over six months old. When shall I mate her?
She is too young at the moment, but at nine months all should be well.
I am just starting in the Fancy, what clubs shall I join?
Your colour variety society, and any of the other clubs running shows.

[RURAL CATS] Lincolnshire Echo, 7th April 1947
Though farm labourers who have decided to make a change might be looking forward with some pleasure to their new work, and their wives and children with eagerness to different surroundings and fresh neighbours, leaving day is not exactly a time of rejoicing in the rural cat world. I am told that, owing to cats’ inherent dislike of leaving the familiar hearth, tradition decrees that they should be left behind when the tenants depart with their belongings, with the possible exception of the family favourite, who holds a special place in the household. The “hangers on,” however, go “with the property” and if the newcomers don’t like the, they are likely to have a thin time until they can satisfy their new lords and masters that they are worthy of their keep.

40 STRAY CATS LIVE IN BLITZED KENSINGTON HOUSE. ONE WOMAN FEEDS 'WAR VETERANS' Kensington Post, 14th June 1947
Cat catching in Kensington is the novel job of a Chelsea woman, who searches bombed properties in Notting Hill for “strays” takes them food every evening and finally when they are tame enough traps them and takes them to the R.S.P.C.A. Miss Florence Brathwaite, of Markham Street, is London representative of the Cat Protection Society and practically unaided she pursues her rescue work wherever homeless cats are to be found.

“Here are hundreds of cats in Notting Hill, scavenging and homeless,” Miss Brathwaite told the Kensington Post. “I know of at least 40 in one bombed out building alone. We are the smallest cat society in existence but we are the only one which carries out this rescue work. I take 40 lbs. of meat a week from Bayswater to feed the poor things but I cannot do all I want to do uutil someone comes forward and offers to help me. Eventually I want to get a shop in North Kensington to make my centre of operations, where I can collect and look after cats on a much larger scale.”

During the winter Miss Brathwaite says she caught 50 cats in Hyde Park by hand. “I went through snow and ice,” she explained, “and had to catch them all be hand as they would not walk into the traps I set for them. Twice late at night I was nearly shot by gangsters who fired on women close at hand.

More disgraceful than deserting a cat thinks Miss Brathwaite are the gin-traps which she says are now being set in the parks. “Many cats have terribly injured paws and when we manage to catch them we put them out of their misery as soon as possible.”

Several days ago at a meeting at the Town Hall, Miss Brathwaite appealed to Kensington listeners to help in her cat rescue work. So far, she says, no-one has volunteered and she feels that se will not be strong enough to carry on with her Cat Protection Society activities as well as doing her normal job of historical research at the British Museum unless she gets help fairly soon.

NOS AMIS LES CHATS" Fur and Feather, 11th July 1947
The delightful and instructive book, "Nos Amis Les Chats," has reached me from the author, M. Marcel Reney. It is most clearly written and will be very helpful both to novices and to older breeders, and will indeed be a "friend" to all cat breeders. Monsieur Reney goes fully into all details if health and the care of the young kittens from birth and throughout their lives. Long and short hair breeds are all catered for, and there are many charming photographs of Seine. French and English cats. Two delightful studies of Mrs. J. M. Fisher's Tiger Tim of Hadley, and Ursa of Hadley, show the lovely marking of the Brown Tabby. There is also a lovely picture of Champion Mint of Hadley, a cream of exceptional type and colour. Unfortunately Mrs. Lantenoise lost him last year. The difficulty of feeding him during the war was the main cause of his death. A picture of Mn. Chamonin's Champion Talisman de la Chrosnaie, a good blue Persian which has never been beaten, is on the cover of this book. It does not show him at his best He is indeed a very lovely creature of the palest blue, and carries a wealth of coat of finest texture, tiny ears; and excellent fame. "Nos Amis Les Chats" will be of the greatest interest and hells to many breeders. I am delighted to have a copy. – Kathleen York

FARMERS’ TOPICS West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, 17th July 1947
There has been a great deal controversy respecting the destruction of rabbits. Arguments usually centre around the steel trap or gin. Is the use of the steel trap the most efficient method, and does its use entail unnecessary suffering . . . . We all know the point of view of those whose pet cat or dog has returned from a night out with an injured foot . . .

[1947 CAT FLU EPIDEMIC] WOMEN VETS Belfast News-Letter, 25th August 1947
The long spell of hot, dry weather has been having a disastrous effect upon Siamese cats in London. An epidemic of cat influenza has been raging among them, and when the germ attacks kittens they have sometimes died within 48 hours. Many very beautiful animals, winners of Siamese Cat Club highest awards, have been among the victims of this so-called influenza. The six years of war prevented any research upon the disease, and so far it does not seem to respond to either penicillin or M. and B. Many of the younger women veterinary surgeons London are giving special attention to cat diseases now, and one of them has had some success with the epidemic, though there is still a mortality rate 80 per cent.

LIFE NO. 1 GOES – IT WAS NEARLY NO. 9Sunday Sun (Newcastle), 31st August 1947
After a 60-ft fall, Mick, the Sunderland Town Hall cat, is recuperating and contemplating his other eight lives. Mick fell when he missed his footing scampering along a beam and plunged down the well of the hall, falling onto concrete. He sustained injuries to his face and has lost the use of his back legs, but is expected to recover with plenty of rest. Jet black and two years old, Mick is owned by Mr. Reginald Field, the Mayor’s mace bearer, who lives in a flat at the hall.

SUNDERLAND MAY HAVE CAT-LOVERS' SOCIETY Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette, 11th September 1947
Wearsiders, says Mr Ronald Wood, of Princes Avenue, Seaburn, have an entirely erroneous opinion of cats. The belief that every time townsfolk hear the animals catawauling they have to open their windows and hurl refuse to quieten them is a myth, he declares. Mr Wood tells me that cats are quite as friendly as dogs or other domestic pets, and, considering that he has 11 cats of his own, he ought to be in a position ton judge. Although he realizes that he will setting himself a big task, Mr Wood is keen to start a Persian Cat Society in Sunderland, and is eager to get Wearsiders interested in cats.

“In the South of England special sections are provided at county shows for the exhibition of prize cats,” he says, “I should like to see similar sections in the North-East’s show.” He invites anyone interested in the formation of a society to visit his home to see his cats.

THE CAT AND THE CATHEDRAL. Cheshire Observer, 27th September 1947
The fame of two Cheshire cats has reached the other side of the Atlantic. Mr. Cecil T. Pryce, one-time bell-ringer at Chester Cathedral, and now living in New York, noticed an article in the American National Humane Review and sent it to us. "In Chester Cathedral one cat, a large black male, appears to feel that his presence is required for divine service on Sunday evenings." the article states. "He rambles about at will among members of the choir and congregation, even caressing the nave below the pulpit where the Dean Is preaching. An amused half-smile is all he ever meets with–nobody, not even the chief verger, ever says 'scat' to him." This particular cat, Felix, is now dead, and his successor does not enjoy such privileges. "Across from the Cathedral in a cinema called the Music Hall, once part of the Cathedral, is a striped Tabitha," the article continues. "She is very sedate and well-behaved. She sits in the middle of the aisle far enough back and really watches the pictures." This cat, called 'Cleo.' from the film "Caesar and Cleopatra," has now strayed away from the Music Hall.

FLYING KITTENS Perthshire Advertiser, 1st October 1947
Mrs. Olga MacKay, Errolbank, Perth Road, Scone, who is emigrating to Rhodesia with her two daughters, Evelyn and Sheila, set the Ministry of Health a poser when she applied for a permit to take two Persian kittens on the air trip with her. "We have never had cats going to Africa by air before," an official told her, "but I will see what can be done." The kittens–Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora Macdonald which were bought as a present for Mrs MacKay’s youngest son. Charles, who is already in Rhodesia, were duly certified free from diseases, and when the family left for London yesterday on the first stage of their journey overseas, the kittens went too. They will fly from Croydon on October 10.

ORDINARY SIAMESE KO-KO SIGNS ON Hampshire Telegraph, 23rd January 1948
Ordinary Siamese Ko-Ko – a blue- blooded peer of the feline world – joined the Home Fleet destroyer Battleaxe at Portsmouth, one Wednesday, and was “victualled up” as one of the crew. His service certificate was immediately started, and his mark, in the shape of paw print, was made in the Ward Room visitors’ book. Pedigree will be stuck in the ship’s book. Ko-Ko, who springs from a long line of champion Siamese cats, is worth at least £50. His real name is Mystic Ong Noi, and he was presented to the ship by a well-known cat exhibitor, Mrs. M.B. Blackman, of 126 Perry Wood Road, Great Barr, Birmingham. Mrs. Blackman wrote to the Admiralty stating tat she would like to give a cat to a warship, in token of her appreciation for all that the Navy had during the war. The Admiralty decided that it should go to a ship of the Home Fleet, and the Battleaxe was selected by the Commander-in-Chief. Official cat-keeper will be Leading Steward Stubbs, and Ko-Ko will live in the steward’s mess.

The ship’s welfare committee assembled in the Ward Room where there was an atmosphere of excitement as Mrs. Blackman entered carrying a leather covered cat basket. With her was Ko-Ko’s breeder, Mrs. Donmall of 53, Street End, Sidlesham, near Chichester. Mrs. Blackman placed the basket on the table and lifted the lid. Ko-Ko took his first look at his new home and mewed loudly. His beautiful sapphire-blue eyes peered out from the basket and then he stepped out elegantly to expose his perfect fawn colouring with the typical dark mask and paws of his breed. He is officially described as a seal-pointed Siamese. Doors and scuttles were closed in case he should make a bolt for it but he was held by a collar and lead. Mrs. Blackman warned the company against over-feeding him.

“His name ought to be Houdini, because he can get out of anything,” she said, “but I thought one of His Majesty’s ships ought to be able to cope with him.”

Captain Sir Charles Madden (Commanding Officer) thanked Mrs. Blackman for the gift, and pointed out that Ko-Ko, who is two years old, is older than the Battleaxe, which has been commissioned for four months. Ko-Ko’s sire was the best “eye-coloured” exhibit in the Siames Cat Show in London, in 1946, and his dam won five second prizes in the open female adult classes. The mother was lost at Farnborough last year.

SPIV BECOMES A STAR Kensington News and West London Times, 23rd January 1948
Gwendolene K. Sladen, who lives at Fitzjames Avenue, West Kensington, breeds Manx cats but recently she decided on a variation in her choice of cat-breeding and became the proud owner of a blue silver tabby (with a tail). As well as being an appealing and lovable kitten Stoner Spiv (as he was named) has become famous in the months of his short life. Spiv will be on view in an exhibition pen at the Southern Counties Championship Cat Show, Lime Grove Baths, Shepherd’s Bush next Monday 26th January. Since his picture appeared in the “Daily Graphic” Spiv has been the recipient of a large fan mail and his many admirers will be pleased to hear that he proved himself to be a most capable and lovable actor as the “Kitten” in “Alice Through the Looking Glass” at the “Q” Theatre. One day he seemed a little off colour so his understudy was taken with him to the theatre. The moment he caught sight of her being taken on to the stage he instantly recovered and played his part in a most spirited way while the disappointed understudy looked on from the wings! Mr Attlee and his daughters attended a matinee and Spiv had the honour of a special introduction during the tea interval. The Prime Minister graciously accepted his photo which his daughter said she would have framed. Spiv’s understudy will be on show with him on Monday.

WHERE DO ALL CATS IN AUDRA COME FROM? They're Petss But They're Not Tamed Mexico Ledger, 19th February, 1948
Did you ever consider where all the cats in Mexico and Audrain county originally came from? It is estimated there are 30,000,000 cats in the United States today and apparently they are of no particular breed. You even hear tales about kitty mating with native wild animals such as was supposed to have resulted in the Maine coon cat, the hippety-hopping, bobtailed rabbit cat of Southern swamps, and hybrids from martens, even skunks. Biologists, however, deny the probability of cats wooing outside their own family circle.

Nine out of ten of these cats are more or less vagrants in city streets, or prowlers of the open spaces; upward of 25,000,000 felines have been loosed in this country by thoughtless people. In the cities, particularly, many are bearers of contagious diseases.

Nine Lives? Experts scoff at the phrase and point out that the house cat is susceptible to such human ailments as common colds, tuberculosis, rickets, pleurisy, laryngitis, plus distemper and mange. Loose kitty in the city is likely to be an unhealthy specimen, writes Frank Dufresne in Collier's.
But it is in the wood lots and on the farm lands that the Egyptian immigrant is reviled by the blackest names. Bird lovers and game administrators condemn them to death without mercy. They say that of all the Carnivora the cat is the most completely armed to deal out death.

Of all the animals domesticated by man, none has retained so much of its wild instincts as the house cat. None can return so quickly to its original way of life in regions so distant from the land of its feral ancestors.

Most of our common, short- haired cats came from North Africa, home of the wild Caffre cat from which they were domesticated at least as far back as 2400 B.C. Kitty's forebears got away to a noble start over there because the Egyptians held them in godlike reverence. They were associated with the moon and the sun, and with the goddess of love and pleasure. Ancients of the Nile kept their cats in temples, pampered them with carefully prepared foods, groomed them tenderly. When the last of their nine lives slipped away, the bodies were wrapped in scented linen and laid away in special cemeteries. One unfortunate man who killed a cat by accident was stoned to death by his fellows.

If the cats had stayed in Egypt this blissful existence might have continued indefinitely, but the Romans and Greeks, doubtless believing that good fortune attended the keeping of cats, started sneaking them across the Mediterranean. The outraged Egyptians organized special expeditions to bring back their cats, but the damage was already done. Kitty had started on a prowl that was to take it completely around the world. It was to learn the ways of the peasants as well as the prince. Plenty of places it ran into trouble. Witch trouble, mostly.

It was a dark day for cats back in 1662 when a witch named Isobel Gowdie on trial in Scotland stood up in court to blame it all on the cats. She said that when she and her sister hags wanted to do a Grade-A job of deviling the populace they changed themselves into cats. So you could never tell for sure whether the sphinx-like creature crouched on the hearth was a cat purring contentedly, or maybe Isobel Gowdie muttering curses. Kitty's standing, never too secure in early Europe, fell to an all-time low.

The Scotch folks tried to drive out the evil spirits of cats by roasting them alive on spits. England developed the idea by using brick ovens. In Belgium cats were tossed out of high towers on the second Wednesday of Lent. Never the ones to be outdone, the Irish tied the tails of two cats together and threw them over a clothesline to claw each other until only the1 tails were left. From this pastime came the legend of the Kilkenny cats.

About the time when tabby was having such a brutal time of it in Europe another series of pussies started coming off the assembly lines in China and India. The wild Pallas cat of Asia is credited with siring the Persian long-hairs — the Fancy Dans of the kitty kingdom. As in Egypt, the early cats of the Orient lived royally. Mandarins prized them; rajahs fondled them on silken laps.

Only in Japan did kitty run into trouble, and even then amends were made. In one Nipponese village there is (or was before the B-29 era) a statue dedicated to cats sacrificed to make catgut strings for the native musical instrument samisen. Here incense was burned to assure departed cats that the manufacturers regretted the necessity of making them into banjo strings.

Yankee tea traders sailed back from the Far East with the first highly prized long-hairs, and while reasonable attempt was made to keep them separate from the already established European shorthairs, all you have to do is look at the nondescript strays in your own neighborhood to realize the futility of it. Not without cause did the pyramid builders link their felines with the goddess of "love and pleasure."

SMOKY Hull Daily Mail, 16th March 1948
Among the photographs in the Hull Daily Mail yesterday was one of a boy taking his pet cat Smoky to the cat show. Now Smoky, I find, has a history. Its mother was the pet of the crew of the s.s. Consuella, and it left the ship at Montreal, the Consuella having to sail without it. One would have thought that that was the last the crew would see of it but no, when the vessel returned on the next voyage to Montreal the cat rejoined the ship and brought four kittens on board with her! This was in October of last year and photographs were published at the time. Evidently Smoky's mother had a good deal of ship knowledge to be able to pick out the Consuella from all other vessels sailing into Montreal. Smoky, one of the kittens, was brought home to Hull by Mr R. Hall, the ship's cook, and presented to 10-year-old Billy Holdstock. of 49, Southgate, Hessle, who took it to the cat show. As befits such an extraordinary cat family, Smoky has an extraordinary coat, very much like that of a Chinchilla.

A NEWCOMER TO ESSEX Saffron Walden Weekly News, 30th April 1948
Breeders of Siamese cats – of whom I understand there are a number in this district - may be interested to hear of a newcomer to Essex - a Siamese cat which been purchased by Miss Ella Martin of Great Baddow and which will be at public stud soon. Named Proud Potentate, this feline aristocrat won 16 awards as kitten during last season’s shows including two first prizes at the National Cat Club show in London.

CAT STORIES CONTINUE TO COME IN. Ireland's Saturday Night, 28th August 1948
They say that pussy occupies a warm place in the hearts and homes of many readers of this diary. One reader is anxious to ascertain the cat population of Belfast in round figures! I am afraid I have not the foggiest notion. It must, however, run into many thousands. The same reader maintains that the people of Belfast are "the most cat-conscious people in the world," and expresses the opinion that for its size Belfast must have the biggest cat population in the country! "Why," he asks, “doesn't somebody organise a cat show, and then we should really get some idea of the variety and beauty of the city's cats–Manx cats, Persian cats and ordinary cats?" Well that is an idea! Perhaps somebody will take it in hand!

Meanwhile I have one claimant to championship honours from the Shankill. This is “Orange Billy,” the property of Mrs. Quee, 123 Shankill Road. He is orange and white in colour, is two years old and measures 38 inches from tip of nose to extremity of tail, and 10 inches from ground to stomach. His weight is 13 and a half pounds, and I am told that he can do all sorts of extraordinary tricks. For example, instead of scratching the woodwork and making a row like any common or garden cat Billy, when he wants into the house, raises a paw and knocks politely at the door. “Can you beat this?” asks the reader, who supplies these particulars.

A young policeman heard a suspicious scraping metallic sound at the back of a small shop in a lonely district of Co. Antrim shortly after midnight. Being satisfied that some burglar was trying to open the back door with a jemmy, he silently mounted the yard wall, turned on a flash lamp and, when about to jump down and tackle the miscreant saw – a cat with its head in a salmon tin.

CATS IN THE LIMELIGHT Leicester Chronicle, 11th December 1948
While dogs get all the publicity, cats sit silently and mysteriously by the fireside, delighting in being the perfect enigma. Not so at the National Cat Club's Championship Show held in London, when cats of nearly every breed come out of retirement into the limelight. Britain's cat population numbers 7,000,000, and whether haughty champion or domestic pet, the cat's stock is rising. Last year nearly 3,000 cats and kittens were registered, (if not registered they cannot be exhibited) and the cat in the home is more popular than ever. Enterprising author, Harrison Weir, started something when he inaugurated the first Cat Show held at the Crystal Palace in 1871. Results were so pleasing and success so instantaneous that the event became an annual one anticipated with pleasure by cat lovers. Since then the breeding of pedigree cats, now taken seriously, has produced some near perfect specimens of feline beauty.

The handsome Persian is still top favourite. Since it had its own established class 59 years ago, it has changed in appearance. At that time nearly all had tabby markings, now such markings are found only on the kittens and the cat loses them when it attains adult status. The Siamese is rather more than a hundred per cent cat and it takes the genuine felinophile (cat lover) to appreciate him to the full. People who do not like Siamese cats complain that they are foreign-looking and outlandish. But they do compel attention and it is quite impossible to ignore them. The nicest thing about a Siamese is his sense of fun and his most distinguishing quality is his voice. He does not mew, he cries like a baby, and he croaks like a frog.

Strongest rival to the Siamese is the Abyssinian which, though scarce now through lack of breeding in the war years, is re appearing. The Abyssinian's disposition is attractive and friendly. In colour he is ruddy brown with black markings.

Not only championship and pure bred cats have changed, but the domestic cat, too, is altering. The striped tiger-like prowling cat used to be seen everywhere. Now he is much less conspicuous. The black cat has taken his place. Ginger and semi-Persians are popular, too. Did you know that a black cat is really blue? A genuine black cat is a rarity indeed. And did you know that the Cheshire cat does not exist? The "grin" originated from cheeses moulded like cats that were once sold in Cheshire. The Manx cat which is tailless is sometimes called a kangaroo cat because his hind legs are larger than the fore.

Pedigree kittens earn us dollars in America. The intelligent mongrel cat saves us money at home. The Civil Service gets grants for the upkeep of cats in government offices where they prevent damage to property estimated at £4,000,000 yearly. The Port of London Authority employs cats in warehouses to keep down rats and mice. These mousers are supplied with suitable rations in lieu of a pay packet. From the aristocrat to the stray, cats have their food fads and fancies. Most cats adore asparagus. All cats like rolling in catmint. There was a cat who loathed milk and another who would not touch fish and a third who despised sardines. Boiled carrots, boiled tripe, beetroot or raw potato on the menu, make "today's special" for other feline food faddists.

THEIR FATHER’S A CHAMP Suffolk and Essex Free Press, 23rd December 1948
This is no ordinary fireside picture. The story of Pai Pitapat and her three children - Oberon, Titania and Cobweb – is as good as any fairy tale. Boo, as mother is affectionately known, went from Bures to Birmingham and met the majestic Pinco Azure Kym, who is the champion Siamese cat of England. He belongs to he rare breed of bluepoints. Since that meeting, Boo has become the proud mother of what are believed to be the only bluepoint Siamese kittens in Suffolk, Oberon, Titania and Cobweb. The family belongs to Mrs. Calvert-Jones and her daughter, of Spread Eagles, a fine old timbered house just outside Bures. There are other cats in the household, and a surprise success or Mrs. Calvert-Jones was at this year’s Cat Show at London. She entered her mackerel tabby and unexpectedly won a third prize.

THE SIAMESE CAT. Illustrated London News, 13th March 1948
The origin the Siamese cat is wrapped in obscurity, although there has been, and continues to be, a good deal of conjecture and controversy on the subject. However, the general consensus of opinion would seem to that the breed is a domesticated and semi-albinistic form of the Malay Jungle Cat, and there is a certain amount of evidence to corroborate this belief. Be that as it may, it is at any rate known with certainty that a pair of Siamese cats were imported to this country from Bangkok in 1884 by Mr. Owen Gould. Others followed with rapidity until in 1901 the Siamese Cat Club was formed by a small band of devotees for the improvement and protection of the breed. From this small beginning the Siamese Cat Club has grown to be the largest specialist cat club in the world, having to-day a membership of about 750. It runs an annual show in London every October, at which may be seen Siamese cats from all over the country, and the award for the Best in Show is a much-coveted honour. In addition, there is another club devoted to the breed, the title of which is The Siamese Cat Society of the British Empire.

The cat itself is easily the most distinctive and popular of all breeds, combining it does a unique appearance with an intelligence of a very high order. “Cat-not-Cat” and “Dog-and-Cat-in-One” are epithets often applied to Siamese cats, and both are apt in the extreme, for Siamese have a dog-like devotion and intelligence which at once place them in the front rank as pets. If evidence were needed of their popularity it could readily be obtained from the records of the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy, which is to the cat world as the Kennel Club to the dog world. This body registers more Siamese cats annually than it does any other variety of cat.

The popularity of the breed can be well understood when one considers its many charming characteristics. Allied to its remarkable intelligence and practically human affection it has an outline of great beauty and eyes of brilliant blue. Its head is much longer than that of the British cat and its eyes somewhat almond shaped, betraying its Oriental origin. The body is long and graceful and free from any “cobbiness,” the legs slender, the feet oval and the tail tapering and whip-like. The coat is close-lying of a soft texture, and the colour should be a uniform deep cream with the points (i.e., mask, ears, tail and legs) a dark and well-defined seal brown. The above remarks apply to the “Seal- Pointed” Siamese, but in addition two other varieties exist which are the “Blue-Pointed” and the “Chocolate-Pointed.” The last-mentioned are very scarce, there being only about a dozen specimens in the country to-day, although at one time a great many existed. The Blue-Pointed, on the other hand, are very much on the increase, and a special club has been formed in recent times to cater for them. The standard for all three varieties is the same, the difference merely being in coloration.

Some Siamese are possessed of a kinked tail, but this is not tolerated in the show pen unless it be slight and at the extreme tip. A great many opinions exist with regard to the kink, some people going so far as to assert that the cat cannot be pure-bred unless it has the kink in a greater or lesser degree, whilst others take the exactly opposite view. Of course, neither of these extremes can be correct, for the fact is that kinky-tailed kittens arc occasionally bred from straight-tailed forbears, and this would appear to confirm the theory alluded to earlier that Siamese are descended from the Malay Jungle Cat, which species invariably has a kinked tail. In that event, the straight tail required for the show specimen would seem to the result of selective breeding. Although frowned upon in England, kinks are much favoured on the Continent, where separate classes are sometimes provided at shows for straight- and kink-tailed specimens. Another and most objectionable characteristic which appears from time to time is a squint. This peculiarity also has its adherents, but as there is absolutely no record of its being an ancestral feature, and as it is extremely ugly, it is not permitted in show specimens. Cats with a decided squint should not be bred from, as it is sure to reappear in the progeny.

When first born, Siamese kittens are pure white and absolutely without markings. Very gradually the “points” begin to appear, and at first are a smudgy grey colour. Next they turn brown and eventually, when the cat has reached maturity, deep seal brown. At about six months of age the body colour assumes a creamy tone which gradually deepens to fawn, and with age to a darker shade. Kittens, without being delicate, are not as easy to rear as those of other breeds. They will stand inclement weather quite well if kept moderately warm, which is a wise measure, since should they take cold their resistance to disease is immediately lowered. The trouble arises if they come in contact with any feline infection, because they appear to be more germ conscious than others, and being naturally bad patients, illness always goes hard with them. The most vulnerable period in their lives is between the ages of approximately six to nine months, when they are undergoing their final teething, and every effort should be made to keep them from contact with infection during that period. After reaching maturity Siamese cats are reasonably hardy, and nobody need feel nervous about letting them “take their chance.”

Anyone in search of the ideal pet should embark on a Siamese cat. They are fascinating to the highest degree, and their only fault, if fault it be, is a loud and strident voice. Even this has its compensations, however, as they will converse freely with their owners, and will continue to “answer back” in the most comical manner for as long one cares to address them. Sailors have been quick to discover the merits of Siamese, and many a vessel now carries one as its official “ship's cat.”

I am often asked if literature on the Siamese cat may be obtained, and the following information may be of use to interested readers. An extremely informative little book entitled “Shah Pasha” (Chat-pas-Chat) may be had from the author, Mrs. Hart, Tye Cottage, Wood Street, Guildford, for 2s. 9d. post free, and, in addition, the Siamese Cat Club publishes an excellent quarterly News-Sheet which is devoted to the breed and costs 5s. per annum. Subscriptions for it should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer, Siamese Cat Club, Asgill House, Richmond, Surrey.
B. A. STIRLING-WEBB.

THE LAST OF THE PEDIGREES. FAREWELL TO ‘MONDY' AND 'MINNIE' Westminster & Pimlico News, 11th June 1948
Sentence of death has been passed on "Mondy" and "Minnie" this Week, and a sad lady is their owner, Miss E. V. Nichols, of Fulham Road, Chelsea. "I am old, and when I go there will be no one to Wok after Nichols, smell and slight has them," she told "W.L.P.." referring to the last of her pedigree cats, Elm Park Almond, 11-year-old male, and Elm Park Minionette, 10-year-old female Red Tabby Long Hairs, which she decided must be put to sleep. “I have had as many as 30 cats at once,” she said. “I have had as many as 30 cats at once,” she said, “I gave up breeding some time ago, but even now I am often asked to take in a cat for stud work.”

“Once a Red Persian sold for about five guineas – I have been given as much as £6 10s. for one. Today they ask £12 for a long-haired cat. ‘Minnie’ an ‘Mondy’ have both wom numerous prizes. It is a great wrench having to come to this decision, but I’d rather know everything was all right with them till the end.”

A well-known figure in the Fulham Road district, Miss Nichols, small and slight, has been in her Fulham Road house – which incorporates a shop, near Beaufort Street, since 1894. “My father had a draper’s shop her,” she reminisced.

Six months after starting the Fulham Road shop miss Nichols’s father died. Her mother took over. In 1919 the draper’s shop closed down. Now it is a dyers and cleaners. Miss Nichols lived on there with her cats. Now she will have just her memories. She belongs to the Black and White Cat Club and the Red Tabby Society, and has been a member of the Kensington Kitten Club, National Cat Club, Croydon Cat Club and the Southern Cat Club. But cats weren’t her overriding pastime. Once possessed of a fine singing voice, Miss Nichols belonged to the choir at St. Paul’s, Onslow Square, for nearly 50 years.

CATERWAULING Daily Herald, 22nd December 1948
On Christmas Sunday the President of the Incorporated Kensington Kittens and Neuter Cats Clubs will go to the BBC microphone and talk on “Cats and Music." The President is Constant Lambert, the conductor. Lambert is devoted to cats, once wrote a ballet about them. He also used to make a point of talking to the famous Albert Hall cat, Tiddliewinks, before he conducted a concert there. He found that, if the cat was out on personal business and he missed it, something always went wrong.

ADLAI STEVENSON ON "THE NATURE OF CATS."
As governor of Illinois in 1949, the late Adlai Stevenson vetoed a bird-lovers' bill to curb cat delinquency. The following is excerpted from his veto message: I herewith return, without approval, Senate Bill No. 93 entitled "An Act to Provide Protection to Insectivorous Birds By Restraining Cats . . ." It would impose fines on owners or keepers who permitted their cats to run at large off their premises. It would permit any person to capture, or call upon the police to pick up and imprison, cats at large . . . I cannot agree that it should be the declared public policy of Illinois that a cat visiting a neighbor's yard or crossing the highway is a public nuisance. It is in the nature of cats to do a certain amount of unescorted roaming . . . I doubt if we want to make their every brief foray an opportunity for a small game hunt by zealous citizens–with traps or otherwise .. . Also consider the owner's dilemma: To escort a cat abroad on a leash is against the nature of the cat, and to permit it to venture forth for exercise unattended into a night of new dangers is against the nature of the owner. Moreover, cats perform useful service, particularly in rural areas, in combating rodents–work they necessarily perform alone and without regard for property lines. . . The problem of the cat versus bird is as old as time. If we attempt to resolve it by legislation who knows but what we may be called upon to take sides as well in the age-old problems of dog versus cat, bird versus bird, or even bird versus worm. In my opinion . . . local governing bodies in Illinois already have enough to do without trying to control feline delinquency.

THE WHITE HOUSE CAT Belfast Telegraph, 6th January 1949
New York, Wednesday. - President Truman has won the nine lives award of the Atlantic Cat Club for being "The person who makes the most notable achievement against seemingly insurmountable odds." The prize–a white Persian kitten.

[CAT IN CAR ENGINE] Northampton Mercury, 11th March 1949
When Mr. Frank Clarke, of Steve Clarke and Sons, boot and shoe retailers, Kettering-road, Northampton, lifted the bonnet of his car after a Journey through the town he found a black cat on the engine, extremely uncomfortable, and raising its voice in no uncertain manner. On the cat being removed to the P.D.S.A. in Horsemarket no injuries could found, save a few scratches.

N*GGER WAS THE FERRY MASCOT BUT COULD NEVER BE PERSUADED TO SAIL Fleetwood Chronicle, 11th March 1949
Has anyone seen N*gger? Perhaps you don't know N*gger the tom cat who has shared a home at the Fleetwood Corporation Ferry office on the Esplanade with Tommy the tabby for nearly two years. But to people who know our feline friend his absence in recent weeks is most distressing. Visitors to Fleet wood know N*gger too. They loved to stroke the big black fellow with the white front paws and long white whiskers as he lay in the sun on the slipway or curled asleep on the seats in the waiting room.

Let's go back a couple of years when N*gger was a stray, forlorn, starved little kitten seen moping round the Marine Hall. He was discovered by Miss V. B. Humphries and her sister, Miss P. Humphries, who live in Windsor-terrace, opposite the Pier. The sisters have always loved animals. In summer when they go down to the beach dogs recognise them and tag along with wagging tails in hope that these ladies will pull scraps of food out of their handbags. It was not surprising, therefore, that the Misses Humphries gave N*gger shelter, but as they have two cats they decided to find the lost one a good home. On the understanding that they would feed N*gger they arranged to "board him out" with Tommy at the ferry office. Since that day nearly two years ago they have gone every day at 5.15 in the evening with scraps and milk: enough for N*gger and Tommy. They provided neat little tins. They fill one set and take the other away to clean out and have filled for the next day. Both cats responded to this kindness and learned to tell the time so that they could wait for the "Ladies Bountiful." Regular ferry travellers will tell you that it is a stirring sight to see them run joyfully alongside the ladies into the ticket office where their tins lie in the corner. Cupboard love? Well, maybe. Miss V. Humphries told me this week that it is a job to find food for N*gger and Tommy these days, but she and her sister have good friends who help out. They buy fish scraps and horse meat to supplement the morsels that N*gger and Tommy rely on.

The ticket clerks are also worried about N*gger's mysterious disappearance. Mr. Joe Smith thinks someone has taken a fancy to N*gger and has whisked him away. He looks every day to see if the black fellow is making his way home. Perhaps N*gger has gone to sea in a trawler, you say. But those who know h m shake their heads. N*gger would never sail. Only Tommy is a sailor. He often hops aboard the Lunevale ferry-boat for a free ride to Knott End . He is a modern sailor too. Preferring oil-burning ships and despises the old Wyresdale for her smoky coal furnace and never goes aboard her when she is in the service. Tommy had a ducking recently - unusual for him. He missed his footing when he made to board the Lunevale as the last passenger. Mr. Smith fished him out, dried him with a towel and put him in front of the fire in the waiting room. Prompt first aid saved pussy from pneumonia.

N*gger is a bit of a financier. Blackpool Corporation tram conductresses who go into the waiting room to count their change have often found a furry paw dipping into their leather bags in a vain effort to lift out a copper or two.

You may be sceptical about the intelligence of our cats. but scepticism is not shared by Dr. Ludwig Kock who broadcast on the BBC recently a programme of "Cat Calls." The doctor, an expert on bird and animal noises, was not alluding to gossipy women. He says all cats express themselves adequately in their own language and asserts that a Siamese cat would not understand the English domestic, but would recognise that the other was talking a version of the cat tongue. He has been working on the subject 12 years End it took him eight to get a good recording of a "cat on the tiles." The Misses Humphries listened to the doctor’s programme with their Smoky and his mother. Smoky came to her as a kitten and Ma followed insistent that “honey-chil’” should not be left to his own devices. Now mother was very interested in Dr. Kock's cats, but Smoky, who has about the toughest cat expression I have seen, was disgusted.

Americans have a reputation for doing everything in a big way. At a recent cat show in Hollywood. film star Mickey Rooney was there to open a gorgeous show where cats had bedrooms with real silk covers on the little beds and cunningly-concealed toilets marked “Powder Room." Crazy? Well, maybe. Fact is, cats play a bigger part in this world's relaxation hours than many would believe. Owners love to talk about their pet's courage, dignity and independence. They admire the way pussy keeps himself clean and fit, guards the home in his sporting way from the invasion of four-tooted intruders and love to watch the exquisite balance of his body and his tremendous curiosity. N*gger belongs to this tribe He has his fans. So if you think you have spotted him ring his home number - Fleetwood 265.

SPIV FOR SAVING Kensington News and West London Times, 29th April 1949
“Stonor Spiv” the kitten belonging to Miss G. K. Sladen of Fitzjames Avenue, West Kensington, who achieved fame when he was only a few months old by winning second and third prizes at the National Cat Show in 1947 has gained even wider publicity. After appearing in “Alice Through the Looking Glass” at the “Q” Theatre in 1947, “Spiv” was introduced to Mr Attlee. Now hr is “pin-up cat” for the National Savings Movement. The photo of Spiv taken at the National Cat Show was chosen by the National Savings Movement for one of their latest posters (it can be seen in the window of Kensington High Street Savings Centre). Sladen tells us that Spiv is now a sedate young cat of eighteen months old, and fame has not gone to his head!

CAT SETS AN EXAMPLE AT U.N.A. MEETING. TWO HUNDRED INVITATIONS. FOURTEEN RESPOND Staffordshire Newsletter, 21st May 1949
A black and white cat showed unusual Interest in international affairs by attending the annual meeting of Stafford Branch of the United Nations Association, held in St. Mary's Schoolroom last Friday evening. On being "shooed" from a chair at the officials table, the uninvited guest climbed a pile of chairs in the corner of the room and stayed to listen for some time. Unfortunately, such interest was not displayed by many Staffordians, for the meeting was attended by only 14 people.

ON THE STEP Nottingham Evening Post, 7th June 1949
Yesterday morning’s sad sight was that of a mother cat and her kitten, sitting patiently waiting for a fish shop to open, which was hardly likely to happen on a Bank Holiday. It looked if they lived there and had been shut out. Societies whose work is to look after the interests of animals are constantly reminding the public of the need to make provision for them at holiday times. To turn animals out, or lock them in, and then go off to enjoy a holiday is extremely callous behaviour.

£15,000 LEFT TO CATS Leicester Daily Mercury, 16th June 1949
Miss Constance Elizabeth Lucy Aston, of Shanklin, Isle of Wight, who died In February, bequeathed in her will, published today, £15,000 to the Cats' Protection League for the endowment and upkeep of a clinic for cats in the Isle of Wight. She left £51,904, on which £13,965 death duties were paid. After a number of bequests, she left half the ultimate residue to the R.S.P.C.A.

[CAT IN COURT-ROOM] ROBBERY WITH VIOLENCE CHARGE FAILS. Middlesex County Times, 18th June 1949
Round the foot of the dock and across the courtroom at Ealing Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday sauntered a sleek black cat. The magistrates and their Clerk smiled; reporters, police and public chuckled. Behind the animal crept an assistant warrant-officer. With a sudden swoop, he lifted the unsuspecting pussy off its feet and removed it with tong-like fingers from the sacred precincts

WATCH OUT FOR THE `CATNAPPERS' Kensington Post, 29th July 1949
An urgent appeal for Kensington cat owners to keep their pets in at night has been made by the Kensington Kitten and Neuter Cat Club. Hundreds of local cats have disappeared and the police are sure that they were stolen and their pelts sold. Several skins of cats and skinned cats have been found in Bute Street, South Kensington. Some time ago a South Kensington woman lost her cat and then recognised its skin hanging out to dry with three others on the wall of a static water tank in Bute Street.

WAVE CAT DISAPPEARANCES IN KENSINGTON. KEEP YOUR CATS IN AT NIGHT. Kensington News and West London Times, 29th July 1949
The Dumb Friend’s League report that over the past months more cats have disappeared in Kensington than in any other borough. Often twelve week have been reported missing and it is believed they have been caught, skinned and their pelts used for an illicit fur trade. Cat skins and skinned cats have been found in areas around South Kensington Station and Church Street and the police have been informed. The Dumb Friend’s League say that this type of crime spreads from one district to another, but if all cat owners kept their cats in at night it would gradually diminish

BOY AND HIS CAT VANISH Lincolnshire Echo, 9th August 1949
Police search for a 10-years-old boy and black cat was made throughout the night in Kent, and continued today. The boy, Peter Redford, disappeared from his home in Delamark-road, Sheerness, yesterday, on his cycle, taking the cat and food with him.

LOST CAT’S TIMELY HOMECOMING Nottingham Journal, 16th 16 August 1949
Lost for ten days, a Siamese cat yesterday returned home dragging a leg showing multiple fractures. Its return coincided with the final meeting in London of the 67th annual congress of the National Veterinary Medical Association. Among many overseas experts who attended was Dr. H. Moltzen Neilsen, of Copenhagen, who has made a special study of fracture repair by bone-pinning. After giving the cat an anaesthetic he successfully operated before an audience who had already been interested in this type of treatment by a paper the subject by Dr. Jack O. Knowles of Miami, Florida.

DOLLARS AND MICE Liverpool Echo, 15th September 1949
For sixty years the cat has been popularised by Cat Club, the first of which was started in 1887. To-day pussy has risen high above the feline creature kept for the purpose of mousing. Prize and pedigree cats from England are earning big amounts in dollar currency, whilst orders flow in from Switzerland, France, Belgium, Holland and Denmark. Persia has a fancy for blue Persian cats, declaring that the English breed is far superior to the old Persian which originated in that country. There are thirty breeds in all – divided into two types – long and short haired. Black cats to be valuable must not have a single white hair and have eyes of deep orange. The pure green eye is greatly appreciated in white cats. An entirely British cat is the Chinchilla, the purity of which breed it has taken years to produce. It first appeared at a London cat show in 1885. – Animal Life.

SIAMESE CAT CRAZE Various, 3rd November 1949
A craze for Siamese cats is sweeping South Africa. A kitten may cost four or five guineas. The market will probably get even better. When three Siamese cats arrived in Johannesburg by air from Britain for Mrs Rennie Wynne, president of the Siamese Cat Society of South Africa, an official said that her permit "would probably be the last to granted."

"KEEP A CAT?" THIRTY DIFFERENT VARIETIES; STARS .. . AND OTHERS By Joy Wellesley, Liverpool Echo, 21st December 1949
For a great many people home is not really home unless there is a cat curled up on the hearth-rug. Indeed, if figures count for anything, the cat population of Great Britain Is said to be something like 7,000,000. Most of these are alley cats, or mongrels of the feline world. All the same, the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy claims that it is now registering about 3,000 pedigree cats and kittens a year. The Cat Fancy was founded in 1887, with the National Cat Club. Its chief function then, as now, is to deal with rules and regulations regarding shows. Pedigree cats are divided into two main types: long-haired and short-haired. There are about 30 different varieties from which to choose. Long-haired cats include the famous Blue Persian, the Chinchilla, the Smoke, Tortoiseshell, Cream Persian and so on. Among short-haired breeds we have the Manx, Siamese. Abyssinian. and Russian Blue.

Of course, no one really owns cat. Puss decides all her own questions and lives her life in the way she chooses. Yet do not mistake this attitude for indifference. Win a cat's love and you will have all her heart. Cats have a wonderful homing instinct. Even quite tiny kittens have been known to reject one home in favour of another. With this understanding of what home means to a cat, great care should be taken before moving to a new abode. Get your cat used to wearing an elastic collar and write on It the new address just in case she should get lost. You will find your cat the cleanest of animals. Watch her wash herself. Her wetted paw not only goes round her face but round the back of her ears as well, whilst her tongue goes almost everywhere. All the same, an occasional brushing will remove loose hairs and prevent hair-ball forming in pussies stomach.

Apart from their companionship in the home, cats play a most useful part in industry nowadays. Government departments, railway companies, food manufacturers and warehouse owners all keep teams of cats solely for rat-catching. It is estimated that these cats save food and property to the value of £5, 000.000 a year by keeping down the destructive rat population. All the same, cats are not intended to be animated mouse-traps. They hunt for the pleasure of hunting. Rat catching and killing calls for strength and energy, only maintained by good, clean food. Fish, horse-meat, milk, cereals are just what the average cat needs and enjoys. She needs two meals a day–in the. morning and evening. Four ounces of food at each meal is the average quantity for an adult cat. with water to drink whenever she wants it.

CRUSADE FOR NUNEATON CAT CLUB. VICAR’S WIFE APPEALS FOR JUSTICE FOR CATS Midland Counties Tribune, 13th January 1950
“Animals look to us for justice and mercy,” maintains Mrs J B Sinker, wife of the Vicar of Abbey Church of St Mary, Nuneaton. Her firm belief in those few words and the increasing number of stray cats about the town has inspired her with the idea of forming a cat club in Nuneaton.

This week Mrs Sinker told a “Tribune” reporter that she had rescued 15 stray cats from inevitable starvation or death from exposure within the past 18 months. The majority of the strays had been claimed by their owners after seeing Mrs Sinker’s advertisements in the “Midland Daily Tribune.” All the others were found suitable homes except one which had to be destroyed by a veterinary surgeon because it was in such a pitiful condition.

Recently a small kitten was found by Mrs Sinker in the porch of the Vicarage. The rain-bedraggled creature was tended by her and its description was published. Eventually, the kitten was claimed by its owner, a small girl. “The sight of the little girl’s happy face when she was reunited with her pet was well- worth the trouble,” said Mrs Sinker.

Discussing the objects of a cat club with a reporter, Mrs Sinker said that small annual donations by members would help the organisation to care for stray cats and provide treatment by veterinary surgeons. She advocated the use of loose-fitting “flat hat elastic” collars, bearing the name and address of the owner. Mrs Sinker also argued that road-users should report to the police when a cat was killed in a road accident.

Mrs Sinker will welcome the help of anyone in her crusade for cats and an organised club in Nuneaton.