THE LADIES' FIELD "CAT GOSSIP" COLUMNS

THE LADIES' FIELD "CAT GOSSIP" COLUMNS - 1906

The Ladies Field, a weekly magazine for well-to-do women, was founded in 1898 and focussed on women's sport, pastimes and fashions. It was published by George Newnes (in 1928, it was absorbed by The Home Magazine). The Cat Gossip column was written by Dick Whittington, the pen-name of Miss Higgins. Rather than divide up the content, I have compiled the columns into a series of chronological files. Readers wondering why prices of cats were given in multiples of £1 1s - this is a guinea; a £5 5s cat costs 5 guineas.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, January 6, 1906, pg. 218

MRS. WILSON continually adds to her stock of cats. Her latest purchase is the blue-eyed white male, White Friar II., a well-known winner, a son of Ch. White Friar and Crystal, and already the sire of winning stock. Mrs. Wilson now owns five chinchilla, one smoke, one blue, and two white stud cats.

MR. HOUSE, in FUR AND FEATHER, writes of my suggestion of classes at shows for stud cats over five years of age. While acknowledging that the idea has something to recommend it, Mr. House doubts its popularity, as he thinks the advertisement for many stud cats would be a poor one, as the inexperienced fancier would not see the good points of an old warrior shown without his war-paint. In my opinion this would be but a small drawback, for a number of experienced breeders might see the same cat and be struck by his good points, which they had not had a previous opportunity of noting; also, judging from my own feelings in the matter, I think many people would feel inclined to send their queens to a cat which they knew to be in good health and fair condition, who would have kept them at home had they not had an opportunity of seeing the stud cat.

BREEDERS' classes are most excellent things and deserve great encouragement, but they do not serve the same purpose, as they merely prove that certain good kittens were bred in some particular cattery or by some particular cat, and do not offer us any optical demonstration of the present state of health and condition of the cat in question.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
PUSSY-WILLOW. - The odd-eyed cat would not stand much chance in the show-pen, but if mated with a blue-eyed male she would probably throw blue-eyed kittens, and, as she is imported and particularly good in shape and coat, she is well worth keeping to breed from.
ANXIOUS ONE. - Your cat must be registered if you wish to send him to an N.C.C. show, and even if you do not want to show him registration is an advantage. Write to Dr. Roper, Oatlands. Beckenham, Kent, for a registration form.
ANGORA. - Angora and Persian cats are so hopelessly mixed nowadays that no attempt is made to keep the breeds separate, and they are classed together as longhaired cats.
BLOO-BLOO. - Shorthaired blues are most attractive, but hardly profitable to breed. Do not be in a hurry, but commence quietly by buying a good cat every time you see one. It will be some time before you get a good team together, as you must have nothing to do with cats having green or pale yellow eyes, but insist that their orbs shall be bright orange. Such cats are very rare, but they do exist, and may be found if you have patience.
NOVICE. - I think your cat is very much over-fed. Do not give her any fish or any milk or milk pudding, but feed her twice daily, giving at each meal about 2 oz. of lean meat, raw or cooked, but the former for preference. If this does not seem to satisfy her you may mix with the meat an equal quantity of brown bread or biscuit crumbs. Occasionally, if necessary, give a dessertspoonful of salad oil. Apply the boracic ointment every other day. I suppose there is not a tumour of any description. If so you should consult a veterinary surgeon. - DICK WHITTINGTON

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, January 13, 1906, pg. 255

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, January 20, 1906, pg. 296

A JUBILANT letter from Mrs. Sinkins announces that the entries for Bath Show number over 500. This is an excellent total for a provincial show, and its promoters well deserve a great success.

MANX fanciers will be delighted to hear that Mrs. Kennaway, one of our best and most popular fanciers, now possesses a typical and well-marked Manx queen, black and white in colour, from which she intends to try her luck in breeding.

FANCIERS of short-hairs are exercising their brains over the problem of how to produce cream- coloured cats. I can give a tried and proved recipe which has been most successful with long-hairs, and will probably be equally so with short-hairs. Mate an orange, red, or tortoiseshell queen with a blue male, and cream kittens will almost certainly result. They may be bred from other matings, such as a blue queen with a red or orange sire, a tortoiseshell queen with a pale orange sire, etc., but the results are not so certain as when the red blood is on the dam's side and the blue on the sire's.

IT appears to me, though, of course, I may be mistaken, that the breeders of short-hairs possess more of the true fancier spirit than the breeders of long-hairs. This I attribute to the fact that the former do not breed kittens for the market, as there is no regular demand for short-haired kittens, and that a short-haired stud cat cannot be regarded as a regular source of income in the same way that a long-hair is. The short-haired fancier, then, breeds with the object of producing stock which shall satisfy his own ideals, and exhibits solely for the pleasure of winning, and not with a view to advertising surplus stock. Of course, we have many good and true fanciers among the breeders of long-hairs, but we have far too many who rear litter after litter with the avowed intention of selling them at so much a head, and regard their stud cats merely as the earners of so many guineas per annum.

MISS PHAYRE may be more correctly described as a breeder than as an exhibitor, though her cats, their ancestors, and their descendants have won many honours in the show-pen. Unfortunately, Miss Phayre has not been able to provide me with photographs suitable for reproduction of many of her pets, as I should like to have had a dozen good pictures of the representative members of the catteries, Silver tabbies and smokes have always been the speciality at Ormond Lodge, but blues are also popular. Woolloomooloo II. is one of the few surviving sons of old Ch. Woolloomooloo, and is a worthy son of that famous sire, being a large sound coloured cat with deep orange eyes, which he transmits unfailingly to his kittens. Lord Bute of Ormond is a very handsome light silver smoke neuter bred by Miss Phayre from her Romeo and Tatters of Ormond.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
F. A E. - I wish you had told me exactly how have been feeding the kitten, as then I should have had a better chance of prescribing correctly for it; but I will do my best, under the circumstances, to answer your questions. 1 and 2. Feed the kitten entirely on raw lean beef, finely minced, giving about two ounces twice daily, and over each meal sprinkle a pinch of carbonate of bismuth. 3. The bad breath comes from the same cause as the diarrhoea - indigestion - and is probably caused by incorrect feeding.
HEDGEHOG. - I am very glad, indeed, to hear that the kitten has got on so well. The present trouble may, I think, be overcome by some slight changes in his diet; but you must, as he has been so delicate, make a few experiments to find out exactly what suits him. I do not think green vegetables are satisfactory articles of diet, and should discontinue giving them. The action of castor oil is usually as you describe it. Try mixing an equal bulk of brown bread-crumbs with the meat. I think this will have the desired effect. If not, I suppose he ould not take a little salad oil or cod-liver oil mixed with his food? If he ould he might have a little every day or a time. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, January 27, 1906, pg. 340

WITH 525 entries and 350 cats, Bath may rank as one of our largest shows. Complaints and grumbling were unusually scarce. Altogether the show was a great success, and Mrs. James once more proved herself a most admirable show manager. The local arrangements were splendid. The cats were fed on paper plates which were afterwards burnt - an excellent plan.

IN long-haired white males first went to Mrs. Wilson's White Friar II. of Arrandale, looking his best; second to Mrs. Pettitt's King of Pearls II., and third to Mrs. Kirk's The White Knight, who is getting on in years, but his magnificent head and bone will always win him a place. In females first was Lady Decies's Fulmer Snow Queen, a beautiful little cat; second, the redoubtable Ch. Heath Pearl; third. Gwen of Arrandale, who will improve yet. Blacks are evidently on the upward track, for ten were entered. Lady Decies's Fulmer Black Bobbie, grand in head and colour but poor in eyes, won, followed by Mrs. Stewart Dodd's Dimsden Lord Coke, a promising kitten, and Mrs Ormerod's Schwartzie. In blue males Ch, Neila Billi of Thorpe defeated a grand class, and won the cup for best long-hair. He has more than fulfilled the promise of his youth. Miss Allen's Blue Coat Betty, a most pleasing ten-month kitten, headed the female class, with Miss Savery's sound coloured Roselands Popsie second and Fulmer Blue Scilla third. Argent King of Arrandale, with his clear colour and exquisite eyes, won well among the chinchilla males; the still improving Prospero Duvals was second, and the sweet-faced pure coloured Silver Starlight third. In the female class Mrs. Ford's round-faced Roosalka, who always reminds me of an overgrown kitten, was first, Miss Chamberlayne's pale coloured Cap and Bells second, and the now well-known Thelma Lenore third, Ch. Teufel, the magnificent smoke male, easily defeated all opponents, as did Lincoln Imp in the smoke female class, though Warley Venus found many admirers.

In silver tabby males the grand-headed Dimsden Abdul was first, and Miss Anderson Leake took second with Dingley Acrobat, a round-headed kitten with heavy coat and good markings. Kew Red Corn('n and Kew Red Spider held their usual position among the oranges, and Wildon Wily was once more lucky enough to beat Kew Ronald, who, however, I still prefer to the younger cat.

The short-haired classes were as full of quality as the long-hairs. In Manx males The Deemster, a large black, well-known, was first; Weybourne Harold, another nice black, second; and Orleans Billy, a good spotted tabby, third. In females the first was Lady James Dumps, a well-nigh perfect Manx; second, Manx Queenie, a nice little cat; and third, Witchampton Heads or Tails, a flyer, her only fault pale eyes.

The Siamese were good and they made themselves heard all over the hall. The winner, Mrs. Aubertin's Siamese Punceling, has glorious eyes, pale clear colour, and a capital coat. The second and third, from the same litter, are also good.

The Ballochmyle cats were noticeable in the red tabby classes, and Ch. Ballochmyle Red Prince, Scarlet Runner, Pamela Perfection, and Mother Pop, all frequently described, carried off both first and second prizes in both classes.

The short-haired blues were very good. In both classes the Palace awards were reversed, but it is a near thing between Ballochmyle Bumping Still and Ballochmyle Bumpums II. Most people thought Ballochmyle Sister Bump might have beaten Ballochmyle Bo Peep, and Fulmer Blue Queen was certainly lucky to be placed ahead of Mrs. Bird's Stephanie, who was claimed by Lady Alexander. In the blue novice class Ballochmyle Bumpaway's grand eyes placed him first, as Ballochmyle Muffin is not quite so good in this point. Mrs. Collingwood won in the black class with Mr. Spareley, with Miss Clifton's Weybourne Maria, whose eyes might be deeper, second. Ballochmyle Black Bump and William of Birmingham were unlucky in this class.

In white males Fulmer Snowflake, a good cat and well known, won for Miss Clifton, and the same owner's Weybourne Alfred, a cat for whom I do not much care, was second, and the sweet-faced, deep-eyed Ballochmyle Billie Bunch third, Mrs. Collingwood's Simple Simon and Mrs. Pollard's Doddles, both by James II., are two nice silver tabby kittens, and Mrs. Collingwood's brown tabby kitten, Joshua, is full of promise.

An unpleasant incident was the disqualification by the judge of a certain cat for alleged trimming, Without being in a position to give an opinion on the merits of the case, one or two points strike me. First, I do not think a judge has any right to disqualify a cat. He should judge it as it appears, and if he thinks there is any faking he can afterwards lodge a formal objection. Secondly, when an exhibitor is accused of faking my first endeavour is to discover the possible object. I do not think there is much to be gained by squaring the end of a chinchilla cat's tail, but if this was done to conceal some possible defect it would be easy enough to do it in so artistic a manner as to render detection impossible. In the case in question it is stated that the cat's tail was burnt, and no attempt appears to have been made to conceal the fact that the hair at the tip had by some means been removed.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
NARAUGHI. - 1. There is a certain amount of risk attached to the operation at that age. It should be performed by a skilled veterinary surgeon, and the animal should be put under chloroform. His health should not suffer, but his spirits probably will. 2. The cat is suffering from ear canker. The ears must be sponged out daily with equal parts of methylated spirits and warm water, dried carefully, and dusted inside with boracic powder.
PALTRY. - I do not think there is anything to be gained by showing kittens. Keep them at home till they are at least eight months old.
FEDORA. - The cause is undoubtedly indigestion. Give her two grains bicarbonate of soda daily, feeding only twice at regular times on raw lean beef, mixed with equal bulk of brown bread-crumbs.
MINTO. - If the kitten is well and healthy it may have a varied diet, but let the mainstay be lean meat. A small teasaucerful twice daily should be ample, but it is impossible to lay down hard and fast rules as individuals vary, and you must judge from the animal's condition. The cat will, of course, lose its coat in the summer, but, if kept in good health, it will grow again in the autumn.
DUNSTAN. - A short-haired red should be as deep and dark in hue as possible.
STAR. - The white patch would quite do away with any chance of your cat winning. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, February 3, 1906, pg. 379

IT is most desirable that we should have properly drawn up standards of points for all the various breeds of exhibition cats, but it is most essential that judges should agree to be guided in their decisions by these standards. What is more perplexing for the novice who has familiarized himself with the accepted standard than to find that the judge at the first big show he attends has apparently totally different views. The long-haired British and Siamese cats are all provided with generally accepted standards of points. but the short-haired blue (British or Russian) and Manx are still in difficulties. For the former we were some time ago promised a standard, but we seem to be no "forrader." Manx fanciers are now agitating for some settlement, and I hope a decision may soon be arrived at.

I AM sorry to hear that Mrs. Gregory's chinchilla queen, Sylvia Atossa, has died at the advanced age of eleven years. Mrs. Gregory does not keep many cats, but Sylvia Atossa has always been her favourite, and was the dam of many well-known winners.

A LETTER headed "Distemper or Influenza," written by the Hon. Rose Hubbard to several of our doggy contemporaries, is well worth the notice of cat fanciers. It runs as follows: "Sir, - As entries will soon be due for Cruft's Dog Show, I venture to draw the attention of your readers to the immense need that exists for absolutely honest recognition of the duty incumbent upon exhibitors with regard to contagious complaints. No exhibitor having had influenza (so called) or distemper in his kennels since the end of October will be justified in exhibiting any dog which has been near the affected animals, whether the attack is slight or severe, whether it is acknowledged as distemper or glossed over as influenza. I cannot but think that the responsibility remains the same. I do not speak without reason, for I have known animals to be brought from a kennel where distemper had been rife at an interval of seven weeks with the most disastrous results. It is idle to insist upon the disinfection of the hands of a veterinary surgeon at a show if we do not assist their inspection by strictly confining exhibits to dogs respecting whose health there cannot be the shadow of a doubt."

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, February 10, 1906, pg. 418

THE ANNUAL SHOW OF THE ATLANTIC CA CLUB.
THE annual show of America's leading cat club, which was held in Madison Square Garden, New York, in the early part of January, proved highly successful, the entries numbering 232, Mr. Crawford, the secretary, in commenting on the show, said that the attendance was the largest that the association had had in its seventeen years of exhibitions; and he pointed out that while at the first show the entry fees totalled up to £500, this year they amounted to more than £2,000.

That the decisions of the judges in the Atlantic Cat Club's Show did not always give the highest satisfaction was, perhaps, only natural - was there ever a cat show when they did? As a matter of fact, there were some very lively discussions when some noted prize-winner failed to hold its own and was beaten by a new-comer with practically no prize- winning record at all. Indeed, I had scarcely entered the concert hall where the cat show was held (the body of the garden being taken up by more than 10,000 members of the Poultry and Pet Stock Show) when a gentleman who was plainly labouring under the strongest excitement rushed up and catching me by the arm asked in an agitated whisper, "Have you heard the news?" I had not, and said so, and the excited exhibitor thereupon proceeded to explain that his famous short-hair had "gone down" (his own expression) before some unknown and impossible feline that he "wouldn't have picked off a fence." At his earnest solicitation I viewed the two cats and gave him what comfort I could, when providentially someone came up and asked the owner of the despised short-hair if he had any kittens for sale, when instantly the ignominy of defeat was forgotten in the interest of making a bargain.

But there were other surprises in the show apart from that suffered by my unknown friend's short-hair. It was somewhat astonishing, for instance, to find that Hawthorne, a long-haired black male and the owner of hundreds of blue ribbons won at Cleveland, Rochester, Detroit, Chicago, and other centres, had been beaten by a rival rejoicing in the somewhat remarkable name of Saratoga Johnnie Fawe II. Although Johnnie Fawe II. enjoys some reputation in being the son of Johnnie Fawe I., a noted prize-winner, he had not won many trophies himself, and therefore the surprise felt when he was awarded the blue ribbon was universal. It is, of course, one of the essentials to success that long-haired blacks should be of Ethiopian pureness of colour, and it was pointed out to Mr. Vidal, one of the judges, that Saratoga Johnnie Fawe II. was certainly not of the Whitby jet variety. Indeed, his brush and mane bordered on the copper hue, while Hawthorne was perfect in colour. The judges declared that in point of eye and profusion of coat Johnnie Fawe II., was entitled to the blue ribbon; and in order that the colour of the two cats should be the better examined the animals were taken to the tower of the garden, but during transit an unfortunate accident happened by which Hawthorne managed to make his escape and vanished as completely as though he had been dissipated in thin air.

Then commenced a hunt in which a score of people took part. Every corner of the garden was searched, but without success. And then when everyone had almost given up hope, the animal was discovered lying among the steam-pipes in a loft comfortably dozing, and perhaps dreaming of a land where there were no shows to torment inoffensive cats. Then the colour of the two contestants was once more examined, but the judges refused to budge from their former decision, and Saratoga Johnnic Fawe II. was allowed to keep his blue ribbon.

After that came another storm of indignation when it became known that Mrs. Champion's Argent Splendour, a cat never beaten before, had also "gone down" before Miss Pollard's Omar II. Mrs. Champion took her defeat very good-humouredly, though she was keenly disappointed, for she has been offered untold wealth for the magnificent chinchilla, and, naturally, when a cat has been beaten after several years of success, it detracts a little from its value. It is, of course, necessary to the prize-winning success of a chinchilla that the eyes be set rather wide apart, be perfectly round, and of a green colour - not orange or yellow. Now Omar's eyes, according to the supporters of Argent Splendour, are rather closely set together and decidedly orange in hue, while those of the champion cat are perfect in shape and colour. On what vital points, therefore, Miss Pollard's cat secured the blue ribbon still remains something of a mystery.

Among the successful short-hairs was Connie, a magnificent orange tabby, which belongs to Mrs. J. C. Michelson, of Tariffville, Conn. Mrs. Michelson did not bring up Connie - in fact, he (Connie is a male) has no particular pedigree at all, for his present owner discovered him in a barn on a farm where she was visiting, and being struck by his noble appearance and excellent points Mrs. Michelson took him home, looked after his welfare, smartened him up generally, and then entered him for the Atlantic Cat Club's seventeenth show. Her surprise was considerable when the judges awarded Connie the blue ribbon, whereby she defeated Miss J. B. Cathcart's famous English champion Belle [Bell] of Bradford; which only proves that you never know when you have a prize winner.

Miss Pollard, who is certainly one of the most successful of present-day cat fanciers, also showed Puritana, who gained two firsts and four specials for being the best kitten in the show. The fact that Puritana scored 100 points is probably unique in the history of cat shows, for it is rare indeed that a kitten is pronounced absolutely perfect. Miss Pollard received an offer of £120 for this little creature, which, however, she smilingly declined. Miss Pollard was also given a first and two specials for White Monk, acknowledged to be the best yellow-eyed white in the show. At Rochester White Monk won the silver cup, while last year in New York he secured the blue ribbon. A photograph of Purity, Miss Pollard's famous winner of forty-seven prizes at the leading shows in England and America, was recently given in THE LADIES' FIELD, but as it was not a very good one I give another taken in a more pleasing and natural position. Purity was awarded a first at this recent Atlantic Cat Club show. These photographs, by the way, were taken by Miss Pollard herself, who is as successful in photography as she is in cat rearing.

Mrs. Champion's famous masked silver Persian male, Ch. Lord Silvester, which has never been beaten, was awarded a first, while her shaded silver Persian male, Silver Flash, the sire of many prize-winners, only received a second. This beautiful creature obtained the blue ribbon and medal in the New York Show of 1905, while the same year in Chicago he received another first.

Mrs. Charles D'Almaine received prizes for her Paganini and Victor Lady Mertice, while the long-haired white blue-eyed kitten, Kilvarook of Carrara, belonging to Miss J. R. Kroeh, of Orange, N.J., was also made happy with a blue ribbon. - F. A. J.

THE N.C.C. annual general meeting was held on January 31st. OUR CATS gives an excellent piece of advice to members when it says: "The general meeting of the club is the one chance offered to members, yearly, to make suggestions and criticize anything in the conduct of the club which they think requires alteration. It is very disappointing to see a mere handful of members present on this important occasion. Those who will not come and speak up at the annual general meeting should hold themselves bound not to break this silence during the year."

THESE are words of wisdom, and should be laid to heart by one and all. One constantly meets members of a club who grumble and complain of the management, and sometimes make definite accusations against the officials thereof. Ranging in importance from general carelessness and inefficiency to actual dishonesty; but how seldom are these complaints openly made at a general meeting. Malcontents as a rule prefer to go about boasting of what they could say or do if they liked, and stirring up mischief without definitely and openly making an accusation.

MISS GODDARD has sold her well-known blue stud cat, Blue Boy II., to Mrs. Macnee, of Weston-super-Mare. Blue Boy II. has made a great name both in the show-pen and at stud, his strong points being his beautiful head and shape.

MRS. O'SHEA has kindly written from Kingston-on-Thames to tell me of a home for lost and starving cats, which has been opened by Mr. W. Gerson, M.R.C.V.S,, of River Lodge, St. Leonard's Road, Surbiton. The need for such a home in this neighbourhood was great, and Mr. Gerson has responded to the appeals of kind-hearted people. The entire object of the home is to rescue waifs of the feline race. All cats are received free of charge, and the incurables are put in the lethal chamber, while others are nursed back to health, and when the owners cannot be found efforts are made to place all the strays in happy homes. Mr. Gerson will on receipt of a post-card send to fetch any cat. The cats have full liberty in large runs, and comfortable sleeping benches are used. The construction of the houses has naturally incurred some expense, and a small sum remains to be paid off, and for this subscriptions are asked from anyone interested in the home. Donations, however small, will be gratefully received and acknowledged by Mrs. O'Shea, Briar Lodge, Fassett Road, Kingston-on-Thames. The home may be inspected at any time.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
EDWARD. - l think you rather overfeed your cat considering that he does not take any exercise. From 4 oz. to 6 oz. of meat per day is sufficient for any cat without any other food such as milk. Cat's meat if sound and fresh is good food, but are you sure that it is so? Could you try giving raw beef for a short time? Do not persuade the cat to eat when he is disinclined for food. An occasional day of starvation, especially if a dose of oil is given, is a very good thing for pet dogs and cats, which are highly fed as a rule. The majority of long-haired cats moult as yours does. That is their great drawback. To the eczema spots apply a little sulphur ointment. The cat must have some hiding place where he collects fleas. Combing is the best and surest remedy, but to help matters brush well through his coat, once or twice weekly, a powder consisting of equal parts of powdered camphor, magnesia, and sulphur.
CLARA MANX. - There is no remedy short of an operation, which I do not advise, as it is not invariably successful, for the state of things you describe. Some individuals are much more troublesome than others. Were I you I should let the cat have her way.
MOUSIE. - 1. You would almost certainly get some cream kittens. 2. There is no short-haired cream cat at stud, but a red might do. I think it a pity, as your queen is so good, not to breed blues from her. 3. The short-haired blue is not a distinct breed. Some are bred from short-haired British cats, a few have a Persian cross, and there is a foreign type, weedy and narrow-faced, and most often called Russian, but being found in many countries besides Russia. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, February 17, 1906, pg. 457

IT is news that Mrs. Collingwood is returning to the fancy of the longhaired cats, and contemplates investing in some good blues. It is two years, I think, since she won, at Birmingham, Mr. Witt's special prize of the blue queen, Gladys of Lozells - a special which was, unfortunately, not very useful in a short-haired cattery, but Gladys had evidently only somewhat anticipated her welcome.

AT Manchester I was very glad to see that Miss Samuel's beautiful black Manx, King Kangaroo, won first and championship, as I believe he is now a full champion. King Kangaroo was unfortunate in not winning this title a couple of years ago at Southampton, as he would undoubtedly have done if judged, but he buried himself so completely under the straw in his pen that he was not discovered till late in the afternoon, during the cup judging, when another cat was put in the pen and a black head promptly appeared.

IN future the kitten classes at N.C.C. shows will be confined to kittens between the ages of six and ten months. I think this will be a great safeguard from outbreaks of illness after shows. Cats of over eight months are not nearly so susceptible to distemper as they are earlier in life, and I think in future few kittens of eight months will be entered if they have to compete against those of twelve months.

I HAVE been very much amused by the indignant letters appearing in a contemporary from ladies who consider that their prize-winning cats' names have been usurped. In every case either the cat in question, or its namesake, possesses a prefix or affix, and therefore the names are quite distinct, and any possible confusion arises from the carelessness of persons who omit the distinguishing mark. It is impossible to please everyone.

Years ago when I kept the Cat Club stud books a certain lady wished to register a cat - now celebrated - as Sirdar. As may be imagined, that was a very popular name, and there was already a Sirdar on the books, I wrote to the lady, asking her to change the name or to add a prefix or a numeral, and I received in return a most vehement letter. My statement that the name was already taken was questioned and the lady suggested that if there was a cat of this name it had probably never won a prize, and therefore to deprive her kitten, which had won two prizes, of its name for the benefit of such an animal would be a "queer piece of work." She rejected the suggestion of a prefix or a numeral with scorn, saying that her cat was always "the first" to her. Eventually, of course, she was obliged to change the name.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
R. KIMBER. - The poisoning was no doubt caused by the diseased lung; it is frequently so. I fear from what you say that both cats were tuberculous, and, if so, it would really be kind and wise to have the survivor destroyed. If you decide to attempt treatment by feeding entirely on raw lean beef, over which has been sprinkled a pinch of carbonate of bismuth, begin the meat by degrees, giving only about half an ounce at a time, and gradually increase till the cat eats 6 oz. or 8 oz. a day. Meanwhile allow no fish or milk food, but give a teaspoonful of Kepler's extract of malt and cod-liver oil twice daily. Postal replies can only be sent on receipt of the fee of 2s. 6d.
FLUFF. - Half a teaspoonful of castor oil or a teaspoonful of salad oil is the correct dose for a kitten of eight weeks. I prefer the latter, unless the case is really urgent, as it is milder in action; but I have never known a dose of castor oil, judiciously administered, to do a kitten any harm.
VERVERT. - I do not think your cat suffers from canker of the cars, but there is some congestion and consequent inflammation in the passage. The methylated spirit treatment would be best, and you can use more water if you like, but I do not think you will find "half and half" too strong. For my own animals I do not dilute the spirits at all. Be sure you dry the cars well after washing, and powder with boracic powder. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, February 24, 1906, pg. 494

I AM really delighted to hear that the N.C.C. committee has upheld Mrs. Wilson's appeal against the decision of the Bath Show committee. The facts are these. Mr. Mason, the judge, noticed that Mrs. Wilson's kitten had lost some hair from the tip of its tail, and he, on his own authority, disqualified it. The case came before the show committee, who, while apparently accepting Mrs. Wilson's defence that the kitten's tail had been accidentally singed, upheld Mr. Mason's action in disqualifying it - a most strange and contradictory verdict. Mrs. Wilson wisely decided to refer the matter to the N.C.C., and meanwhile showed the kitten at Manchester, where Mrs. Martin awarded it a number of prizes, and afterwards objected to it for alleged trimming. The N.C.C., after hearing all the evidence, has upheld Mrs. Wilson's appeal against the Bath committee and has dismissed Mrs. Martin's objection. This decision justifies my contention that a judge has no right to disqualify a cat, for Mrs. Wilson now suffers a great injustice in that her kitten would undoubtedly have done well at Bath, but cannot claim the prizes she would have won. Mr. Mason should have done as Mrs. Martin did, judged the kitten first and objected to it afterwards, and then if the objection was found to be unjustified the kitten could have claimed its prizes.

A SUCCESSFUL little show was held at Reading, but the awards in the principal classes are merely repetitions of those at previous shows, Ch. The White Knight, Ch. Neila Billi of Thorpe, Gervase and Bertrand of Thorpe, Blue Coat Betty, and Mrs. Sinkins's smoke, Snippet, are all well-known winners now. In the long-haired silver tabby classes Mrs. Cochrane's handsome novice, Garryowen, beat Dunsden Abdul and Roiall Chieftain; and in the female class another newcomer was Mrs. Bergman''s Lowland Silver Moire, but she is by Abdul Hamet of Dingley. Miss Anderson Leale's recent purchase, the handsomely marked Lady Shrover, made a good second. Peruke and Russet Boy, both looking beautiful, were the only brown tabbies. Mrs. Norris's orange kittens were, as usual, unapproachable, and Ch. Kew Ronald was in his right place at the head of his class.

LOBO OF LOZELLS, Mr. Witt's kitten, whose reputation goes before him, won second in breeders' class, third in novice, and first in blue male kittens. He now retires to appear next year in the open classes, if all goes well, and will then make the Thorpe cats feel that there is still some competition.

THE short-haired classes were poorly filled. Mrs. Collingwood's brown tabby, Joshua, continues to improve, and Ch. Miss Toodles, who was looking well, won from Mrs. Slingsby's Thesis of Thorpe, a really beautiful silver tabby kitten.

MISS CLIFTON made a successful debut as a judge of Manx. Mr. Lowe won in the self colour class with Tynwald's Bride, a really good black. Mr. Curphay taking second and third with Balla Beg and J. K. C., also good blacks and stumpless, the former better in shape and longer in leg than the latter. In the any other colour class Mrs. Notts's Manx Queenie was first. She is very small but a beautiful Manx. Mr. Halby's Odin of Halstead showed temper and was shy, but he is a real good cat if he would make the best of himself. Joshua won the breeders' and kitten classes; in the former he beat Ch. Miss Toodles.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS
(For Rules see last week's issue.)
POOKA. - I think you had better ask your vet. to prescribe a nux vomica tonic for your cat. It would be best to get the vet. to do this, as its effects vary somewhat, according to the temperament of the animal, and personal observation would be a great assistance in treating the case.
TEEDY WEENY. - I do not think your cat will grow a good coat again until the autumn, but you may feel fairly easy about his growing it then. All longhaired cats are beginning to moult now, and some do so more thoroughly than others, but no doubt the operation and consequent "running down" have made yours look worse than he would otherwise have done. Do not give fish, but let the second meal be largely composed of meat. You do not say how much food you give, but 6 oz. of meat a day is ample for any cat, and if greater bulk of food is required brown bread is the best make-weight.
FUSS. - Your kitten undoubtedly died of distemper. It has become habitual of late to call distemper of a particular form gastritis, but I strongly disapprove of this, as people who have lost cats from gastritis (so-called) do not appear to realize any need for quarantine, and show cats from an infected, or recently infected, cattery. If you wish to be on the safe side and do your duty by your neighbour you will neither show nor sell a kitten for at least four weeks after the whole place has been disinfected. - DICK WHITTINGTON

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, March 3, 1906, pg. 494

MISS CHAMBERLAYNE is not the owner of a large cattery, but the cats she has are exceedingly good, as their remarkable success in the show-pen proves. Pearl Maiden is a beautiful pale chinchilla, daughter of Rob Roy of Arrandale. She was exhibited at all the large shows during 1905, and won a good position on every occasion. She might have done even better than she did but for a foolish trick of scratching and tearing at her lovely frill. Russet Boy, the brown tabby, has also done considerable winning, and his portrait hardly does him justice, as it was taken before his frill was fully grown, and when at the photographer's he refused to put on his "best smile." Miss Chamberlayne tells me that since last exhibited he has improved enormously in colour and is now a rich sable. Bouton d'Or was photographed as a kitten, and since that date she has grown into a beautiful cat, with a lovely face and frill shaped like a sunflower. Her body markings might be better, but otherwise she is well-nigh faultless. Miss Chamberlayne is now going in for Pekingese, so I fear the cats will n future not receive her undivided attention.

A WELL-KNOWN breeder of blues, in writing to me on various subjects, commented upon the fact that none of our best blue stud cats has gone to America. This is curious, and, considering that Americans are prepared to pay good prices. I cannot understand it, as such a purchase would be far more profitable than any number of second-class queens or first-class kittens. Were I buying for America I should buy cats between one and two years, and first prize-winners at big shous if possible, There is no doubt that many cats win in America which would not get a card here, and I feel sure that if one of our best blues appeared at a g American show it could sweep the board.

THE N.C.C. has made a new rule, similar to that already enforced by the Kennel Club. In future, championships must be won under three different judges before a cat is entitled to the prefix of champion.

MISS CLIFTON has parted with her well-known red and white Manx male, Strathcona, to Mr. Will Hally. Strathcona was bred in the Isle of Man, at a farm where the breed has been kept pure for twenty-five years, He is the best shaped and coated Manx I have ever seen and a really grand mover. The first time he was shown was at the Crystal Palace where Mr. Brooke gave him first and championship, and after that he won several prizes, but fewer than he ought to have done, as the all-round judges who have lately cheerfully undertaken the Manx classes cannot resist putting a bad cat of a good colour over a good cat of a bad colour; and this, where Manx cats are concerned, is a hopeless blunder.

HARDLY is one Southern Counties' Show over than the energetic committee of the club begins making preparations for the next. I have not heard anything definite, but I fancy the show of January, 1907, will be held in Southampton, and I hope that of 1908 may be in Bournemouth,

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
PAPA GEI. - A cat of six years is by no means too old to rear her kittens properly. I am inclined to think, as the cat has previously been a good mother, that the kittens were born sickly, and that this was the old cat's reason for neglecting them. Many cats will turn weakly kittens out of the nest. In any case, the kitten was not starving, as, if kept warm, kittens do not really require feeding so soon after birth. Had the kittens been strong enough to suck, supplies would probably have come in a day or so. In these cases the demand often causes the supply.
SIAM. - The Siamese Cat Club does not regard the kinked tail as a fault, though I believe it is very much objected to in Siam, and, therefore, if you show your cat under a Siamese Club judge her tail will be no disadvantage to her.
DEWBERRY. - The short, tight, glossy coat of the British cat is out of place on a Manx. The true Manx coat is rather longer and "starey"- looking.
CHANGELING. - If you are very quiet and gentle with the foster cat she will probably give no trouble. Take her kittens away and shut them in a basket with the other family for an hour, then give her back the two strangers and one of her own kittens. If she does not take to them at once You must coax and pet her until she does. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, March 10, 1906, pg. 8

NEVER has any fancier met with the success which has attended Mrs. Norris's footsteps on the difficult path of cat-breeding. Mrs. Norris every year brings out one or two kittens, and these appear at every show in perfect condition and invariably win first prize. Gradually they come to competing in the open classes, and before long one or other attains to the proud position of best cat in the show.

KEW SAN TOY is a cat I always admired. I have not seen him for some years, but as a young cat he did well in the show-pen. He was very nicely shaped and of a good colour, but the points which appealed most to me were his sweet round face and orange eyes. As a sire San Toy has been a wonderful success, and I should not like to attempt to enumerate the winnings of his kittens. Kew Blue San Toy II. is another notable winner. Fault has been found with his colour, but though it is a very pale shade of blue, paler than I care for, it is neither rusty nor unsound, but of a pale, almost silvery hue. He is a very large, massive cat, with huge bone, a beautiful coat, a fine head, and really deep orange eyes.

KEW RONALD is, in my opinion - that of most judges of the breed - the best cream cat in this country. Large, heavily boned and coated, and possessed of a grand head, he escapes the two faults common to most cream cats - he has good large hazel eyes and his colour is cream, not that dingy fawn shade which often passes for cream. The pride of the cattery at the present moment is the pair of young orange males, Kew Red Comyn and Kew Red Spider. Though only ten months old, Spider is already a champion, and I think I am correct in stating that he has only once been beaten, and then by his brother. Comyn is slightly shorter in face than Spider, but in all other points Spider beats him. They are truly a wonderful pair, and I doubt if any two cats of their age have ever won such a number of prizes.

MRS. NORRIS feeds her cats chiefly on meat and fish. Raw beef every day, horseflesh three times a week, raw rabbit once a week, and fish and cod-liver oil twice a week. No vegetables, cornflour, or water to drink. The Kew cats are always shown in magnificent form, so this generous diet evidently agrees with them. Mrs. Norris does not believe in much grooming of cats, for, as she rightly says, cats kept properly and combed and brushed occasionally are always in show form.

I AM very sorry to hear it said that the blue long-hairs in Scotland are on the down grade, and that there are few, if any good kittens coming on. True, Scotland has lately lost some of her keenest fanciers, but there must surely be others to take their places. Mrs. Mackenzie Stewart was at one time a most successful breeder. She thoroughly understood the breed, and knew what she wished to produce, but of late she has got slack, rarely exhibits, and appears to keep very few queens. Worse than all, she is going in for toy Poms. I certainly think it is her duty to come back to cats, and try to give them a lift.

AT one time Scotland appeared to be forging ahead of England, though I must say it was by the help of cats bred in England that such success was attained. Ch. Blue Jacket, Ch. Ayrshire Ronald, and Mark Antony were all representative of some of the leading strains in the South, and Mark Antony sired Dolly Gray, who carried all before her at the Crystal Palace a couple of years ago. Whites are still well represented in the North, but tabbies and chinchillas never seem to have thoroughly "caught on." There are one or two good blacks and smokes, but creams and oranges are scarce.

NEXT month kittens will begin to arrive thick and fast, so I cannot do better than give a few hints as to their treatment. Unless a queen is known to be a good mother, it is advisable to leave her only two kittens to rear. There are very few cats who cannot rear two kittens well, but many who cannot manage three or four. Cats may be generously fed on raw beef from the day their kittens are born. If, when the kittens are three or four weeks old, the mother is attacked by diarrhoea, it is a sign that rearing the kittens is too great a strain upon her constitution, and she should immediately be relieved of her task. Sometimes one kitten may be left, but it is safer to remove the lot before they go wrong. If a foster-mother can be procured, well and good; if not, the kittens must be taught to cat raw beef as soon as possible. The meat must, of course, be scraped and pulped, and if tiny pieces are put in the kittens' mouths they will soon learn to eat; until they do so, it will be necessary to give them a few teaspoonfuls of warm milk and Plasmon three or four times daily. I believe in feeding all kittens entirely on raw lean beef or horseflesh as soon as they can eat it. Kittens so fed are no trouble to rear, provided too large a quantity of meat is not given, as, beyond mincing the meat, no preparation is required; moreover, their houses are much more easily kept clean and sweet.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
SASA. - 1. There is no reason why the cat should not sire good and healthy kittens; in fact, I should think he was more likely to do so than a cat of which you know nothing. 2. I do not know if the cats you mention are "at stud," but I should think not.
VIOLET. - AII male cats when full grown become troublesome in this respect, and there is no cure short of having the animal made neuter. The operation could be performed now, but he is rather old for it, and it should have been done when he was six or seven months old. Unless he is a great favourite, I should advise you to part with him. Should you decide to do so, will you write and tell me, as I could, I think, help you in the matter?
NARCISSUS. - Your cat is large for his age now, and as he seems well and lively you need be under no anxiety about him. The operation no doubt checked his growth for the time, and he is only just making up the weight he lost during his illness. I have known cats apparently stop growing for months under these circumstances and then to increase enormously. The sickness is probably caused by overloading the stomach, and giving him a smaller quantity would probably right matters. Milk food often causes sickness, but you do not say if it is after a milk meal that he is sick. If on decreasing the quantity of food the sickness continues place a pinch of carbonate of bismuth on the cat's tongue before breakfast. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, March 17, 1906, pg. 74

P ROSPERO DUVALS is a particularly fine young chinchilla male, the property of Miss Meeson, who is justly proud of having bred such a splendid specimen. At the Crystal Palace in 1904 he won second in the kitten class, pressing the winner hard, and in 1905 he occupied the same position in the open male class. He is a pale, pure-coloured cat, excelling in shape and head, and is a credit to his sire, Miss Ford's Silver Button. He has been a winner each time exhibited.

AFTER serious consideration I have come to the conclusion that scarcity of judges is at the bottom. of much of the ill-feeling which is at present rampant in "Catland." We were never very well provided with judges, and in "all-rounders" we were particularly weak. Of late some of the judges refuse to act, and others for various reasons are never asked to do so, the consequence being that at show after show the same judges are appointed. Before very long a judge is bound to make some enemies, and for this reason, if for no other, it would be well to have variety. Another objection to the lack of change is that certain exhibitors get used to winning because the judge happens to admire their cats, and when some brave newcomer ventures to put them down they are furious. Scotland is fairly well supplied with all-round judges to suit all tastes and there is a healthy spirit of rivalry between these judges, who do not hesitate to criticise each other's awards freely and openly, which helps to keep things straight.

I THINK an interchange of judges would be mutually beneficial - let one or two of the best Scotch all-rounders be appointed to judge some of the big English shows and two English "all-rounders" journey up to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

I AM not a very great advocate for specialist judges. I maintain that a man who can judge all breeds has necessarily a greater knowledge of the animal than a man who can undertake only one. Neither do I think it essential that a man should have owned and bred each breed of cat before he can judge it. More knowledge can be gleaned from the careful study of a large number of exhibition cats than from an intimate knowledge of a stud containing only a few good specimens. I have owned all breeds of longhairs, and bred most of them, but I find the colours which I have bred most largely are still the most difficult to judge. I have kept very few shorthairs, and bred less, and though they require more careful and capable judging than the longhairs, I think I have given more satisfaction in my awards when judging them.

SQUABBLES over the naming of cats are too absurd. It is a well known fact that by adding a prefix or affix one may give a cat any name one likes, whether already appropriated or not, and yet these silly arguments arise. Doggy people are not so foolish, and the Kennel Club rules on the matter are strict. The prefix or affix is a part of the animal's name, and its omission in an entry form may lead to disqualification. The owner of some prize-winning cat always seems to feat that the glory of the wins is discounted by the fact that another animal bears a partially similar name, but I really think the much-dreaded confusion arises more in fancy than in fact. If a celebrated champion cat named Tommy were frequently exhibited, and I brought a young, vastly inferior cat named, say, Tommy of Dundee, nobody would have any right to find fault with me, and to confuse the two would argue great ignorance and carelessness.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
DAPHNE. - To pick up good shorthairs cheap you must have a thorough all-round knowledge of their points; and, even then, you will very seldom come across a first-class cat. Red and silver tabbies you need not hope to meet with, but blacks, whites, and brown tabbies occasionally turn up in queer places, and I know of at least one really good blue which was found in a cottage.
SIMPLE SIMON. - The pale, unmarked face suggests that your kitten may eventually be a chinchilla; at any rate, it is not likely to be a good silver tabby.
JUAN. - The cats you speak of were bred and shown by Mrs. Hill and Mrs. Maconochie of Tovil, who have now given up exhibiting.
ANXIOUS. - I think your parrot can probably take care of himself. I have never heard of a cat hurting a parrot or cockatoo.
MABEL. - 1. Undoubtedly the kitten is old enough for a change of diet. Did you notice the answer to "Narcissus " in last week's issue? 2. The cat would be valueless for show purposes, though I can quite believe it is a very fine specimen. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, March 24, 1906, pg. 113

MISS CLIFTON has long been searching for a white Manx cat, and has at last procured a kitten from Mr. Hally. She tells me that the kitten is stumpless and well-shaped, though, of course, its eyes are not blue. Miss Clifton also intends going in for short- haired blues, and is looking for a really good queen of this colour. Good blues are very hard to get, and the strongest team in this country is owned by Lady Alexander, who so fully realises their rarity that when she meets with a good specimen she promptly buys it if she can.

I THINK the first cat Miss Clifton ever showed was a blue shorthair - a pretty little cat with a round face, but as its eyes were green its show career was short.

THE next show of the Southern Counties Cat Club will be held in the Royal Horticultural Society's Hall, Vincent Square, Westminster, on January 10th and 11th, 1907.

THE Siamese Cat Club once more closes the financial year with a satisfactory balance at the bank, and having supported all the principal shows.

MR. WITT tells me that Royal Bobs is siring kittens with dark copper eyes, and that, therefore, he is mating all his best queens with him.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, March 31, 1906, pg. 135

I NOTICE that Miss Rosamund Whitney, our leading brown tabby fancier, is strongly opposed to the crossing of brown with silver tabby cats. I quite agree with her. Theoretically, the cross is absolutely wrong, for it introduces grey into the sable colour and brown into the silver, both most undesirable mixtures. This being so, the strange fact remains that the cross has frequently produced really good silver and brown tabby kittens. I cannot account for this in any way, and I do not advise fanciers to try the experiment, as they might receive their well-merited punishment in the second and third generation. About fifteen years ago I bred several litters from a brown tabby male and a rather sandy silver tabby female. The kittens were really good sable tabbies and well-marked silver tabbies, which only rarely had brown noses, and once there was a nice smoke. Ido not know what these kittens would have bred, but I "hae my doots." The celebrated Birkdale Ruffie was sired by Climax, who was a brown-nosed tabby, brother to Ch. Felix by the silver tabby Topso, out of the silver tabby and white Lady Pink.

AT last our minds are to be set at rest on the subject of blue shorthairs, as the Short-haired Cat Society has decided to draw up a standard of points.

THE Scottish Cat Club has, I understand, been approached on a subject which certainly seems worthy of consideration. By the present rules a cat, to be a championship winner, must have won a first prize in its own class. This occasionally leads to much apparent injustice. If one championship for the best male and one for the best female be awarded at a show where some of the classes are mixed, the best female may become ineligible to compete for the championship. Let us suppose that there is a class for blue male or female in which are entered the only first-class cats in the show, a male taking first and a female second. There may not be another female in the show nearly so good as this one, and yet she cannot take the championship because she has won only second prize, and it goes to an inferior specimen.

THE show of the N.C.C. at the Crystal Palace will take place on December 12th and 13th. There has always been much complaint from the long-haired exhibitors, as their cats are rarely in coat by October, and one, therefore, expected unanimous approval of the change of date. It is very amusing to find that exhibitors are now moaning the fact that their kittens will, in some few cases, no longer be kittens, though the great extension of the age limit in the kitten classes should reduce such grumbles to a minimum.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, April 7, 1906, pg. 196

THE month of March invariably brings a dearth of news in catty circles. The shows are over for a season, and but few litters have arrived, while those which have are too young to be of general interest.

WE have every year, I suppose, some novices among us, and for their benefit it is well to give advice which would be scorned by the experienced breeder of one year's standing. A beginner should always specialise in colour, and stick to the laid down rules as to mating. A mixed team requires an experienced hand to guide it; moreover, the novice of an enquiring turn of mind is tempted to try foolish experiments in colour mating.

I DO not intend to condemn all experiments as foolish, as many of them are most successful, but some people cannot resist making absolutely unsuitable colour crosses. When, as often happens, one or two fairly good kittens result, they cannot understand that this is a fluke, but publish their experiences as of the greatest importance, and sell the kittens to some unfortunate novice to whom, on account of their mixed ancestry, they will be useless for breeding.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
BLUE BOY. - Neuter cats, as a rule, grow much larger than males, and though the kittens' growth is often checked for a time they usually commence growing very rapidly after a month or two. Plenty of meat to eat will aid their growth.
OLD TABBY. - 1. You could not obtain a very good specimen of four months old for the price you name, though you could easily get a showy pet. A kitten of eight weeks would be cheaper, but could you not give three or four guineas and have a really first-class specimen? 2. Write to Miss Anderson Leake, Dingley Hill, Bradfield, Reading. She is sure to have some good kittens, and would probably have a few suitable for pets to sell cheaply. 3. I think these cats are particularly hardy.
WORRY. - It is impossible, as I have repeatedly stated, that replies should appear in the "next issue" of THE LADIES' FIELD. From the description I fear that your cat is suffering from mange, and unless he is of great value or a great pet I advise you to have him destroyed, as cats are difficult to cure of this disease. If you decide to keep the cat, all his hair must be shaved off, and his skin must be washed and thoroughly soaked in a solution of carbonate of soda and warm water, dried carefully, and then dressed all over with sulphur and white vaseline ointment. The ointment must be applied every other day, and the bathing once a week, or as often as the skin becomes clogged. Feed liberally on raw beef, and give a dessertspoonful of cod-liver oil daily. This disease is communicable to other animals and to human being. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, April 14, 1906, pg. 245

I AM extremely lor" to hear that, owing to ill-health, Mrs. Western is parting with most of her cats.

NOVICES in the cat fancy are frequently puzzled by the appearance of new-born kittens, and, particularly in the case of various shades of silvers, find it difficult to decide what colour the kittens will eventually be. Generally speaking, if silver kittens are born with pale unmarked faces and paws they will develop into chinchillas, The bodies are usually strongly marked, some like the ordinary silver tabby and others with narrow mackerel markings. The latter I prefer, as I found them purer and paler in colour, as a rule, when grown up. A few silvers are without body markings, but very many of these tend to a sandy shade in aftre life.

TABBY markings, betraying the descent from the common ancestor, are noticeable in all newly-born kittens when inspected in strong sunlight, and black and whites will frequently show markings until they are several months old. Of course, these markings are more noticeable in the short than in the long haired kittens.

SIAMESE kittens are born white, and their dark points gradually appear, but do not acquire their full density until the fluffy kitten coat has gone.

SHORT-HAIRED blue cats often possess barred tails when young, but these need not distress their owners, as they are usually all right when the cat is a year old.

LONG-HAIRED blue queens sometimes develop a sprinkling of white hairs over the back after rearing their first litters. These, if left severely alone, usually disappear in the next moult, but plucking them out has a tendency to increase their number.

THE Misses Powis are quite novices in the cat world, though last year their Shazada Lorelei did very well. They have now gone a step further in purchasing from Mr. Witt a young blue male by Goliath II. ex Inez of Lozells, which they have named Shazada Barlasche. Barlasche is a very handsome young cat with perfect eyes., and he won first at King's Heath, Birmingham, under Mr. House. He is seven-eighths brother to Bacchus, the American sensation, as his dam, Inez, is by Moko ex Sen-Sen. Bacchus is by Goliath II. ex Norah of Lozells, who is by Molko ex a daughter of Sen-Sen.

MISS MEESON'S Seagull is one of our best young chinchillas, and though the photograph, owing to her" contrariness," does not do her justice, it gives a fair idea of her beauty. Miss Meeson much regrets that she is not legally Seagull's breeder, as morally she is, for she bred the mother, Venus Duvals, and sold her to Mrs. Stallibrass on condition that she should be mated to Lord Argent, and her first daughter sold to Miss Meeson for three guineas. The first daughter was Seagull. Prospero Duvals and Seagull won at Bath eight prizes - two firsts, two seconds, two challenge cups, and two specials. Seagull has just been mated to Mrs. Pettitt's white male, Brilliant Pearl, an experimental mating.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, April 21, 1906, pg. 281

A RETIREMENT from, and a return to, the cat fancy are items of news I have to chronicle this week. Mrs. Kirk, of Leamington, is withdrawing her cats, which include the renowned White Knight and White Hussar of the Midlands, from public life, and will in future keep them as pets.

MRS. HORLEY, of St. Neots, has purchased Mrs. Western's chinchilla male, Tristram, who was, I believe, bred by Miss Lister from Phroso, a daughter of Tuan. Mrs. Horley began cat breeding a good many years ago, and had two good queens, a smoke and a chinchilla, litter sister to the well-known Silver Charm. Circumstances compelled her to give up cat breeding for a time, but she has now returned to the fancy with renewed zeal.

ALAS! we are no nearer a settlement of the points of blue short-hairs. The meeting of the Short-haired Cat Society was so poorly attended that it was found to be impossible to settle the matter. Regret was also expressed that a standard of points for Manx cats could not be drawn up, as the breed was unrepresented. Here I think the S.H.C.S. oversteps its margin, as the Manx cat has a large and representative club to foster its interests, and that club is at present busying itself over a standard of points for the breed, so the assistance of any other society is only likely to cause confusion.

I HAVE received a copy of that excellent publication, the "United States Register and Stud Book," a capital publication, beautifully illustrated with photographs of cats. There are a few trifling errors, but less than one usually finds in a volume of the kind, and it will be most useful to English as well as American fanciers. The photographs are most excellent, but, except in blacks and whites, the quality hardly seems equal to what we can show in our English catteries. The blacks are very good, and the whites really exquisite, but I am pleased to note that the best cats (according to the pictures) were imported from England.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
TIP-CAT. - If you want to have a couple of showy pets of good contrasting colours select a blue and a bright orange, and be sure both have dark orange eyes.
TRUE BLUE. - 1. Very many thanks for your kind and complimentary remarks. I am always glad to hear that my advice has been successfully followed. Many cats, especially blues and blacks, have these bare patches over the temples. and when moulting they show more. Any irritation inside the ears would increase the trouble. 2 and 3. The first treatment is to attack the inside of the ears. These must be carefully washed out with equal parts of methylated spirits and warm water. The best way to do this is with tufts of medicated cotton wool, dry with the same substance, and then powder with boric acid powder. A very little vaseline ointment may be rubbed into the bare patches occasionally.
WOOLLY. - Pick out a kitten with a short round face and small ears, good big paws, a short tail, and nice coat. It is impossible to be certain of eye colouring at so tender an age, but if both sire and dam are correct in this point the kittens will probably follow suit.
PUZZLED. - Far from being the best food for delicate cats and kittens, I can assure you that milk can only be digested by the very strongest of their race. You will find your kittens are far more easily trained now that you have altered their diet. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, April 28, 1906, pg. 324

I AM sure everyone is much surprised to hear that Miss Simpson proposes resigning her post as secretary of the B.P.C.S. She has certainly been most successful in her management of the society, which was, if I recollect rightly, started by Mrs. Champion shortly before she left for America. Some difficulties arose, exactly why I cannot recollect; there was a split in the camp and a considerable amount of squabbling, and eventually the club fell into the able hands of Miss Simpson.

MRS. SINKINS has suffered an irreparable loss by the death of her beautiful smoke male, Ch. Teufel. Teufel was not yet six years old; he was, apparently, in perfect health, and his death was sudden and unaccountable. He was undoubtedly the best smoke male that has been shown for years, and Mrs. Sinkins was justly proud of having bred him. As a sire, Teufel was a great success, and many of his kittens are show-pen celebrities.

I AM sorry to hear a rumour that Mr. Hally is giving up Manx cats. I fear it is true, as some of his cats notably the cream male and the tortoise and white female, have gone to Miss Clifton's cattery, but I have not heard if Boygym and his sister have found new homes.

IT appears to be doubtful if there will be a cat show at Richmond this year; but Mr. Wilson, of Ashford, has undertaken to manage the show if a guarantee of £20 to £30 - surely a very moderate sum - can be found.

AN article, entitled "Kitten Diet," which appeared in a contemporary is somewhat behind the times, for it accuses cat-breeders of carelessness over the matter of kitten feeding. This is surely a mistake, as the majority of cat-owners toil and labour all day over their kittens' diet. Their ideas may be mistaken, and they may take more trouble than is necessary, but this is merely an excess of zeal. More kittens die from over-much care than from neglect.

SINCE I have let my kittens run wild, and fed as much as possible on raw meat, I have had no trouble with them. By "as much as possible" I mean that when there is meat for dogs and cats the kittens get nothing else, when there is no meat the hardy ones get anything that is going, but any delicate kittens have a little bit of meat from the house. When we cannot get raw meat we feed dogs and cats on boiled sheep's and bullocks' paunches and sheep's head, but the former they do not care much about. Lentil porridge may also be given when meat is scarce, but the lentils must be well soaked and then boiled for hours. A little meat must be boiled with them to give them a flavour, or the cats will not eat them.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
MIDA. - I think you have made a mistake in the diagnosis, as this complaint is rare in kittens. Keep the animal warm, feed it liberally on raw beef, and, if possible, steam its head with eucalyptus. A dose of castor oil (a large teaspoonful) had better be given. If there is no improvement write again, describing the symptoms fully and telling me how the cat has been kept, whether in or out of doors. etc. Do not give any variety of food, but three or four small meals of raw meat in the day.
KATOS. - l am sorry to say I can give you no authentic information about the Cyprus cat. I think the name is usually applied to tortoise-shell and whites, but I have also heard it applied to the short-haired blues.
YELLOW BOY. - l have heard of orange and brown tabby cats with blue eyes, but I have never seen one, and I do not believe they exist, any more than white cats with pink eyes!
JUGGLER. - If it is necessary to feed the kittens before they leave the mother, you had better give them tiny scraps of raw beef scraped, as at this time more than at any other milk food is likely to disagree with them.
PRINCIPESSINA. - You must certainly discipline the kitten, or it will develop into a regular thief. Never allow it to get on any table, whether there is food there or not. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, May 5, 1906, pg. 364

MISS SIMPSON will, with the assistance of Mr. Wilson, once more undertake the management of the Richmond Show.

IT IS interesting to learn that Mrs. Balding is endeavouring to produce a strain of "self-sable" cats. A more attractive colour it is difficult to imagine, and if Mrs. Balding brings the intelligence and perseverance which has distinguished her efforts in other matters into play her endeavour should soon meet with success. As the originator of the chinchilla cat, Mrs. Balding merits the respect and gratitude of all cat-fanciers. The greatest difficulty she will have to face in producing "self-sables" is the elimination of ticking, as, when the markings go brown, tabby cats generally fade into something like an Abyssinian.

MR. HOUSE publishes in a contemporary a tirade against meat feeding for kittens, and gives a graphic description of the horrible results of a meat diet on some kittens of his own. Mr. House's arguments, as they stand, are not sound, for he has omitted one important fact entirely, and he owns to one grave error in carrying out the meat feeding. The omission is this: We are told that the kittens at four weeks old had half a teaspoonful of meat twice daily, at six weeks three times daily and at seven weeks the quantity was doubled. So far good, but after this we are merely told that the quantity of meat was "gradually increased." This is a very vague statement, as too much raw meat is quite certain to cause disaster, and this is a point I am always impressing upon my adherents. The error referred to is that the kittens were given one meal in the day of cooked meat and bread. We are not told if the bread was white or brown. If the former no more indigestible food could be given; and once more I venture to affirm that a diet of meat and bread is not a wholly meat diet. A few other little mistakes in the rearing of this litter I beg to remark upon. A litter of four kittens should be weaned at six weeks old. Some cats can nurse one or two kittens for eight weeks, but as a rule after six weeks the milk deteriorates greatly in quality, and the mother gets run down, and her presence does the kittens more harm than good. The worm doses administered to these kittens were an aggravation of their troubles. Had they been weaned at six weeks and given no bread they would have required no worm medicine; but if they had, even at the age when they were dosed, been put on to an entirely meat diet the situation would have been saved. Mr. House says that the kittens were "forced to a premature grave" - that they throve amazingly up to a certain point, four months old, and then suddenly drooped and died. This, as a matter of fact, is nonsense. A kitten unsuitably fed does not go on thriving for months, to break down suddenly at the end; as long as the kittens throve their diet suited them. Mr. House must look for the cause in the week preceding the first sign of flagging. My opinion is that the kittens were given far too much meat, and that the addition of bread to their diet aggravated their trouble.

I CAN give Mr. House an illustration more conclusive than his. Manx kittens are notoriously delicate and hard to rear. Last summer I had a litter of three good ones. When they were barely three weeks old the mother, finding the strain of nursing too great, was attacked by diarrhoea. I immediately put the mother on a raw meat diet, and gave all the kittens raw beef once daily. Two I took from the mother, and gave them also a little warm milk strengthened with Plasmon. This was given only because the kittens had not reached the age when they would naturally feed themselves. After a few days I got another cat to take the two kittens, and she kept them a fortnight. After this they were weaned and fed twice daily on meat. They had to eat whatever we could get for the dogs, and meat is sometimes scarce here. When we were in luck they ate raw horse, sometimes they had boiled tripe or sheep's head. Occasionally, when there was no meat, I gave them half a saucerful of milk warm from the goat, but this invariably resulted in an attack of diarrhoea, so it had to be stopped. The three kittens are now three cats of about eight months old, and much bigger than their mother.

MRS. MIDDLETON writes to assure me that the Short-haired Cat Society had no intention of usurping the duties of the Manx Cat Club, but merely wished to hear the opinions of members on the subject of Manx points and forward a memorandum to the secretary of the Manx Cat Club.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, May 12, 1906, pg. 377

THAT good Manx cat, Strathcona, has sired a particularly good litter from a tortoise-shell queen, and if all goes well some of the kittens should be heard of again. Strathcona did not make a long stay in Scotland, for he is once more established in the South of England, Mr. Hally having sold him when he broke up his cattery. Miss Samuel's strain is still pre-eminent among black Manx, though Miss Clifton is rapidly improving her stud of this variety. One of her queens is of Miss Samuel's breeding, but the others are of different blood. In whites Sir Claud Alexander's brace remain unchallenged. In tabbies there appears to be no distinct strain, but reds, tortoiseshells, and tortoise and whites are, I think, likely to come to the fore. Strathcona is, so far as I can see, likely to be the backbone of this variety for some time to come.

LAST season a good deal was heard of a particularly beautiful white long-haired male named Baynton Gryp, which was imported, owned, and exhibited by Mrs. Knight. This cat has been purchased at a very high figure by Mrs. Millar on behalf of Miss Pollard, of New Jersey.

A FEW years ago when cream or fawn cats were mentioned the name of Miss Winifred Beal alone wus thought of. In those days Romaldkirk Admiral and Romaldkirk Midshipmite were the only really good males of this colour which appeared regularly in the show-pen. A few others, notably Ripon, Fawn, and Prince Topaz, came and went, but left no mark upon the breed. During the last two years many beautiful sons and grandsons of Admiral and Midshipmite have been exhibited, and the colours of the old cats were lowered on several occasions by Ch. Kew Ronald and Wildon Wily. This is defeat but by no means disgrace, and I can only regret that the old champions did not retire and leave the field to their descendants while they were still undefeated.

ADMIRAL is still to the fore in the home cattery, and Miss Beal is bringing on a good young cream male, of Mrs. D'Arcy Hildyard's strain, named Romaldkirk Master-at-Arms. She has also three good orange males in Jackal, Hermes, and The Red Rover, and a pale blue, named Romaldkirk Jim; so there is no danger of her cattery becoming depopulated at present.

I WAS not aware that Mrs. Herbert Ransome had parted with her blue male, Darius IV., but I see he is now the property of Mrs. Wilson, of Strathaven, N.B. Darius IV. is one of the finest blues I have ever seen. He is very large and heavily coated, of a sound medium shade, and has a fine broad head and deep orange eyes. Mrs. Wilson has also purchased Darius V. and that good silver tabby, Ch. Wynnstay Bigwig, which was, I believe, bred by Miss Cope.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
JEREMIAH. - I quite agree with the writer you refer to. I used pine sawdust in my catteries for years, and never knew any harm to result from use. If the pans are changed every morning, and rinsed with a little disinfectant, then left till next morning to air (this will entail having two sets of pans), the cattery will be quite clean and fresh.
BOB. - The orange tabby with white markings is, in spite of his lovely coat worth only a few shillings as a pet. Many years ago an orange and white cat named Chicot won the gold medal for the best cat in the show at the Crystal Palace, but times have changed.
POUSSETTE. Those hard, dry lumps are a form of eczema Give two grains of bicarbonate of soda in a spoonful of milk every morning, and rub a little boracic ointment into the spots.
ANXIOUS. - Provide the cat with a comfortable bed in a quiet corner, and leave her in peace. It is seldom, indeed, that Nature does not teach cats all they require to know. Interference, more than anything else, is likely to cause trouble. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, May 19, 1906, pg. 419

THE Faygate cattery continues to flourish, and Lady Alexander now possesses a really good tortoiseshell and white tom, thirteen months old and over distemper. The cream queen who made her debut at Bath is expecting a litter shortly.

MRS. KIRK has sold Ch. White Knight to Mrs. Sedgewick. Though getting on in years, this is still one of our best cats, and my readers will remember that I have always admired him immensely. He has done a vast amount of winning, but has always been late of coming into coat. This led his detractors to assert that he could not grow a coat, but I am in a position to say that this was untrue. He is a huge cat; when in Miss White-Atkins's possession I believe he scaled 16lb. He has a wonderfully broad, round forehead, tiny ears, and short, broad nose, and his bone is immense. His only fault, to my mind, is that his eyes, though a good shade of blue, are rather small.

I WAS amused to see someone advertising the other day for a cat, "Silver, with black stripes; no Persian, no tabby." Apparently, the animal required is a short-haired silver tabby, and the advertiser has fallen into the rather common error of thinking that tabby means brown tabby. When I first showed cats a tabby cat generally meant a female cat, and classes were provided for "toms" and " tabbies" in Scotland.

WHEN other experts began to interest themselves in the cat fancy, and undertook to show us all how cat shows ought to be managed, they undertook also many reforms - notably, the alteration of the names of cat colours. Tabby and tortoiseshell were no longer admissible terms, but bicolour and tricolour were to be substituted. As I pointed out long ago, this was likely to lead to confusion, for if a tabby was a bicolour and a tortoiseshell a tricolour, what was a tabby and white or a tortoiseshell and white? The discussion at one time waxed a little warm, and, for some unknown reason, tigers were dragged into the argument, and it was suggested that tigers were not called tabby, This does not seem a weighty argument, for, as far as I know, there is no need of differentiating between tigers of various colours, nor do they as yet require a show classification. Happily, the whole matter ended in smoke. Why should cats not have fancy names? When the Kennel Club allows a breed of dogs to be registered as "Japanese Chins," surely the N.C.C. may leave us out old-established cat names, even if some of them are not quite applicable. I am told that we are threatened with a sweeping away of all fancy names - that Abyssinians are to be ticked cats; Manx. tailless cats, etc., but I doubt if this is correct, and I think the rumour has arisen in quarters where the short-haired blue still hankers after the name of Russian. I must say I hope it is a false alarm, as I think it is a pity to do away with the absolutely separate types of cat. About the Russian type there is, at the best, a doubt, but the Manx, the Siamese, and the Abyssinian are undoubtedly, or ought to be, absolutely unlike the ordinary short-haired cat.

IT is sad to chronicle the death from pneumonia of Miss Cope's beautiful Marabout, one of the most promising young cats of last season.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
MISS MEESON. - Many thanks for your kind letter. Please let me hear how Seagull gets on. I am much interested in this experiment. I knew of one case where the results were extraordinarily good, but in others they have been disappointing.
TOGO. - Your cat shows his wisdom. If you wish him to be strong and healthy feed him entirely on raw meat. For Siamese cats this is even more necessary than for other breeds. These cats have strong affections, and often suffer from home-sickness when they change hands. When he knows you better his appetite will doubtless return. Meat will lighten rather than darken the coat, but most of these cats darken in colour in this country as they get older. There will be a show at Richmond in July. The secretary of the National Cat Club is Dr. Roper, Oatlands, Beckenham, Kent, and of the Siamese Cat Club Mrs. Robinson, 22, Edith Villas, West Kensington. It is not necessary to join any club to be able to show, but if you join a specialist club you are entitled to compete for its medals and specials.
JACK. - The kittens with the narrow pencilled markings and white faces and feet will probably be chinchillas, and those with heavy black markings silver tabbies. In days gone by, when the colours were much mixed and there was little choice, I have bred winners of both shades in one litter, but nowadays this is unnecessary and inadvisable.
FLoRiIZEL. - The kittens should fetch from 2 to 10 guineas. As for their chances of being hardy it depends principally on treatment. If they live a free and healthy life and are fed on raw meat they should be healthy and hardy.
ESMERALDA. - Do not cross your white cat with any other colour, or you are certain to get mismarked kittens. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, May 26, 1906, pg. 460

MISS ANDERSON LEAKE'S CATS
MISS ANDERSON LEAKE is almost unique among cat fanciers in that she started in the cat fancy in 1887 by purchasing the silver tabby Topso, and has since that date remained faithful to that colour. Topso was purchased in the suburbs of London through an advertisement in the BAZAAR. The woman who advertised him had been in service, and her former mistress gave him to her as a wedding present, but having come to live in a crowded street she feared to lose him. Topso, then known as Topsy, and supposed to be of the female gender, was eight months old, of purest silver in colour, with dense black markings, and fairly smothered in coat. He came from Lady Giffard's strain.

Miss Leake bore him off in triumph, and when some months later the kitchen cat produced some startlingly beautiful silver tabby kittens his name was changed to Topso. In 1887 Topso went to the Crystal Palace and won first in a class of twenty-seven; and from that day to this a cat of the same strain has won premier honours every year. Following Topso came his son Felix and his daughter Lady Grey. Then Abdul Zaphir came to the front, and was unbeaten for many years. Abdul Hamet of Dingley, Marquis of Dingley, Fashion of Dingley, and Ch. Don Pedro have carried on the family traditions, and other celebrated winners of the present day are Silver Butterfly, Aura, Roiall Fluffball, Roiall Marabout, Peter Pan, Dunsden Abdul, Dingley Potentate (who won highest American honours), and Lowland Moire, with several of Lady Aberdeen's cats.

Miss Leake purchased Ouida of Dingley as a mate for Topso. She came from Mrs. Brydge's strain, and was rather pale in colour, but was sister to Fluffy, a heavily marked cat, afterwards known as Rahman. Ouida and Rahman were sired by Miss Gresham's first Silver Lambkin. Ouida was a prolific breeder, and Miss Leake's most successful kittens were bred from her and from Miss Fluffy of Dingley. Mrs. Marriott about the same time purchased Lady Pink, also to mate with Topso. Despite her name, Lady Pink did not belong to the Shrover strain, but was purchased from Mrs. Pell, of Northamptonshire, who parted with her for chicken killing! She was silver tabby and white, and possessed no pedigree; nevertheless, she was the dam of Felix, Lady Grey, and Climax, and grand-dam of Abdul Zaphir and numerous other celebrities.

With the exception of one little excursion into the chinchilla classes, Miss Leake has possessed no cats but silver tabbies. Her chinchillas were very successful, for her first purchase, Winsome of Dingley, was a winner and the dam of winners, The Seraph being one of her first litter. It is amusing to recollect that Mr. Clarke marked Winsome "wrong class" at her first show, for, though she was one of the palest chinchillas I have ever seen, he maintained, perhaps misled by the owner's name and reputation, that she was an indifferent silver tabby! Miss Leake does not keep many catsm but those she has are of the best.

There are now at Dingley four good males, all celebrated winners. Abdul Hamet is eight years old. He possesses a wonderful head with low set ears and big round eyes. He is still as fit and well as ever, but his markings are now a little too pale for show; in all other points he is perfection, and he is quite free from the objectionable sandy tint. Dingley Fashion is Abdul Hamet's son. He is pure in colour, with beautiful markings, and has sired many winning kittens. His brother, Marquis of Dingley, won at Westminster, and was sold to Mrs. Clarke at a high figure, but died from diphtheria caused by a drain being left open near his house. Dingley Autocrat comes from Lady Pink's Shrover strain. He is free from brown, and is one of the most beautifully marked cats in existence, but he does not carry as much coat as he might. Dinglev Acrobat comes from the same strain, and, if it were not for the tinge of brown on his ears, Miss Leake considers that he is the best silver tabby on the show bench; and in this I agree with her. He has a wonderful round head, tiny ears, and snub nose. His shape and markings are beautiful, and his coat reaches the ground.

The three queens are Miss Fluffy of Dingley, Dingley Donah, and Lady Shrover. Miss Fluffy's only fault is her age. She is the dam of innumerable winning kittens, and is a daughter of Ch. Felix and a Silver Lambkin queen. Dingley Donah is by Ch. Don Pedro ex Mrs. Godsall's Triticumina, who is descended from Ch. Topso. She is a capitally marked cat with a nice round face. Lady Shrover is the pride of the cattery. Of purest silver colour, with dense black markings, huge green eyes, and the shortest of noses with a well-defined stop she is indeed "a dream of a cat." She is now nursing four tiger-striped kittens by Abdul Hamet. .

Miss Leake tells me that in the old days when silver tabbies were rare, and were not provided with separate classes at shows, the cats were better and clearer in colour than they were for many years afterwards. The chinchilla craze did them a lot of harm, but now, owing to Miss Leake's determination and persistence, they have won their way back to popularity and a clearer type. In former days the lightest kittens in the litter were preferred, but now the darker they are when born the better. The present-day silver tabby has, thanks to Abdul Hamet, a capital head, which is a great improvement on the snipey-nosed cats of ten and fifteen years ago.

Miss Leake finds that good males are easier to breed than good females, and to the scarcity of good queens she attributes the general rarity of good silver tabbies. She has had consistent bad luck with her best queens. Dainty Diamond, sister to Abdul Hamet, was drowned in a well. True Love, a most perfect daughter of Felix, was removed from her pen at Slough show because she was accompanied by two tiny kittens, and left in a cold draughty office where she caught a chill which caused her death. Her daughter, Dingley Bella, who won for Mrs. Sarmiento in America, is dead. Truelove II., another perfect daughter, died kittening. Seabreeze, a typical specimen and a winner at Westminster, never reared her kittens. Truly a lamentable tale of misfortune, and one wonders at Miss Leake's pluck and perseverance, which have resulted in the building up of her present strain.

At one time Mrs. Vallance had the best silver tabby cats, and there was also a strain, now extinct, at Bovey Tracy. Miss Leake's strain now stands alone. Miss Cope is a most successful breeder and exhibitor., but her best cats come from Miss Leake's strain, and during the years when illness and absence from home prevented Miss Leake from breeding or exhibiting, Miss Cope did much to keep the breed together. Miss Leake is convinced that the Shrover strain is the only one suitable for crossing with her cats. Cats of unknown origin are valueless for this purpose as they are almost always nearly related. The Shrover cats are an inbred strain, but have never been cattery cats, and consequently they have grand constitutions. Their coats are in many cases too clinging for effect, but as the Dingley cats are a mass of fluffy fur this does not matter, and if the Shrover cats can fix their markings on the Dingley strain we shall have perfection. Not that the Dingley cats are badly marked, far from it, but the profusion of their coats causes the markings to lose in density with age.

Miss Leake keeps her male cats in large airy houses, and the queens and kittens have perfect freedom, while the half-grown kits are boarded out. The kittens are allowed open air from the first, and, except where there are young kittens, no artificial heat is used, and the water-pans are often frozen over in the morning. Where there are tiny kittens a lamp is kept burning in the winter, but the windows are open all day. In food, quality, not quantity, is the order of the day., and as much variety as possible is given, and never two meals alike. Raw beef, fish, rabbit, raw liver, and sheep's head are all appreciated. The imprisoned cats do not get milk, and no "slops " are given, but dry food; and, consequently, there is no trouble with worms. The feeding may seem costly at first, but Miss Leake rightly remarks "it is cheaper to rear healthy cats than to bury dozens!" No bleaching is practised at Dingley, but sunshine is encouraged everywhere at the risk of faded coats. Personally I don't think sunshine ever harms the coats till they are old and ready to fall.

THAT noted prize-winner, the black Manx male Boygym, has returned to his breeder, Miss Samuel, who has purchased him from Mr. Hally. Boygym was sold as a kitten to Mr. Lowe, who in turn sent him on to Mr. Hally. He is a really typical specimen of Miss Samuel's strain, and, with the exception of his half brother, King Kangaroo, the best black in the show-pen. Miss Samuel has, professedly. almost entirely given up Manx cats in favour of blue Persian, on account of the unsatisfactory judging of Manx classes, but she can never resist a really good specimen of the tailless breed.

THE judges appointed for Richmond show, which will be held on July 13th, are Mr. Norris and Mr. Mason, while at Harrogate on August 9th Mrs. Ransome, Mrs. Western, and Mr. Mason will officiate. At Harpenden, on Whit-Monday, Mr. Louis Wain will judge the fifteen cat classes.

A MEETING of the National Cat Club was held the other day to select judges for the Crystal Palace show in December. An excellent suggestion, made by Sir Claud Alexander, was adopted after discussion. This was that so far as possible judges who had not judged at the Palace for at least two years should be appointed. The list of judges has not, at the time of writing, been made public, but I have no doubt that the change will be eagerly welcomed by the majority of exhibitors.

THERE are, no doubt, at this moment many cats - for the honour of fanciers in general, I should say mostly pet cats - whose coats are in a disgracefully matted condition. Cats which possess very profuse coats of fine texture are very apt to become matted if not regularly combed while moulting. The business of pulling and teasing these mats out is a very tedious one, but is in the end the most satisfactory method of removing them. The mats should be saturated with oil, and then teased out with the fingers and a metal comb. If the owner is impatient or the cat is bad tempered scissors must be resorted to, but beware of cutting any hair off a cat's tail, as it, in many cases, never grows again when it has been cut. If the mats are not removed by combing or cutting the cat will, after a time, tear them out with its hind feet, but in so doing it will leave great patches of bare skin, which are exceedingly ugly to look upon.

I HAVE seen a suggestion that tortoiseshell cats cross well with brown or sable tabbies, but with this I disagree. Some years ago we were afflicted with a race of nondescript cats generally called "red tabbies," and in buying what one expected to be an orange tabby these animals frequently turned up. Their faces, legs, and tails were a washy brown tabby, and their backs mixed tortoiseshell. They were obviously the result of a brown tabby and tortoiseshell cross. Happily one rarely sees them nowadays, but, bearing them in mind, I cannot lay too strong a stress on the importance of selecting an orange male bred from oranges when introducing this cross to improve the colour of sable tabbies.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, June 2, 1906, pg. 547

OF all the trials which can beset a cat fancier I think an outbreak of skin disease is the worst. Distemper is bad enough, but the patient often dies quickly, whereas a skin disease may go on for years. In one cattery I knew of a number of kittens became affected with a horrible form of skin disease in which the whole head and face looked as if covered with carbuncles, and the eyes were nearly closed. The disease gradually spread over the body. When the first kitten developed this disease I suggested isolation, but I was informed that it was "eczema, and therefore not contagious," and the kitten was allowed to live with four others, which all caught the complaint. They were treated with every advertised remedy, and after months of misery were destroyed.

IN the same cattery a short time later were two e beautiful white imported queens; one had been two years in England, and the other about six months. One developed so-called eczema, was treated first at home and afterwards by a very eminent vet. and died. The other cat meanwhile got into a dreadful state from the same disease, and after some months of home treatment was sent to a skilful vet., who tried every possible remedy without success. Having no cats of my own at that time I offered to take her in for a bit, and I let her run free and tried various systems of dieting, and though when fed entirely on raw beef and cod-liver oil the disease appeared for a time to be in abeyance the cat appeared to be in such a bad state of health generally that I had her destroyed. I think her brain was affected. Like many white cats, she was deaf, and the used to sleep all day curled up in the long grass outside the kitchen window, and even when a heavy thunderstorm came on she did not wake, but had to be fetched in dripping wet. The owner ascribed all this to the act that the cats were imported.

NOW I consider that if any one of these cases had been taken sufficiently early to a skilful vet. they might have been cured; at any rate, the disease need not have been communicated to other animals. The vet. would have made a microscopical examination of scrapings from the skin and decided whether the disease was parasitic or not, and by attacking it in its early stages with the recognised remedies for cases of the kind he might have effected a cure.

THE moral of all this is that when a cat suffers from skin disease of unknown origin it should be isolated, and where any doubt as to the nature of the disease exists it should be taken at once to a vet. who has some experience as a feline practitioner. It is not fair to tinker away at the animal with unsuitable remedies until the disease has thoroughly got hold of its system, and then expect a vet. to cure it in a week.

WHEN a cat is undoubtedly suffering from mange I always recommend its destruction. If the skin is treated with sufficiently powerful remedies to eradicate the mange the cat frequently dies from inflammation of the bowels from poisoning, as it invariably licks off all the dressing that is put on its skin. The treatment which is most likely to prove successful is to shave the cat all over and then rub well into every part of the skin, every other day, plenty of sulphur and white vaseline ointment. The cat will swallow sufficient sulphur to seriously upset its internal arrangements, but if it has a good constitution and is fed on raw beef it will probably get over that, and if the treatment is regularly and thoroughly carried out the skin may also recover. I would never, knowingly, purchase a cat which had suffered from skin disease.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, June 9, 1906, pg. 31

Tue Southern Counties Cat Club have adopted the plan suggested in this column a few weeks ago, and have invited Mr. Hally to judge the short-hairs, including Manx, at their London show in January. Mr. Mason will also judge.

A LETTER asking Miss Winifred Beal for news of her cattery has brought me a long and interesting account of the inmates of the Romaldkirk cattery. Midshipmite is still alive. He was ill during the winter, but has now quite picked up again, and is beginning to look himself. Admiral continues to flourish. Fluffle, the mother of The Heavenly Twins, quietly succumbed to old age. Some good young cats are coming on, notably a very fine orange male und a beautiful little cream queen by Admiral, with exquisite eyes; and there are also a cream male by Jackal. and one by a grandson of Midshipmite, a cream female by Hermes, and an orange male by Admiral, all full of promise, so we may hope to see Miss Beal maintaining her position in the prize list during the coming season. A brown tabby male by Jackal is perfectly sound on lips and chin, and so of great value, but this colour is not popular at Romaldkirk, so he will have to find a new home.

MISS CLIFTON is determined to come to the fore in black Manx, and, not having had very much luck in breeding, has purchased from Mrs. Higgens a brace of very good young males. They are by Witchampton Joey, a son of Miss Samuel's Manx Philip and Manx Midnight (late Witchampton Witch), and their dam is Mokie, winner of second at Manchester.

I MUST offer my best congratulations to our little contemporary, OUR CATS, on its return to its original form. Making it into a rabbit, canary, rat, and mouse paper added to neither its popularity nor its attractiveness, and all its old friends will, like myself, be glad to welcome its return to unadulterated "cat."

BREEDERS occasionally write to the papers about strange-coloured kittens which have been born in their catteries, and which ring the changes on blue smoke and black until no one can decide which they will eventually be. I have possessed and seen several such kittens, and have found that they are generally smokes when full grown, though one or two have developed into very fair blacks.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, June 16, 1906, pg. 43

OF late we have heard much of the "Dutch marked" cat, as yet, apparently, an animal of the imagination only. Now and again we are told of the existence of a perfect specimen, but the animal has never yet been able to stand the test of close inspection. Not long ago an authority, who should know more than anyone else of the points of the desired novelty, announced that a really perfectly marked specimen existed in the cattery of a well-known exhibitor, but, on making enquiries of the owner, I discovered that it was merely an evenly marked white and black with no pretensions to Dutch markings.

MISS CLIFTON tells me that she believes that she has at last found 2 blue-eyed white Manx female. If this is so, and if the animal is stumpless and a good Manx in other respects, it is valuable. I have possessed one odd-eyed and two blue-eyed white Manx, and have seen another, but every one of them had stump tails. One was particularly good in shape and coat, and in his day he won some prizes, but Manx have at the present time advanced so far, that I should not think it worth while to show him now under a competent judge.

FANCIERS who wish to have their cats in form for the early autumn shows should remember that grooming encourages the growth of coat. The cats may be so bare at present, that it does not seem to be worth while brushing them, but it is now that the brushing will do good. It promotes a healthy action of the skin, and removes all old hair and other clogging matter, and leaves the way clear for the now coat, at the same time stimulating the growth of the new hair. It is not worth while commencing to work upon the coat of a cat which has not left all its family cares behind it, as it is practically certain that no cat which is nursing kittens during June will be in anything like show form in September or October.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
GREY LADY. - Give the cat, as far as possible, a meat diet, and do not let her have milk or farinaceous foods or fish in any quantity. The more the cat is out of doors the healthier she will be. The only way of keeping her in is, I fear, to shut the doors and windows, but no doubt as she knows you better and feels more at home she will be more sociable. She will certainly be restless and noisy at times, but how frequently and for what period of time depends entirely upon the individual.
JOHN. - I do not advise you to put any sticky or oily preparation upon your cat's coat to make it grow, Yorkshire terrier fanciers use various concoctions, the principal ingredients of which are usually cocoanut oil, kerosene, and cantharides, but you must recollect that a Yorkshire terrier does not keep its own coat clean and in order as a cat does, and without frequent applications of oil it would soon get dirty and matted.
SAM. - Occasionally an exhibitor, frequently a novice, sends cats to show in distinguishing collars or ribbons. This is very often done in ignorance or stupidity, and without any intention of fraud or rule-breaking. If a gentle hint is not received in a proper spirit, you have only to report the matter to the N.C.C. committee - that is to say, if the show is held under their rules and patronage.
MR. HAIG. - If you read the rules you will see that postal replies are only sent on receipt of the fee of 2s. 6. You say that the cat's hair has come off, but you do not tell me anything of the state of his skin on the bare places. I do not know of any hospital near you, but if you will give me full details I think I can help you. In the first place, if the bare skin appears to be perfectly sound and healthy the cat is probably merely indulging in the usual spring moult. If the skin is raw or red, scurfy and irritable, and if the cat scratches a great deal, there is some disease. Write me full details, please, and meanwhile rub into the bare places, every other day, a little sulphur and white vaseline ointment.
BOBO. - There are many advertised remedies for fleas, but I have never yet found one to equal careful hand-picking and tooth-combing. If this is carried out carefully, and the cat is not allowed to frequent flea-infested places, you can easily keep them in check. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, June 23, 1906, pg. 100

MISS WHITE ATKINS appears to be, at the present moment, more taken up with Japanese spaniels than with cats, and is rejoicing in the possession of two lovely puppies. Nevertheless, she is seeking for a very high-class chinchilla male cat with good green eyes, and if such a thing is procurable we shall, doubtless, shortly be able to welcome her back to the fold.

ALAS! Miss Clifton's blue-eyed Manx has proved to be a delusion and a snare. It was described to her as having "good blue eyes," and when it arrived its eyes were yellow! Of course, in such a case a mistake is impossible, but how anyone could deliberately make such a false statement, knowing that the deception must be discovered, is extraordinary.

THAT horrible and very common disease of cats commonly known as "snuffles " is still without a remedy. Some people syringe the nostrils with boracic lotion or with Condy's fluid with good results, but the majority of cases are incurable. Mrs. Cubitt after many experiments has decided that while an outdoor life does not cure the disease it keeps it in abeyance, but that indoor life or heated catteries speedily end the days of the patient as the lungs become affected. My experience is not quite so unfortunate as this. I have owned several "snuffly" cats, and in no case has the disease proved fatal. One young queen absolutely recovered after the birth of her first litter, and several other cats were much improved by a healthy outdoor life, but certainly not cured. I had a Manx tom which did fairly well when he ran free day and night, but when shut in got much worse. As for several reasons, it was impossible to let him have liberty I had him destroyed, but I think he would probably have died if kept in confinement. The disease is not hereditary, but the tendency thereto undoubtedly is; and therefore, when avoidable, it is inadvisable to breed from "snuffly" cats.

MR. MAXWELL is retiring from the cat fancy, and is selling all his cats with the exception of Ch. Prissy, the beautiful black shorthair, which he is keeping as a pet.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, June 30, 1906, pg. 142

MISS M. HUMFREY'S CATTERY.
FROM Miss Humfrey's cattery at Fairview, Spencer's Wood, near Reading, emanate some of the best blue long-hairs of the day. Miss Humfrey cannot manage to attend many shows, but, nevertheless, her cats have done their share of winning, and many of their descendants have likewise distinguished themselves. Miss Humfrey first went in seriously for blue Persians in 1897, but before that she and her sister purchased from Miss Freeland a silver tabby descendant of Princess Ranee. This kitten came to an untimely end, but not before a blue queen, Victoria, by Ch. Woolloomoolloo, had been bought as a mate for him. Victoria was a beautiful little cat, with a short, snubby face, and Miss Humfrey still owns some of her descendants. The silver tabby was replaced by the purchase of Blue Muff, by Nankipoo, who bred some fine kittens, but was sold and replaced by Don Carlos II., who certainly comes very high in the list of "winning sires" for the last two years. Don Carlos was bred by Mrs. Mackenzie Stewart from Ch. Ayrshire Ronald and Beauty, and is a really grand cat, but all his other good points are lost sight of in the contemplation of his brilliant orange eyes, which are, perhaps, better than those possessed by any other blue stud cat in England. He has not been shown much, but has won two specials for best orange eyes, \Westminster, 1902 first open, first novice, B.P.C.S. specials, and challenge, Reading, 1902; second and specials, Westminster, 1903; and Bath, first and cup; at Brighton, B.P.C.S. challenge, reserve for best long-haired cat, and specials for best eyes. He was shown again last February, winning third and fourth in strong classes, but being beaten in the open only by the invincible Thorpe team. Don Carlos is a most sweet-tempered cat, and a very successful sire, transmitting to his offspring, in almost every instance, his gorgeous eye-colouring.

Victor II. is by Blue Noble ex Victoria; he has been shown only three times - at Bath and Brighton in 1903 and at Southampton in l1905 - and on each occasion he was successful. He is a good sound coloured cat with large orange eyes, and when crossed with Don Carlos queens the progeny is particularly good.

Colina, by Blue Muff ex Victoria, is too great a pet to be shown, but nearly all her Kittens by Don Carlos are prize-winners. Among these are included Kepwick Monarch, Sonny, Berkshire Lassie, and many others, She is a strongly built cat with broad skull and heavy bone, beautiful orange eyes, and sound level colour., To be hypercritical, her tail might be shorter, but that is a trifle when her other good points are considered. Donna Carita is by Don Carlos x Colina, and inherits the good points of both her sire and dam; her shape, limbs, and eyes are especially good. She took reserve as a kitten at Southampton the only time she was shown, and her daughter, Victorina, by Victor II., took first at Reading. Thykie is full sister to Donna Carita. Unfortunately distemper, as a kitten, deprived her of one eye, but the remaining one is deep copper colour, and she has a beautifully long, pure coloured coat. She was mated to her sire with capital results, and two males of the litter, Jocko and Leonie, have, since they took third and fourth at Reading, grown into magnificent cats, Leonie in particular having a wonderfully broad head and short face, while both have brilliant orange eyes.

Donna Motina, by Blue San Toy ex Peg the Rake, is the only cat at Fair View which fails in eye colouring. Her eyes, though large, are pale, but she was purchased byMiss Humfrey on account of her very long coat; she has a very good head and tiny ears. In 1905 she appeared at the Crystal Palace with a litter of seven fine kittens, which took second prize, and two of which, Cupid and Leumas, Miss Humfrey still has; both were prize-winners at Reading.

A black queen, Jetola, bred by Mrs. Mackenzie Stewart from Dick Fawe and her celebrated queen Blue Bell II., is a treasured inmate of the cattery. In colour she is a trifle rusty, but in all other respects she is a really good black, and would take a lot of beating. Thykie and Jetola are the joint property of Miss Humfrey and her sister, Mrs. Sharp.

The cats at Fairview are housed in portable wooden, felt-covered buildings, facing south, and ranging in size from 5ft. by 6ft. and 4ft. by 5ft. for the "grown-ups" to 12ft. by 6ft. for the kittens. Each house has a covered wire run, and all the runs open into an enclosed exercising ground 45ft. by 8ft., which can be divided up at will. Each house is provided with sleeping boxes and shelves and cushions stuffed with shavings, and in winter each cat has a blanket and a hot water bottle, but no other heat is given, and cats and kittens live and thrive through the winter in these houses. The floors are covered with loose strips of oilcloth, so that regular scrubbing is easy, and plenty of light and air is admitted at all times.

The cats are thoroughly groomed every day, and are fed on a mixed diet of porridge, rice, fish, raw and cooked meat, raw liver, and puppy biscuits soaked with gravy. The stud cats are fed on raw meat and occasionally an egg at mid-day. All cats are fed twice a day, and a little milk or cornflour is given to drink once daily. Water is always supplied. Miss Humfrey and her sister feed and attend to the cats entirely themselves, and, as they are most particular that everything should be properly done, they find that their time is fully occupied.

The point which strikes one most in inspecting this cattery is that the usually elusive orange eye appears, as a matter of course, in its most striking form, and this is the point on which Miss Humfrey especially prides herself.

MRS. BONNY will judge the short-haired brown and silver tabbies at the Crystal Palace Show in December. This appointment is sure to be popular and draw a good entry as Mrs. Bonny has a thoroughly practical knowledge of these breeds, and, moreover, she is a peace-loving and cat-loving fancier first and an exhibitor afterwards, a rare combination nowadays.

THE latest news is that the arrangements for Richmond Show are being proceeded with; so, presumably, the very modest guarantee asked for by Miss Simpson and Mr., Cox has been forthcoming. Richmond Show is always a popular fixture, as, though the cats are out of coat, it is the only opportunity there is of exhibiting spring families in all their kitten prettiness.

I HAVE received a long and interesting letter from Miss Samuel about her Manx cats. Though this lady has lately gone in for blue Persians, Manx have still the warmest corner in her heart. Boygym is quite at home now, and can be allowed to run about in the garden sometimes, as his father, Manx Philip, does. He is a beautiful cat, but Miss Samuel does not think him quite so good as his half-brother, King Kangaroo. Perhaps a few months at Sutton Place will reverse matters, as I do not think anyone shows cats in better condition than Miss Samuel does. Her latest enterprise is to try and establish a breed of tortoiseshells, and she already has the foundation of a strain in a good tortoiseshell and white from the Isle of Man, quite tailless, well shaped, and large - which has been mated to Boygym - and a very nice tortoiseshell kitten still in the nursery.

PREVIOUS endeavours with the same object in view have been nipped in the bud, as two reds, one tortoiseshell, and two tortoiseshell and whites, which arrived after a lot of trouble, died in infancy. Miss Samuel is now looking out for a country-house with some land, and if she can find what she requires she will be able to have some catteries built and go in for more extensive breeding operations than hitherto.

A QUESTION frequently asked by catty writers, and answered more or less by themselves, is if the various breeds of cats are improving or falling off. The writers in question are often what we older fanciers would consider novices; they can only look back over some ten or twelve years, and they often content themselves with reviewing the cats of the last five or six years. Now, this is not taking a fair view of the matter, for the respective merits of a few cats with only one or two generations between them may be a matter of luck; or it may be that a craze for one point has, for one or two generations, caused other points to be neglected. These points, if not neglected for too long, can be revived when the one particular point has been fixed.

TAKE, for example, the Blue Persian. About five years ago orange eyes were the rage, and a cat which was rather scant of coat and possibly weak in head could win if its eyes were correct. Alarmists promptly told us that blue cats had deteriorated, and that the heavy coats and broad heads of days gone by were lost to us for ever. This has proved to be incorrect, for we now have immense cats, with heavy coats, broad heads, and deep orange eyes.

MY experience of the cat fancy goes back over many years, and there are not very many people who have kept up an uninterrupted interest in it for so long, so I can with confidence say that I do not think there is a single breed of cats which has not improved immensely within my recollection. I will treat of the various breeds in detail next week.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
DANDY. - I fear your cat suffered from distemper before you had him, and now has chronic "snuffles." There is really no cure for this. Some cats recover as their general health improves, but the majority are afflicted all their days. Your feeding is excellent, but if the cat is inclined to sickness give a small quantity at a time, and sprinkle a pinch of carbonate of bismuth over it. You do not say how long you have had the cat, but the eczema was probably caused by improper feeding, and I hope it may go when his digestive troubles are over. Do not apply any dressing while his stomach s in such an irritable state, but if, later on, it does not improve rub in a very little sulphur and white vaseline ointment every other day. After the bad attacks of sickness it is not advisable to be in too great a hurry to return to solid food in case of causing a relapse. Instead, a tablespoonful five times a day of arrowroot, made with milk and thickened with isinglass, may be given.
MARIGOLD. - An orange cat with a white chin is most undesirable as a stud cat, as he is almost certain to hand down his objectionable fault, which is becoming rare among show cats.
CHARLIE. - I think Manx kittens are often very late in growing and developing. If your kittens are fat and sleek and very lively you need not worry about them. You cannot encourage their growth except by giving them plenty of meat to eat and complete liberty. I think this is more necessary for Manx kittens than lor any other breed. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, July 7, 1906, pg. 161

MRS. STEWART-DODD'S CATTERY.
IT is Mrs. Stewart-Dodd's boast that during the three and a-half years she has been in the cat fancy she has lost only three kittens. This fact she attributes to the great care which is taken to keep all the houses and utensils absolutely clean, and to feed only on the best and freshest of food. The adult cats are fed twice daily, their breakfast consists of boiled fish or eggs and lightly boiled liver and milk, and for dinner they have minced raw beef and cornflour, The kittens are fed three times daily, having Force for breakfast, meat and vegetables for dinner, and raw meat and cornflour for supper. A basin of cold water stands always in the runs. The cats are all housed in outdoor catteries. The houses are large, are provided with sleeping compartments, and with sliding and movable boards, which can be adjusted to resist all winds and weathers. There are large covered runs, grass runs, and a wired-in exercising ground of about one acre in extent.

Dunsden Duchess, the black queen, was born May 6th, 1902. She is by Darius ex Batty, a daughter of Ch. Woolloomoolloo, and so is full of blue blood. She is an excellent breeding queen, but has never been shown. Mrs. Stewart-Dodd has now two extremely promising blue sons of Duchess by Neila Billi, aged seven months. They have not yet been shown, but their mistress thinks well of their prospects in the show pen. Dunsden Abdul, by Abdul Hamet of Dingley ex Dunsden Duchess, is a silver tabby of great merit. He is nearly three years old, and has won two championships this year, at Bath and Manchester. He has also won seven first prizes, six seconds, and eight specials. He is a very large cat, with a beautifully broad round skull and tremendous bone. His head markings are excellent, but like many heavily-coated cats they are not so strong on his body.

Dunsden Lord Coke, the black, is by the noted Blue San oy II. ex Dunsden Duchess. He won third at the Crystal Palace in 1905, and second at Bath in 1906. He is now just over a year old, and is a beautiful cat with a capital coat. His fault, which may improve with age, is that his under-coat is not quite sound. Dunsden Clown is a very good silver tabby neuter, winner of reserve Southampton and Manchester and third Reading, the only times shown.

Mrs. Stewart-Dodd is a most enthusiastic and painstaking fancier. considers no trouble too great where her pets are concerned. The cats are groomed every day.

MRS. FRANCIS NEATE has left Wernham and taken up her abode at Pitsea, where there is excellent accommodation for all her cats.

THE death of Ch. Mandarina of Thorpe will leave a gap in the show world. Mandarina - bred, I think, by Mrs. Moore - was one of our best orange long-hairs, and it was only a short time ago that Mrs. Slingsby purchased her at a high figure, meaning to breed from her.

THE end of July generally brings with it a plague of fleas to our catteries. It is not only the neglected and dirty cats that are attacked, though if a kitten from a southern cattery is sent north without being carefully combed, the seller lays herself open to all sorts of accusations from the purchaser. The fact is, that on a sandy soil in the south of England it is quite impossible to keep kittens clear of fleas without toothcombing them thoroughly twice daily. If there are only a few kittens, and their owner is absolutely without other occupation, this can be done, but in a large cattery containing some dozens of kittens it is not possible. The only plan is to keep the kittens as well-combed as we can, and go over them thoroughly just before packing them to go to their new homes.

CATTERIES will sometimes become infested with fleas, and this is usually caused by keeping them too dry. In very hot seasons I have often sprayed the corners every morning with a little disinfectant and water, and sprinkled the floors all over with sulphur. If the kittens can be moved into another house for an hour or two it is a good thing to spray the floors all over.

THERE are many non-poisonous flea-powders advertised, most of them, no doubt, excellent, but I think careful combing is better and safer than any powder. S

LICE are also frequently looked upon as a sure sign of dirt, but they, also, will appear on perfectly clean cats and kittens if they are in bad health. They are most objectionable, far more so than fleas, and must be got rid of at once. The powder I have found best is a mixture of equal parts of camphor, milk of sulphur, and magnesia. It may be rubbed well nto the skin every day and then brushed out as thoroughly as possible.

SPRING kittens are rarely troubled with fleas and lice to the extent that summer ones are, and this is yet another argument in favour of letting our cats have one litter a year only.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, July 14, 1906, pg. 201

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.
(For Rules see previous issues)
E. R. - l certainly think cats can live out of doors without hot-water bottles; in fact, they are far better without them. I can point my argument by an anecdote. A certain much-valued Siamese cat was being kept at great trouble and expense in a temperature of 75 deg. I offered to take charge of him for a time, and he was sent to me with minute instructions as to flannel jackets and hot-water bottles. For six weeks (during February and part of January) he lived and throve in a wooden outbuilding with no jacket, hot bottle, or stove, and I then returned him to his owner, who admitted that he was in grand condition, but could not bring herself to continue my treatment, and so recommenced coddling the cat, and in three weeks he died from pneumonia.
MISS DARBYSHIRE. - It is not giving me a fair chance to write and ask for "a receipt for curing canker in a cat's car, not a very bad case." In the first place the cat may not be suffering from canker, in the second the disease may be greatly aggravated by her diet and mode of life. If I am to successfully prescribe for sick cats, I must be given full details of their age, sex, condition, diet, and where and how they live. If you will write and tell me all this, I have no doubt your cat can easily be cured. In the meantime pour a lew drops of warm salad oil into the cat's cars, wipe them out, and dust with boracic powder. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

THE DETROIT CAT SHOW
AMONG the most enterprising and go-ahead clubs founded for the express purpose of raising the standard of the feline race a foremost place must be given to the Detroit Cat Club. It may not be as large in regard to members as the Beresford or the Atlantic, but for enthusiasm, progress, and excellence of management it has few equals and certainly no superiors. The club is presided over by Mrs. J. S. Owen, president; Mrs. N. F. McLean, secretary; Mrs. E. F, Hailey, treasurer, and a committee of ladies all striving for the honour and welfare of their institution. The officers and members all belong to the fair sex, and this, it is whispered, is the reason that so much harmony prevails.

Recently the Detroit Cat Club held a highly successful show in aid of a shelter for those cats that have not sufficient good looks to secure prizes in the ring, or even comfortable homes, but who prefer to wander about in bands at night entertaining the neighbours with solos and choruses, and thereby rendering them reckless as regards their personal property. In Detroit, as elsewhere, there are certain cats that do nothing but sleep all day and sing all night, and it is for these disturbers of the public peace that the shelter is to be founded. Of course, it is not believed that these undisciplined cats will call at the shelter for a night's lodging when they feel in need of rest, but they will be taken thither by kind-hearted Detroiters who realise the advantage of such a refuge both to the public and the cats, Those animals that have been dangerously injured, or are in so poor a condition that their lives are a burden to them, will be destroyed, for it is intended to furnish the shelter with a lethal chamber and a crematorium, so that the permanent invalids may be dispatched to the happy hunting grounds with the minimum amount of pain.

When the shelter is ready for occupancy, an accumulation of cats will be guarded against by advertising those animals which, it is believed, would not disgrace even the most exclusive homes, and it is not improbable that the numbers will easily be kept under by this means. Mrs. McLean, who is one of the most active promoters of the new shelter, picked up a cat the other day in a deserted part of the city, and the next morning advertised her find in a local paper, requesting anyone who could conscientiously offer the wanderer a comfortable home to communicate with her. She had twelve replies within as many hours, which proves that here is a demand for cats - a demand which the shelter will soon be able to gratify.

"It is easy to find homes for good cats," says Mrs. McLean, "and many good cats are left deserted to roam the alleys, when the families that owned them move into new localities. Homeless, chased and stoned by cruel boys, the grow thin and wretched. Such cats will be among hose that may come into the proposed animal shelter, and which will afterwards be given away to those who will be kind to them."

The writer has had many interesting conversations with Mrs. Owen, the charming president of the club, who is always ready to talk of cats an their ways, and their ways, and who is an authority on all species, from the garden-wall variety to the aristocratic Angora and blue-blooded Siamese. Mrs. Owen possesses some of the finest cats in the States - cats which have carried off prizes and blue ribbons in Canada and England as well as America. Some time ago Dr. J. S. Owen, Mrs. Owen's husband, wrote the "Autobiography of a Cat," which has enjoyed a popularity equal to that of "Black Beauty." This story relates in a semi-humorous way the life history of a cat which was once the favourite inmate of Mrs. Owen's kennels in Detroit.

At the recent Detroit Cat Club the black cats shown were classified as the Hoo-Hoo class, having been so named in honour of the Hoo-Hoo Club, a national organisation of rich lumbermen who gave a valuable trophy to be awarded to the best black cat in the show. This class was a very important one, and the Hoo-Hoos carried away a great number of prizes. Among the other cats shown were many felines from the different business concerns in Detroit, which were classified as store cats. Among these animals was one from a certain pharmacy called Jerry, a beautiful male, famed for his success in soothing the impatience of "hurry" customers, who find it necessary to wait for a prescription to be made up. Another store cat was Tiger, the mascot of Messrs. Brown and Co., the firm of artists who took most of the fine photographs here reproduced.

"Although perhaps I should not say so, lest I be accused of boastfulness," said Mrs. Owen, "I believe our club own some of the finest cats in the world. And I think your readers will agree with me when they see some of the photographs which I have got together for their benefit. There is, for instance, Clover, a brown tabby female of the Cass Park establishment, owned and bred by our secretary, Mrs. N. F. McLean. Look at her picture, and judge for yourself whether she is not a beauty. Her age is barely eight months, yet she has the build and 'stockiness' of a two-year-old. Clover has an exceptionally satiny coat, large full orange eyes, small head, and short tail. She is of a gentle and affectionate nature, and has already carried off a first prize in the novice class and a second in the open. Then there is Princess Patricia, six-weeks older than Clover, a daughter of Brushwood White Sirdar and Wolverine Maude Adams. This beautiful animal won firsts in both open and novice classes, and gives every promise of becoming a champion. She was bred and is owned by the Misses A. B. and J. M. Wilsey, of the Wolverine Cat Kennels, two of the most enthusiastic and successful members of our club.

Another magnificent cat which these ladies also own is Bedelia, less than a year old, who had for parents the famous Owena Black Cupid and Owena Black Patti. The Wolverine catteries from which these cats come are very fine, and probably the most noted in Michigan. They are visited annually by a great number of people interested in the breeding of cats, and the model arrangements never fail to please. The catteries are furnished with beautiful long runs built of wire, and there is every convenience one can think of for the comfort and well being of the inmates. Recently the catteries have been re-built, and everything is as clean and spotless as a new pin. The Misses Wilsey have long been interested in valuable cats, and have raised some of the finest stock in America.

"A very interesting as well as a very fine cat is Tiger, owned by Miss Clutes, one of our members. He is a short-haired, and noted throughout the country for his many artistic pictures. Tiger makes his home at the Brown Studio, and is known to every visitor. He seems to take an interest in every one who calls, and never attempts to fight with those cats and kittens who come to have their photographs taken. Indeed, he appears to realise that they are, in a way, guests ('paying guests,' in fact), and he is always ready to show them hospitality and politeness. He is interested in all camera work, and when having his photograph taken is just as alive to the value of an artistic pose as a human sitter would be. He will lie in any position his mistress desires, and is very amiable and good-natured. As you can see by his photograph he is of considerable size, and possesses massive paws, He is regarded as the mascot of the studio, and there would be universal grief throughout Michigan if anything should happen to him.

"The finest 'brace' of cats in our recent show was undoubtedly Admiral Togo and General Nogi. These fine animals are twin orange males just ten months old - really the most perfect couple I have ever seen. They are owned by Mrs. W. K. Wilson, one of our directors, and an enthusiastic member of the club. Another splendid couple that took first and second prizes in the orange kitten class were Bismarck and Patrick Sarsfield, who won their honours at the early age of five months. In the photograph Bismarck is lying down, while his companion is seen in a less lazy attitude. These kittens are owned by Miss A. B. Wilsey.

"The Wolverine cats appear to be particularly healthy and strong, which is probably owing to the delightful location of the kennels - some way west of the city. The kennels are situated near the Detroit River, where the air is always cool and refreshing, coming as it does over the beautiful St. Clair Lake.

"From the Cass Park kennels came a winner in the form of Othello, a beautiful black male with a lustrous silky black coat, deep orange eyes, a splendid ruff, and a magnificent flowing tail. He is very short on his legs, which is regarded by some as a beauty. He is only nine months old, and is of a most loveable disposition. This, I am sorry to say, is not always the case with highly bred cats, and they sometimes get very peevish and irritable. Othello was awarded first prize in his class at the recent show, and never was a prize better deserved.

"Now I must give you a photograph of my own Owena Psyche, for I am very proud of her. She is a very wonderful light chinchilla, only ten months old, and was judged one of the best light even-coloured cats shown in recent times. If she lives, and she appears to be very healthy, I think she will be a grand success, carrying everything before her. She is, I need scarcely say, of the best English parentage, her mother being Ku Vita by Mrs. Barker's Blessed Damozel, and her sire Mrs. Colburn's Tin Tagael.

"The group of beautiful chinchilla kittens which make so pretty a picture were raised by Mrs. F. J. Hecker, and are of the best English stock. The middle very light one is my Owena Psyche, who, I imagine, will win over her mother next season. Among the short-hairs, or common cats, I must not forget to mention Bimbo, owned by Miss Black, another of our members. Bimbo was acknowledged to be the best brown tabby in Detroit, his beautiful markings and colour being almost perfect. Bimbo originally came from Cleveland where his home used to be, and where he was the household pet. He is of immense size, and a pattern of good temper and correct manners.

"There are many other cats which I should like to have mentioned, but I suppose I have said sufficient to show you that we really have some very fine animals in Detroit.

"Our judge was Mr. A. S. Field-Marshall, who came recently from London, where he officiated at the Crystal Palace cat contest. Since coming to America Mr. Field-Marshall has acted as judge at the Rochester Cat Show, and others. Cat clubs from all parts of the country sent in exhibits, and we had a splendid lot of prizes.

"The handsome cheque sent us by THE LADIES' FIELD we divided into five prizes, and awarded them to the prettiest kittens in the show. This gave great satisfaction to everyone. Drs. Brenton and Patterson looked after the cats' health, and had a fairly easy time, as, apart from a few kittenish ailments, we were able to show a clean bill, and there was no serious case of sickness among our many exhibits."

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, July 21, 1906, pg. 244

I HAVE been a good deal amused by the perusal of an article, copied from an American periodical, on chinchilla breeding. The writer is a well-known breeder and exhibitor, but she does not hesitate to decry a certain well-known and successful cat with the object of "cracking up" a somewhat lesser light. Some of the statements made in this article are hardly accurate. We are informed that Silver Lambkin "was even in those days considered too dark to compete in the show-pen, so was kept for breeding only." Now "those days™ refers to a period when Silver Lambkin was the only chinchilla cat, and as there were no pale-coloured cats to compare him with, and there were no classes for chinchillas, this statement is slightly misleading. As a matter of fact, the reason Silver Lambkin was not shown was that his mistress valued him too highly.

I HAVE in my possession a letter written by Mrs. Balding (then Miss Gresham), dated November 29th, 1890, in which she says, "I have never shown my Silver Lambkin tom, as I am afraid of his getting distemper, and he is a great beauty, brother to The Lambkins, first medal and special at the Palace, and his kittens are lovely."

HAD Silver Lambkin been shown he must have gone in the variety class, and there, in those days, he ran the risk of being disqualified for being a washed-out silver tabby, as was Winsome of Dingley at a later date. The quotation from Mrs. Balding's letter draws attention to an error into which many modern cat fanciers fall. The kittens with which Miss Mary Gresham won at the Palace were The Lambkins, not The Silver Lambkins, and, therefore, there is no reason for mixing the Silver Lambkin we all know up with his elder brothers.

To return to the article on chinchilla breeding, Beauty of Bridgegate was, I believe, owned by a Miss How, and I am under the impression that this lady bred Silver Lambkin. It is not long since I published an account of the "life and works" of Silver Lambkin, so I need not now enter into any details of his brilliant career. I only wish to contradict the assertion that he was not a good enough cat to win prizes had he been shown.

"IRIS" is another writer who refers to bygone chinchillas, but Lord Hampton, whose loss she deplores, was grandson to Silver Lambkin, and his day was not very many years ago. I knew the cat very well, and it was on my advice that Mrs. Neild purchased him from Mrs. Davies. He was then, as "Iris" says, tinged with brown, but I think this must have been the result of ill-health, as when shown on several occasions he was particularly pure in colour. He was a very pale cat and well shaped, though small. He had a grand head and big eyes, but I cannot remember if they were green or yellow. "Iris" says that Lorg Hampton is given as breeder and pedigree unknown, but if she will turn to Vol. III. of "The Cat Club Register," which I compiled, she will find Lord Hampton, breeder, Mr. Rawlinson, sire, Silver Mist, dam, Priscilla. Priscilla, who was, I understand, sister to Ch. Zaida, was a pretty little cat. I took care of her once for two or three weeks. She was dark in colour; in fact, I should call her silver tabby, with a beautiful round kitten face and huge eyes.

SPEAKING of a brown tinge reminds me of a certain well-known chinchilla queen which I bred, and which I should have considered one of the best in the show-pen had I seen her in summer when out of coat, but when her winter coat came she always turned sandy in colour. Strange to say, though bred from many generations of silver cats, she always threw brown tabby kittens.

RICHMOND SHOW is to be more or less of a kitten show, so far as long-hairs are concerned. There are eighteen kitten classes, four litter classes, four cat classes, and three neuter classes. In British short-hairs there is but one kitten class and four cat classes. Siamese have two cat classes, one kitten class, and one Manx class. There are also a selling class, a ring class, a local class, and three breeders' classes. Mr. Mason and Mr. Norris will judge.

MISS ILLINGWORTH writes of a silver-grey kitten which turned black when it grew up [Note: fever coat]. I knew of a short-haired black and white queen which was kept as a foster-mother in a large cattery, and mated to a long-haired blue. She had four silver-grey kittens with black faces. All died but one, and the mother was sent to me with this kitten, which eventually turned into a rusty smoky black.

IT seems that good chinchilla cats are scarce, as Miss White Atkins has not yet procured a good male of this colour, and begins to despair of finding one which comes up to her requirements.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
KOOSHA (Durban). - Many long-haired cat are troubled with a cough at this time of year caused by swallowing their own hair. For this reason I advise you 'to commence operations by giving a dessertspoonful of warm castor oil, and afterwards set about getting the cat's general health into good order. You do not say if the cat appears to have any cold, or if it is only a cough he suffers from, nor do you tell me how you feed and keep him. He must, till the cough goes, be indoors by seven o'clock every evening, and he should not be allowed to be out much in damp weather though the more fresh air he can get when it is dry the better. He should have a liberal raw meat diet, and a teaspoonful of cod-liver oil night and morning. If he does not improve in a fortnight write again and I will prescribe some cough mixture for him, but when possible I avoid physicking cats.
CHARLIE. - Siamese kittens are born white, and the dark points appear gradually. The kitten coat is always rough and "stary," and the kittens will probably have nice sleek tight coats later on.
PAPITA. - 1. Cassell's "Book of the Cat" will, I think, answer your purpose admirably. 2. No; continue the diet for a few weeks.
CAMELIA. - If you want a breed in which there is not much competition try long-haired blacks or else brown tabby males. There are good females, but no males of this colour, and a male-breeding strain be of value. If, on the other hand, you want popular and saleable cats have blues or whites. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, July 28, 1906, pg. 322

IT is sad news that Harrogate Show has had to be abandoned for lack of support, but at present a few good shows in the course of the year appear to be all that are required. A few years ago everyone was so anxious to exhibit, that whether their cats were in form or not, they supported every show that was held, but now fanciers have learnt wisdom by experience and do not show cats out of coat.

THE dispute which is going on in the Scottish Cat Club at present is most regrettable, and to an outsider it seems to be a pity that the club committee does not ask everyone concerned in the matter to say all that they have to say, and then, after considering all the evidence, decide the case finally.

OUR CATS gives what claims to be a permanent cure for fleas in cats: Boil one pennyworth of lump alum in a pint of water slowly, then add three pints of cold water, and sponge the cat all over with this concoction, afterwards drying thoroughly. To hardy cats this treatment would do no harm, but I should not care to try it on kittens on account of the risk of their taking cold.

SHOW-GOERS will recollect a curious cat, called, I believe, a wild Indian cat, which was shown by Mr. Brooke some years ago. It was a weird, lanky-looking animal, ticked red in colour, and having white legs. The other day I met with a very fine specimen of the same breed, superior in every way to Mr. Brooke's cat; it was free from white, and a much better developed cat. The owner can, I understand, procure more when required.

A NEW volume of the "N.C.C. Stud-book " is promised shortly. This should be a useful publication, as it is a long time since the last volume appeared, and, as registrations are no longer advertised, we have no other facilities for verifying pedigrees. In days gone by we were rather overdone with stud-books and registries. The Cat Club published annually a book containing all the registrations of the year, and occasionally brought out a stud-book, and the N.C.C. also published a stud-book and advertised the registrations. In those days, also, one of the Scottish clubs had a registry, but I do not know if this is still continued. The spirit of rivalry did good in many ways to the cat fancy, and, though one must feel glad that there is no longer a death feud between two clubs, it cannot be denied that it put life and interest into the fancy.

TO return to the subject of the improvement in type of cats during the last few generations, I think no breed has shown such a marked improvement as the long-haired oranges and creams. True the oranges are rather deficient in markings, but that is because their owners wish them to be so. Once a strain of self-oranges is established and established with a class separate from the orange tabby, the well-marked cats will quickly reappear. The orange cats have improved enormously in colour, and a washed-out yellow is rarely seen nowadays; they are blessed with very profuse coats, which they seem to carry longer than other breeds. They have nice broad heads, with small ears and short noses; white chins have disappeared, and the lovely hazel eye is rarely absent. Ten years ago orange cats were, as a rule, lanky and flat-sided; they were often pale in colour and poor in coat, and almost without exception they had greenish eves and white chins.

THE creams and fawns were practically unknown ten years ago. Mrs. Foote brought out Ripon (a pretty cat), and Miss Carlisle showed Fawn. Then Miss W. Beal produced a number of promising kittens, of which she thought so little that they were sold at the Crystal Palace as cheaply as a guinea each. The next year Romaldkirk Admiral and Midshipmite were born, and they grew into such magnificent cats that for many years they were practically unbeaten. Now we have a number of Admirals and Midshipmites, many of them as good as the old cats, and some improved by the hazel eye, which in their case was missing. Some of the present-day cats show a tendency to lighten and improve in colour, and altogether the breed has advanced enormously.

OF blacks and brown tabbies I cannot say much. Here and there we find a good black, but it only occurs as an isolated case, and there is at present no good and reliable strain available to breed from. In brown tabbies there is one notably good strain at Brayfort, which in many points shows an advance upon previous generations, but the rank and file are so far in the rear that the breed cannot be said to have gained much.

SILVER tabbies we have dealt with very recently, and it is generally admitted that they are a greatly improved breed. Whites are enriched by the establishment of the blue eye, while coat, shape, and head have also improved. Chinchillas, like creams, have been "invented" within my recollection. The number of superlatively good cats do not greatly increase; every few years a bright particular star appears, and the classes generally contain a number of really good cats, and in both cases I think the quality is better than in days gone by. Consider Lord Southampton and Ameer, the best male cats of their day, and compare them with Silver Tod Sloan and Ard Patrick, and consider the cats placed below these old champions in comparison to our second and third prize winners of last year. In refutation of my opinion I shall be asked, "Why then does Zaida still win?" My answer is that Zaida has been more hardly pressed during the last few years than before, and by several different cats, that she was beaten when she first came, and that she has been beaten recently, and that her position as an individual does not affect the breed as a whole, and that the breed as a whole has improved.

SIAMESE cats have, I fear, made no progress. A mistaken conviction of their delicacy has led to their being cooked and coddled until their constitutions are ruined. When I have time I shall buy a couple to keep as stable and garden cats, and demonstrate, what I proved to my own satisfaction years ago, that if treated like common cats, but fed well on raw meat, they will thrive. My difficulty will be in starting, as, if I buy kittens from a coddled strain I foresee some difficulty in hardening them off.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, August 4, 1906, pg 341.

MISS WINIFRED BEAL is advertising some good cats and kittens to make room for expected litters. There is a very good and massive cream stud cat, a well-bred and very handsome young blue, suitable for a pet, and some blue kittens by Romaldkirk Jim which are particularly promising, and excel in coat and shape. There are also some very nice orange Kittens, which will shortly be old enough for sale.

IT IS really funny to note how unpopular among exhibitors of long-haired cats summer shows have become. At Richmond, the other day, almost the only well-known cats were Miss Hastings Lee's neuters. There was a good deal of grumbling over the N.C.C. definition of a kitten - i.e., six to twelve months. The winning chinchilla litter, owning as their sire and dam a pair of eight-months' kittens, seemed to make people think there was something wrong with the rule. I cannot see that this has anything to do with the matter. One exhibitor has risked ruining the health and physique of two promising kittens by breeding from them when only half developed. How does that affect the cat world generally? As well might we find fault with the age classification for hunters at various agricultural shows, on the ground that many people hunt three-year-olds, and that two-year-olds have been hunted.

I SINCERELY trust that the N.C.C. will stand firmly to their guns and refuse to admit kittens under six months to their shows. The N.C.C. professedly exist for the good of the cat. The classes for young kittens are admittedly an excellent medium for selling kittens, and they are supposed to "draw" a good gate. Are either of these objects for the good of the cat? I think not. They are merely means of money making, and the less we hear of them the better.

MRS. GEORGE WILSON has made a notable addition to her already strong team by the purchase of The Rajah of Birchwood, the sensational blue kitten who won at Richmond. He is a son of Blue San Toy.

MRS. SLINGSBY, Mrs. Collingwood, and Mr. Mason are judging at Sandy Show, but, sad to say, the kittens are to be under six months. This jumping about of the ages will cause some confusion, I fear; but there is no doubt that it will make swindling difficult, as a kitten will have to be six months old to-day, five to-morrow, and six again next week if it is to go the round of the shows.

MISS SAMUEL writes in great joy over the birth of a stumpless white Manx femaie kitten - long may it live and prosper. The dam is Witchampton Witch, dam of Boygym, Manx Girlie, Witchampton Jimmy, etc.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
ALICE. - I wish you had told me a little more about your kitten if its general health is good, how you feed it, and whether it lives in or out of doors, and, most important of all, for how long its eye has appeared to be weak. Lacking all this necessary information I can only guess at the correct treatment. Bathe the eye three or four times daily with boracic lotion for a week; if it is no better, bathe it with a weak solution of alum and water; if that does not suit it, try strong cold tea. What suits one case may not suit another, and I have known all these do much good.
HIBERNIA. - From your description I think your cat is certainly suffering from swallowed hair. Give a dessertspoonful of castor oil (warm) from time to time when the cough is troublesome.
E. T. B. - l do not recollect your initials, but I am glad to hear the cat is all right. I expect it was, as you say, the change of climate which upset him.
ROSELEAF. - These curious tastes are noticed in cats from time to time, and I have never been able to ascertain that gratifying them did the cats any harm, nor do they seem necessarily to be the result of poor health and a consequently depraved appetite. I have had cats that ate raw carrots and potato peelings, and I once had one that stole and ate lumps of sugar and toffee. For the fits give 2 grains bromide of potassium daily for a fortnight, and repeat after a week's interval. - DICK WIITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, August 11, 1906, pg 377.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
MRS. SING. - Postal replies are only sent on receipt of a fee of 2s. 6d. It is unusual for swallowed fur to cause all this trouble, as, once it is got rid of, matters are generally improved for a time. Give a dessertspoonful of warm castor oil twice weekly while the trouble continues, and feed frequently on minute quantities of minced raw beef sprinkled with carbonate of bismuth. You do not mention any internal disturbance apart from the sickness, so I conclude this does not exist. If it does, the treatment would be different according to the symptoms exhibited. I conclude the cat retains some of his food. If not, he is presumably suffering from gastritis, in which the end would be speedy; but you give me no particulars.
MRS. T.- - Many thanks for your interesting letter, which I have mentioned elsewhere. If the kittens can win, you should do well. Of course, there are plenty of males bred, but the females seem, as a rule, to be better, and what we want is a strain which breeds first-class males. I shall be pleased to receive the photographs of your stock, but if you wish to sell some of the kittens you should advertise them in THE LADIES' FIELD.
TOBY. - Brush and comb the cats regularly, to get rid of the old coat and keep them free from fleas and other insects. Feed on raw beef, and, to put a final gloss on the coat, give a tablespoonful of cream daily for about three weeks before the show. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, August 18, 1906, pg 431.

MISS CLIFTON tells me that she has purchased from Miss Paget (who is to be married shortly) her litter of six blue long-haired kittens by Blue San Toy, who won third prize at Richmond. This is Miss Clifton's second excursion into long-hairs, but I understand it is only a "passing call," and that the kittens will not remain at Wrecclesham Lodge.

MR. HALLY has repurchased from Miss Clifton the tortoiseshell and white Manx queen which he sold to her a short time ago, and Miss Clifton has repurchased Strathcona.

IHAVE received a most interesting letter from Miss Atwood. This lady has a couple of Siamese cats, aged ten months, which live out of doors all day and are treated as ordinary cats, except that they are very well fed on chopped raw beef, cooked fish, and brown bread and vegetables. These cats are very well bred, being by Cairo Rameses and descended from Tiam O Shian IV. Their mother was an outdoor cat, and a litter of kittens is expected shortly by Oyama, the property of Mrs. Douglas. Oyama also lives out of doors, but he was at one time the property of Lady Marcus Beresford, and she, as we all know, used to keep her Siamese cats very warm indeed.

AS AN immediate result of the, to put it mildly, disagreements in the Scottish Cat Club, Mr. Hally is starting a new club called the Caledonian Cat Club, and which seems to be well and substantially supported.

THE month of August is, on the whole, the most trying of the year for cats and kittens. I believe in feeding sparingly during the hot weather. The cats may get a little thin, but their appetites are not so likely to go as when they get their full rations, and both cats and dogs come very quickly into good condition after they have been kept on short commons for a little time and then put back on to a generous diet.

THERE is really no hurry about getting cats into coat this year, as the N.C.C. Show is not till December, and very few cats would be in coat for the earlier shows however carefully they were treated.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
A. A. - l am much interested in your letter, and shall be glad to hear more of the kittens.
CARELESS. - Fleas ought to be got rid of if possible, but lice must be cleared out if your kittens are to thrive. As a rule, if kept clean, it is only delicate kittens that are troubled with lice, so I think your kittens must frequent some dirty old building, where they pick them up. I fancy the fowl louse and the cat louse are somewhat similar, so if you keep fowls they may be to blame.
JAMES. - If you wish to keep cats for profit, and have little experience, I advise you not to keep a stud cat, but to have two good queens and send them away when necessary.
EXHIBITOR. - The more you brush your cat the faster and better its coat will grow. Grooming is not necessary except when the coat is being shed, but it is always good for the animal and improves its appearance.
JANE. - That experimental dose of worm medicine was at the bottom of all of THE TROUBLE. Stick to the raw meat, but leave off milk, and give a teaspoonful of Kepler's Extract of Malt and Cod-liver Oil daily. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, August 25, 1906, pg 467.

MRS. THOMSON, a propos of my notes on brown tabbies, sends me news of eight brown tabby male kittens. Mrs. Thomson possesses a fine young brown tabby stud cat by the black Dick Fawe out of a brown tabby queen. Grouse, the well-known brown tabby queen, has three fine brown tabby males by this cat, and a blue queen of Miss Bennet's strain has three brown tabby males and two females by the same sire, also one black! These kittens have luckily retained the big round head of their blue mother. Two other brown tabby males are by Flor Jora ex Grouse's dam, so Mrs. Thomson should certainly be able to fill the brown tabby male classes at all future shows.

IT IS a curious fact that the two breeds of cats which cause most disagreements with regard to the correct type are Manx and short-haired blues, and in both these breeds the majority of the winners are practically without pedigrees. I say practically because, though in one or two cases the names of sire and dam are given, the grandparents names are not, and there is nothing to show that they were of the same breed as their offspring. The squabbles arise, as far as I can see, from the fact that a few people solemnly purchase imported cats, or breed from them and produce some very inferior kittens - it is not to be expected that even well-bred cats will invariably produce good kittens - and when these kittens are defeated by some cat without a pedigree their owner jumps to the conclusion that their type is correct and the winner is necessarily a bad specimen.

THE judges already appointed for the S.C.C.C. Show at \Westminster in January are Mr. Hally, Mr. Mason, and Mr. Billett.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
JOSEPH. - As soon as you notice a kitten sneezing and watering at the eyes give half a camphor pill every four hours. This is constipating in effect, so give a teaspoonful of salad-oil at night.
AMBROSINE. - If a kitten's eyes are blue you know it as soon as they open. If you feel any doubt on the subject you may feel certain that they are not blue. All kittens have bluish-grey eyes, but these are of a very different shade to the forget-me-not blue of the white cat or kitten.
ROBIN. - As your tortoiseshell is washy in colour I should mate her to a good black. The kittens would probably be good blacks, reds, or tortoiseshells.
FRANCES. - Your kittens are certainly suffering from distemper of the gastric form. This disease is frightfully infectious, and hangs about a cattery for months. You would be foolish to buy any new cats or kittens until you have had the buildings thoroughly disinfected and limewashed and left empty and open to the air for at least a month. It would be exceedingly wrong to sell cats or kittens, or to receive visiting cats until this has been done, and even then you ought to experiment upon your own cats before risking those of other people. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, September 1, 1906, pg 484.

A CERTAIN lady writes wrathfully to the papers because a certain judge told her that according to the present standard a cat which she possesses, and holds to be perfect in type, cannot win. Now, at the present time, there is no official standard of points for short-haired blues. The judge who gave his opinion was wrong on that point, but his knowledge of cats is sound, and I am inclined to think that if he said the cat could not win, the lady is mistaken in thinking it perfect in points.

IT is wonderful how often we hear of short-haired blues with deep orange eyes, and how seldom we see them. I know of at least thirty whose owners claim this point for them, but of these a bare dozen can substantiate that claim, and the majority of those are in one cattery. \We are given scores of reasons for a cat's eyes looking paler than usual on the day when we happen to see them, but I like cats whose eyes never pale and never have a green reflection ("from the grass!") round the iris.

My readers will recollect, I am sure, that I constantly urge care in the use of flea powders on kittens. These powders are advertised, and truly, as non-poisonous, but the owners and the makers omit to take into account the fact that most cats when they find any unpleasant strange substance on their coats and skins proceed straightway to lick it all off and swallow it. If the substance is non-poisonous, it probably does the cats little or no harm, but how about the tiny kittens? There are many non-poisonous things which if given in quantities to a young baby would cause its speedy death, and so it is with kittens. Mrs. Hardy has had very unfortunate experience in losing a fine litter after an application of flea powder. The kittens were too young to lick their coats, but the powder was put on their bedding, and thence, no doubt, got into their mouths. A flea powder which I have found good and safe is composed of equal parts of powdered camphor, magnesia, and milk of sulphur. I rub it well into the cats' or kittens' skins, and then brush thoroughly. It may also be put in the bedding. I have made a practice of putting a lump of camphor under the hay in each bed, but someone - Mrs. Wilson, I think - found her cats ate it. I fancy, however, if put under a good thick hay bed the cats would not dig it out. Sulphur sprinkled over the floors and bedding would certainly do no harm.

A LETTER from Miss Clifton informs me that Mr. Hally is sending to her two white Manx kittens, stumpless and good in shape. This sounds genuine, as Mr. Hally is a good authority, but experience has taught me that a grain of salt is essential with information about blue-eyed Manx. Time will prove if it is necessary in this case, and Miss Clifton has promised to send me a photograph of the newcomers if they are all she expects. I hope that they will thrive, and not follow in the footsteps of the numerous tortoiseshell toms which are born into this world.

MR. HALLY tells me that he felt lost without a few cats, and he has therefore bought back his blue short-hair, Lally, from Mr. Maxwell, and has also purchased Sherdley Alexis from Mr. Heap. Mr. Hally is very busy getting the Caledonian Cat Club into working order, and has already got a capital list of officials and a substantial guarantee fund.

MR. WITT kindly publishes an account of how he cured ophthalmia in kittens by the application of a "weak" solution of Izal. I am a great believer in the merits of this preparation, but I wish Mr. Witt had been a little more explicit, and told us exactly what proportion of Izal he used. For the benefit of those who wish to profit by Mr. Witt's experience I would say that it is advisable to use only a small quantity of the solution, and afterwards to dry the kittens' faces carefully, as Izal is not good for the internal economy of cats and kittens.

THE Northern Counties' Cat Club has suffered a great and irreparable loss in the retirement of Mrs. Herbert Ransome from her post as hon. secretary. Mrs. Ransome has shown great tact and ability in carrying out arduous and delicate work, and the great success of the club hitherto is mainly due to her efforts. I understand that the pressure of other occupations is the reason for Mrs. Ransome's decision, and that she does not intend to sever her connection with or give up her interest in the club. Who the new secretary will be has not yet been divulged, but meanwhile it is suggested that the work of the club shall in future include a somewhat wider area, and that shows should occasionally be held out of Manchester.

MISS SAMUEL will have the sympathy of all cat lovers in the loss she has sustained through the death of all her blue long-hairs. These cats had been of late usurping the place of the Manx, and Miss Samuel intended to show them only until there should be some chance of the Manx being properly judged. The blue cats had all been procured as tiny kittens and reared by foster-mothers and Miss Samuel, therefore, felt a special pride and joy in them. They had not been shown, but were only waiting until their loving owner considered them old enough to stand the risks of the show-pen, when some fatal discase struck them all down. I sincerely hope that the Manx cats have not caught the complaint; they were all well when I last heard of them.

I WONDER how many present-day exhibitors have any recollection of the appearance of the best-known stud cats of twelve or fifteen years ago. It is interesting to recall some of their leading features and note if they have handed them on to their descendants, Ch. Bundle was not a very big cat, but his shape was exquisite, and he had a beautiful round head and tiny cars. In eyes he failed, and some of his kittens bore a tiny white spot. Woolloomoolloo was a good cat, pale in colour and heavily coated. To my mind he was a cat who should never have been shown out of coat. His eyes were, to the best of my recollection, pale yellow. Ch. Turkish Delight was the only well-known stud cat of that date that I can remember with orange eyes. He was a very big cat with grand colour. His fault was that his ears were a bit big. Roy was a grand cat so far as shape, coat, head, and eyes went, but his colour, inherited from his smoke dam, was very bad. Had he lived longer he might have made his name as a sire, for, with limited opportunities, he threw good winners. Ch. Bluejacket and his brother, Patrick Blue, were huge, beautiful cats with enormous skulls. Bluejacket's colour was exquisite, but his eyes were very poor. Patrick Blue was not quite so good in colour, but his eyes, though not orange, were decidedly yellow. Beauty Boy was a good all-round cat with a nice broad head, but his eyes were green. King David was the biggest and heaviest boned male cat I ever beheld. His colour also was perfect, but, alas! he too failed in eyes. There are many other notable cats now seen in public no more, but, as they are still alive, I will not attempt to describe them at present, for fear of giving offence to their owners.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
QUEEN. - If, as you say, your cat is healthy, I can only conclude that she has some bad teeth, and if this is so you had better get a veterinary surgeon to remove them. Some of the first teeth may not have been shed, and if so they are undoubtedly the cause of the trouble. If there are no bad teeth you must be mistaken in saying that the cat is healthy, as she must be suffering, at the least, from indigestion. If this is so stop all milk, and give twice daily a grain of bicarbonate of soda. Please let me hear how the cat gets on.
JAMES. - Blue to blue is the best rule in breeding. Experimental matings may be interesting to some people, but they are rarely useful, and may be very mischievous, and work untold injury to future generations.
TIGER. - Black kittens do not fetch high prices as a rule, and if you can get £2 2s. each for yours you are lucky.
MOTLEY. - Certainly try to breed the Dutch-marked cats if you like, but I fear you will not find it a paying business. There will be no sale for the mis-marked kittens, and if you do eventually breed a perfectly marked one, it will not fetch a high enough price to recoup you for your previous expenditure. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, September 8, 1906, pg 32.

MRS. SINKINS writes about the new rule regarding kittens' ages. She considers it right that kittens should not be shown before they are six months old, but strongly objects to the new rule, on the ground that "it can make no possible difference to the cat whether it is called a cat or kitten when penned." With this I quite agree; but if it is so, why object to calling it a kitten? Dogs are called puppies till they are twelve months old, and the Kennel Club, with many more years of experience and a much wider area to rule over, has found this age limit to answer perfectly, and it must be admitted that small dogs certainly, if not large ones, mature earlier than cats.

MRS. SINKINS has two lovely litters of kittens - five smokes by Upwood Rheseus, and five silvers by Silver Milord.

A CORRESPONDENT in a contemporary enquires if the evenly pointed black and white cats without the straight "saddle mark" (is that the correct Dutch rabbit term?) are to win in Dutch classes, as she knows of a couple of perfectly marked cats. Now this saddle mark happens to be the essential point in the Dutch rabbit, and the line must be absolutely straight and clearly defined, so I presume the same law will hold good with Dutch cats. This is the point which is difficult, I should say impossible, to get. There are thousands of perfectly evenly marked black and white and white and black cats in every town and every country village, and I could obtain a dozen in twenty-four hours if I thought anyone else wanted them, but I do not care for them myself.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, September 15, 1906, pg 68.

IT seems that no one will come forward to take Mrs. Ransome's place as secretary of the Northern Counties Cat Club. I am not surprised to hear this as it would be a bold man or woman who would aspire to follow in the footsteps of this lady. I suppose there is no possibility of Mrs. Ransome being prevailed upon to reconsider her decision!
"KADUN KAHIA," in this week's OUR CATS, asks questions as to the after development of meat-fed kittens. It may be of interest to her to know that both Mrs. Slingsby and Mrs. Norris, our two most successful exhibitors, believe in raw meat. When I say successful I mean proportionately successful, for they bring out, and win with, a larger number of cats of their own breeding and rearing than any other exhibitors I know of.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, September 22, 1906, pg 103.

A NEW edition of "Domestic and Fancy Cats," by John Jennings, has been issued by L. Upcott Gill. This is an interesting and instructive little book. The points of the various breeds of cats are given, and, where it is possible, the specialist clubs' standards are adhered to. Advice is given on housing, breeding, and feeding cats; but I am sorry to say Mr. Jennings's ideas on feeding are old-fashioned, and he recommends that milk, vegetables, fish, concentrated meat essences, etc., should be given to cats, and that kittens should be fed on milk, with various other ingredients added. Mr. Jennings brings up the comparison of the two-month-old baby once more as a reason for not giving meat to kittens. I am not aware that anyone has yet given meat to a two-day-old kitten, but that would be the age at which it would correspond to a two-month-old baby. Consider the teeth of the kitten and of the human infant. At two months old the kitten has a full set of carnivorous teeth, and at that age the baby has none, and when they do come they will not be carnivorous. Diseases are dealt with at great length, and the illustrations, which are new, are excellent.

I AM pleased to hear that the R.S.P.C.A. propose to take up the matter of cats' travelling baskets. The small and uncomfortable baskets in which some cats are sent to shows are a disgrace to their owners. I remember a lady who owned a lot of winning cats, and who constantly sent them to shows in small dirty, insecure baskets, and who told me quite cheerfully that her cats often arrived at the junction, some four or five miles away, late on a Saturday night, and, there being no train to the local station, had to remain there till Monday morning! This particular lady afterwards reformed so far as to provide her cats with clean and secure baskets, but they were never large enough for the cats they contained, and there are many similar and even worse cases.

ENTRIES were good at Sandy Show, but the longhaired cats were poor, and the kittens were overcome by the heat. The shorthairs were better, but some of the largest exhibitors did not exhibit. I was pleased to notice the well-merited success of Mrs. Kennaway in the blue, orange, and cream classes, Norfolk is a good county lor cats' coats, I think, and Mrs. Kennaway's cats have borne the hot weather wonderfully well.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, September 29, 1906, pg 149.

BILHAM ARCHIE is a beautiful young blue neuter, winner of third prize at the Crystal Palace last year. He is the property of Mrs. Hallett, Bilham, Weybridge, and was bred by Miss Beal from her Romaldkirk Jackal and Tottie.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.
(For Rules see Previous issues.)
OLGA. - Honestly, I cannot recommend any establishment of the kind, as it is not wise to expose a valued cat to the possibility of infection from waifs and strays. My advice to you would be to get some cottager who has a spare empty room to board your pet, or, failing that, send it for a time to a reliable veterinary surgeon. Your cat is a beauty, but, from the photograph, he appears to be blue, not smoke.
GREY FRIAR. - This s A case in which an examination of the animal is really essential. Is there no good veterinary surgeon to whom you could take him in your neighbourhood? I expect that there was an abscess at the root of the tooth, and possibly there are others, and in this case the teeth should be removed. The sores must be frequently bathed with Condy's fluid and water, and then a little boracic powder may be applied; but if the trouble still continues, I Strongly advise you to let a vet, examine him.
BOBS. - Your cat must have had a so-called abscess in the flap of the ear during your absence. The ear becomes swollen, and the flap is apparently full of fluid. Prompt lancing is necessary, but even when this is done the car often crumples. I fear there is nothing to be done in your cat's case; but as you say the ear seems painful, another abscess may be forming, and if so this should be lanced. If this is not so, there may be some trouble inside the ear. Make a careful examination thereof, and let me know the result. Let the cat have the diet he prefers; he shows his wisdom,.
FROHENLOG. - Write to Mrs, Sinkins, Aldermoor House, Southampton. If she has not what you want, doubtless she can tell you where to obtain it. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, October 6, 1906, pg 149.

NOW is the time to commence in earnest to get cats into show condition. Some people say that cats should always be in show condition except for slight deficiencies of coat, but with breeding stock this is not possible, and a cat can more quickly and easily be got into tip-top form if, to start with, it is a bit thin. I do not mean that it should be out of health, but a little bare of flesh. Cats which live in good form, and very few do, may go off in condition from loss of appetite, or some similar cause, at the very moment you want them to look their best, while those which are "coming on", improve from day to day. Let us suppose we start with a thin but robust cat, just released from family cares, and covered with close short hair and with no sign of frill or brush. I do not write of short-hairs, as those who exhibit them understand them, apparently. Our cat must be fed twice daily, getting 3 oz. of raw beef at each meal. If she does not fatten on this, give her a tablespoonful of fresh cream or a dessertspoonful of Kepler's malt and cod-liver oil daily. Keep a close watch on her, and at the least sign of biliousness, loss of appetite, sleepiness, and thirst give a Carter's liver pill. Brush the cat twice a day with a soft firm brush the right way of the hair, change her bed once a week, and let her have as much fresh air and exercise as possible. If your cat is healthy she should be fit to show in eight weeks, and looking her best in twelve.

WHEN is the vexed question of the blue short-hair to be settled? I am personally interested in the matter, being for the moment the possessor of a kitten of this - shall I say breed or variety? The kitten in question was, when it arrived, very decidedly of the imported type. Her colour was beautiful, coat correct, face small, and eyes yellowish. She eats largely of raw rabbit, and already I see a difference in the outline of her figure. When her checks bulge out with fat and she develops "calves" to her legs I shall hope to have a good British blue. If I wish to show her I shall not know how to class her, if we are, as is threatened, provided with classes for two types of blue, for her parentage is distinctly Russian, and I have every reason to hope that her personality will be British, and if she ever has any kittens, even by a Russian sire, they will be born and brought up as honest English kittens. Altogether I shall be at a deadlock.

OCCASIONALLY a cat or kitten arises in our midst which upsets all our theories on feeding. I possess at present a kitten of this description. She is of no value, as she lacks the essential point of the breed which she is supposed to represent. Her sire is delicate, and her dam was neglectful, so she was presented when two days old to a cat whose kittens were four weeks old. She prospered, but I cannot say that she grew until she was three months old. She is now four months and growing fast. She insists upon having a little new milk night and morning, and if there is any porridge to be had she hurriedly devours that also. She eats dog biscuits and raw paunches, which are provided for the dogs and are often very "high" indeed, but they do her no harm. Her foster-mother had another litter about a fortnight ago, and she promptly ousted them and re-adopted the old lady. She catches and eats a good many mice, and I fancy these help to keep her in health, but certainly if she was of any value she would not thrive as she does. Her salvation, I think, lies in the fact that she never has a full meal - a tablespoonful of milk or a couple of square inches of tripe are as much as she is given at a time, and she is out of doors running about night and day.

THE silver tabby male, Dingley Acrobat, I spotted, in kittenhood, as a most promising youngster, and I recommended him very strongly to Miss Anderson Leake as a cat which proved that clear tabby markings need not necessarily be sacrificed to length of coat. Dingley Acrobat had as good markings as I have ever seen, and his coat touched the ground. He was bred by Lady Pink, and he possessed what many of her strain lacked - a short, broad face. Miss Leake purchased him, and won several prizes with him, and I am pleased to hear that he has more than fulfilled the promise of his youth, so his show-pen career should be a brilliant one.

IT has struck me that some of our cat clubs would be well advised to consider the possibility of paying their secretaries a salary. I know many of them will say that they cannot afford to do so; but is this really so? A really efficient secretary will gain many members, and will save the club expense of different sorts by tact and attention to business. Such a secretary when found is well worth a modest salary, for it may be that he or she is not well off, and must devote his or her spare time to some money-making occupation. In this case of course it would be out of the question to take a post as honorary secretary, but a promise of payment would make all the difference.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, October 13, 1906, pg 207.

AN article of cat diet which might with advantage be more generally used is raw rabbit. In towns expense is an objection, but many cat-owners would, and do willingly, pay far more than the price of a rabbit for something to tempt an ill or delicate cat. In many parts of the country rabbits could be obtained very cheaply, and the old or poor rabbits which are not marketable do very well for cats. A full-grown rabbit will provide a meal sufficient for twenty-four hours for six or seven cats. By cats I mean unattached cats. Stud cats or nursing mothers require about twice as much as the others. All cats love raw rabbit, which should be given as freshly killed as possible, and with the skin on. The hair acts as a valuable mechanical vermifuge, and an idea has occurred to me that all the hair swallowing which causes us so much trouble may not be entirely accidental. It may well be that the cat's instinct teaches it to swallow fur or feathers of some kind, but stops short of informing it that its own hairs swallowed singly are not desirable! I would like the opinion of my readers on this point.

MR. HUGH MAXWELL of Ayr has now parted with most of his cats, and those noted winners at the Scotch shows, Robbie Burns, Tootsie, Sloper II., Peg the Rake, and Helen McGregor have gone to America.

MRS. MILLAR of Southampton is now going in for chinchillas in addition to blues, and has added a very fine young stud cat to her cattery.

MRS. SINKINS writes to explain to me more fully her views on the "Cat versus Kitten" question. She considers that nothing over nine months should be shown as a kitten, but that kittens of from five to nine months might safely be show. Her arguments in favour of this are - first, that kittens of that age rarely die after shows; second, that the kitten classes draw a gate; and third, that if the owners like to show their kittens in unsuitable weather they have themselves to blame if harm comes of it, and must take the consequences.

WITH the first of these arguments I strongly disagree. I have never lost a kitten of any age after a show, but if Mrs. Sinkins will look back over past records she will find that when there has been a notable epidemic after a show the five and six months old kittens were the chief sufferers. The second argument is purely a mercenary one, and should not be brought forward. Unfortunately it is difficult to make cat shows pay, and their promoters naturally wish to attract the public; but if a sacrifice of kitten flesh is necessary for the up-keep of shows, let us do without the shows. The third argument carries no more conviction than the other two, for the fact that cat-owners do not know or do not care how their kittens ought to be treated is no reason why the N.C.C., which was promoted for the good of the cat, should encourage them to mismanage them. It is not for the ultimate good of the fancy that the best kittens bred should be sacrificed in the show-pen, and this the N.C.C. has recognised.

MESSRS. NEWTON, CHAMBERS AND Co., LIMITED, have very kindly written to me in reference to the use of Izal for ophthalmia in cats. They suggest, as I thought, a very weak solution of Izal, not more than one in eight hundred, and inform me that lzal has been very well spoken of by eye specialists. I shall certainly try it on my own cats should occasion arise, and should be glad to hear if any of my readers have used it successfully. I would again warn my readers to guard against the possibility of the cat's licking up much of the preparation, as a cat's internal economy is so extremely sensitive that many substances non-poisonous in themselves will set up a dangerous amount of irritation.

MRS. KENNAWAY'S cattery has reached such proportions that she thinks it advisable to part with some cats and kittens before the winter, and she is, therefore, advertising a number for sale at very low prices. There are some five months old blue kittens by Oulton Rajah ex Jolly Girl, and by Criquet ex Shiela, including the winners of a reserve at Sandy, and there are also some good adult queens for disposal. Mrs. Kennaway's stock is always particularly healthy; she wins numbers of prizes herself and cats and kittens she has sold have done very well for their new owners, so beginners in the fancy could not go wrong in buying from her. Mrs. Kennaway says that she is surprised that the heat at Sandy Show did not kill all the cats, but her own did not suffer from it at all!

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, October 20, 1906, pg 267.

I AM sorry to hear of the death of Lady Marcus Beresford's Dimity. This lovely chinchilla queen was considered by some people to be the best of her colour ever bred; but as she never had the honour of meeting Ch. Zaida in the show-pen, it is impossible to say if this was true or not. She was bred by Miss Cochran from Ch. Lord Southampton and Fairy of the Dingley strain. She was shown at Brighton, where she won first, and at Westminster, being out of coat, was placed second to Mrs. Wellbye's beautiful silver Jessamine. I do not think Mrs. Wellbye quite agreed with this placing, as she considered another of her cats in the same class to be even better than Jessamine, but, of course, this was a matter of opinion. I do not think Dimity was shown after coming into Lady Marcus Beresford's possession, but she bred some good kittens. Among her winning children may be mentioned H.R.H. Princess Victoria of Schleswig- Holstein's Puck III., Silver Charm, and The Absent-minded Beggar.

OF absorbing interest to fanciers is the announcement of the names of the judges appointed to officiate at the Crystal Palace Show in December. Mrs. Bonny has a thorough knowledge of short-haired tabbies, and Mrs. Pettitt probably knows more about long-haired whites than any other living fancier. Mrs. Mackenzie Stewart has always been a capable and popular judge; and as Mrs. Harpur has not judged before at a big show, her opinions will be waited for with interest. Mrs. Higgens and Mr. Hawkins have not judged for a long time, but the latter used to be regarded as a great authority on chinchillas, and their points have in no way altered since he last judged, so we need feel no anxiety with regard to his classes. For the benefit of novice exhibitors, I may say that he thoroughly understands the breed, having been, after Mrs. Balding and Mrs. Greenwood, one of the first breeders and exhibitors of this colour, and that he is an upright and fearless judge.

THE Southern Counties Cat Club Show at Westminster in January should attract Manx fanciers, as Miss Clifton has guaranteed eight classes for Manx cats and kittens, and Mr. Hally will judge.

NOW that the rain has come, it behoves us to guard against colds and chills in the cattery. House cats, unless very delicate, do not usually take any harm from going out in the rain, as they come in and dry themselves by the fire; but the poor cattery cats have to "sit in their wet things," and get thoroughly chilled and uncomfortable, and should therefore be confined to their houses on wet days.

I CANNOT understand the joy that owners express over the birth of large and frequent litters of kittens. In exceptional cases the kittens may all live and thrive, and the mother may not suffer, but as a rule small litters, with a long interval between them, contain the best specimens. A far more satisfactory form of record-breaking would be to own the queen which produced the largest number of winners in one litter or in one season.

I SEE a suggestion in a contemporary that the smell of earth has been found grateful to a distemper patient whose nose discharged badly. I discovered many years ago that cats were aware of the disinfectant properties of earth, and that a cat which is suffering from an abscess, internal or external, or any other discharging sore, likes to sit in a tin of clean earth. If a cat is very dull, apparently in pain, and refuses food, yet does not lose condition rapidly, and you cannot diagnose his malady, provide him with a clean tin of earth. If he persistently lies in this, it is highly probable that an abscess is forming in his ear.

I PRESUME that the great demand for white Manx has been aroused by the successes of Sir Claud Alexander's fine brace. Miss Clifton seeks them high and low, but I doubt if she has yet procured what she wants; and I hear that Mrs. Collingwood bought one of Mr. Curphey's white kittens at Altrincham. There seems to be an idea afoot that it is because of their colour that these cats win, but this is a mistake; it is their very good shape and their absence of stump which earn the victory.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, October 27, 1906, pg 285.

I HAVE heard a faint rumour that the Southern Counties Cat Club thinks of cutting itself adrift from the N.C.C., and dispensing with championships at the Westminster Show. I hope, and really believe, that this is not the case. It would be a suicidal step for so young a society to take, and Mrs. Sinkins is too great a love of law and order to lend her countenance to such a proceeding.

"GREAT are the uses of advertisement" in the cat fancy. At this moment I am not speaking of the ordinary legitimate methods of advertising, but of the way in which some people continually cram the excellences of their stock down people's throats until their very ordinary possessions gain a spurious notoriety. Some years ago there lived a lady cat-fancier who possessed a fairly good cat which once bred a celebrity. From that time she wrote to the cat papers continually about "My noted ____" and related all her doings, and the growth and progress of every kitten which was born to her. Then she introduced some younger queens, equally noted as being related to the old cat. The kittens were very fair kittens, and they were at first healthy and well reared, and fetched prices far beyond their value. Their breeder's boast was that none was shown without receiving a card; unfortunately, they did not get much more than cards. This good lady must have made a small fortune over her cats, and when the kittens took to dying and the purchasers to complaining she had the good sense to retire. Now, recently I have seen an even more blatant case of this kind. Certain cats, good no doubt, but not superlatively so, are lauded to the skies in a way which is likely to deceive novices, and one of the owner's constant boasts is of the enormous prices she invariably receives for her kittens. This being so, I was amused to find this lady advertising innumerable kittens for sale at 10s. each in a paper which she probably thought was not read by cat-fanciers!

I AM informed that there is some dissatisfaction over the appointment of the judges for the Crystal Palace Show, but I have not yet met with anyone who disapproves of the selection. My informant professes himself quite pleased, but I fancy he has his own reasons for trying to stir up strife under the garb of peacemaker.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, November 3, 1906, pg 325.

THE subject of cat attendants is a difficult one for those few people who require assistance to manage their pets. Suitable persons are extremely difficult to obtain, for, while waiting upon little dogs is a fairly popular occupation, the post of "catt-girl" is not much sought after. I am inclined to think that a good kennelman would be more ready and willing to learn the ways of cats than the absolutely untrained girl or woman, who is generally engaged to look after cats, and who has probably never been in service before. Her mistress usually takes a lot of trouble to teach her her work, and is then informed, "Oh, I like you very well, ma'am, and I like the place; but I don't care for looking after cats!" A kennelman already knows the kind of job he is undertaking, and, therefore, if he likes his mistress and his place, he is not likely to throw it up. His wages, of course, are higher, but then the cat-girl usually lives in, and the kennelman "finds himself," and constant changes soon swallow up any little economies in the way of wages.

MRS. SINKINS'S Teufel II. is coming on well, and promises to be as good a cat as his illustrious sire.

THE Southern Counties Cat Club has decided not to ask for N.C.C. championships for its January show. My own opinion upon the subject has already been expressed; but, in common justice, I give the reasons for the action of the club, as expressed by Mrs. Sinkins.

IT appears that a number of people are anxious to show kittens, and as the S.C.C. has not, like the N.C.C., £100 balance at the bank, "finance" had to be considered. An appeal was made to the N.C.C. to permit kittens of from six to nine months only to be shown, but the N.C.C. replied that unless classes were also given for the older kittens the age must be from six to twelve months. On first consideration this appeared rather harsh, but it is justified when one realises the awful confusion that would ensue, later on, at shows where winners in kitten classes are eligible for novice classes, but winners in open classes are not. Keeping this in view, one sees how essential it is that all shows should fall into line on the point of kitten age.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, November 10, 1906, pg 367.

IN OUR CATS appears an account of a most strange cat. Her owner writes: "I wonder whether any of your numerous readers have ever come across a cat with such a peculiar craving for emptying bedrooms of wearing apparel as that practised by one in my possession. When sitting quietly at one's dinner, or at any other time, one suddenly becomes aware of a most unearthly noise on the other side of the door, and, upon opening it, in walks Micky with anything from a pair of gloves toa newly got-up summer blouse trailing behind her; and, seeing that she has to prevent herself from coming to grief by treading upon them when walking downstairs, her gracefulness in walking is not to any extent enhanced. She will rifle boxes and portmanteaux and bring down in her mouth, and howl to be let in with, any mortal thing in the way of ladies' wearing apparel, a pair of stockings being a favoured article."

MISS WHITE ATKINS'S name has been added to the list of judges at Westminster, but I have not yet heard what classes she will undertake.

I WAS pleased to hear from Mrs. Cubitt that her old silver tabby queen, Abbess of Broomholme, is well and flourishing. and is still rearing large and healthy families of kittens. Abbess was litter sister to Dimity, and with another sister was shown in the litter class at Holland Park, where Mrs. Cubitt purchased her.

THE expected standard of points for blue shorthairs is long in coming. Has it been found impossible to come to any agreement in the matter, or have people lost interest in the subject?

A BREED of cats which receives but little attention is the Siamese. Those fanciers who breed them are most loyal to their favourites, but with the general public they have never caught on. This, I think, is due to the mistaken idea that they are delicate. In my experience they are not delicate when properly treated, but they are, more than most cats, impatient of unsuitable diet and lack of fresh air. I consider that Siamese cats are the most fascinating, interesting, intelligent, and affectionate of all cats.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, November 17, 1906, pg 429.

THE Midland Counties Cat Club will hold its sixth annual show at Birmingham on December 4th and 5th, and schedules will be issued shortly. The show promises to be, as usual, a great success, and its financial anxieties are nil, as, with a very few exceptions, all the classes are guaranteed. What it is for a club to have such enthusiastic and generous supporters!

AFTER all the Southern Counties Club has not quite decided to sever all connection with the N.C.C., for the secretary, Mrs. Millar, is, through the press, asking members to vote "for or against" N.C.C. championships. What bearing this will have upon the case I cannot say, for Mrs. Millar is avowedly acting without the authority of her committee, and assumes that they will be guided by the votes of the members; she also assumes that the N.C.C. championships are awaiting her acceptance or rejection. Mrs. Millar may be perfectly justified in her anticipations, but that remains to be proved, and it is just possible that there may be trouble and annoyance before the matter is finally settled.

"IRIS " of FUR AND FEATHER is, and rightly, considered a great authority on the matter of showing cats in good form, and she gives some excellent hints on cleaning and preparing cats for the show-pen. She comments on the necessity of getting all white powder, used for cleaning purposes, out of the cats' coats before penning them, and here I can give a little hint drawn from my experience of dog showing. Many years ago I saw a well-known fox-terrier ordered out of the ring because, when the judge gave him a gentle pat on the back, a cloud of powder arose from his coat. On his way from the ring everyone he passed gave him a gentle smack, presumably to confirm the judge's opinion, and with each smack the powder grew less. When he got clear of the crowd the handler suddenly turned and took the dog back to the ring; no powder could then be found in his coat, and he was judged and did well. In those days I showed dogs, and I cleaned the white ones with powder, which I laboriously brushed out, and it took hours to get the coats clear; but after this I resorted to gentle patting, and found that my object was gained in half the time. Long after a brush will raise no dust a pat will make powder fly, and the work is thus more thoroughly done.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.
DICK WHITTINGTON will be pleased to give advice on all matters concerning cats and their ailments, and will be glad to receive for insertion any interesting items of cat news that her readers may send. Queries must be written on one side of a separate sheet of paper, and must be signed with a pseudonym only for publication, but a letter giving full name and address of sender must accompany each query. A postal reply will be sent if the fee of 2s. 6d. is enclosed.. Letters should be addressed, "DICK WHITTINGTON, care of Editor, THE LADIES' FIELD."
BELLE CINDERS. - 1 and 2. To answer the questions you ask fully would take up a whole number of THE LADIES' FIELD, but I will try to give you a little information. A long-haired cat should be low and cobby, with broad round skull, short broad nose, large eyes and small low-set ears. It should be large and heavily boned, with a heavy coat and mane and short full brush. Blue-eyed whites are perhaps the most valuable, then chinchillas and blues; the rest can be arranged according to taste. 3. The sample appears to be from a rather dark dingy blue cat. 4. According to quality, age and sex, the cat might be worth from £2 to £4. It would only be of value to breed from. 5. Blacks and tabbies, if good, are of value, but are not so popular as other colours, excepting silver tabbies, which are always in demand. 6. "The Cat Manual™ published at this office will help you, and if you want a more exhaustive work get Cassell's "Book of the Cat." Your cat's conduct with regard to its grandchildren is unusual but not unparalleled. It is very bad for both cat and kitten if the kitten remains too long with its mother. The mother's constitution is drained, and the kitten's digestion suffers. Common-sense and a knowledge of the human race will tell you this. No sensational symptoms may appear but the mischief is there all the same. On no account use the powder you refer to, as I believe it contains spirits of tar, which though harmless to dogs re a deadly poison to cats. Try equal parts powdered magnesia, milk of sulphur and powdered camphor. Rub well into the skin and then brush out. - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, November 24, 1906, pg 488.

NEWS reaches me of the death of the father of the chinchilla fancy, that noted cat, Silver Lambkin, and one who knew the old cat well kindly sends me the following notes of his life and death:

"Only so lately as August 26th. 1905. some account was A given in THE LADIES' FIELD of the very remarkable veteran stud cat, Silver Lambkin, and now the news comes that at the age of seventeen years he has at last paid the debt of Nature. Mrs. Balding, in her letter, quoted at length, in this said account made him fourteen at that time; this was understating it, for he was certainly born in '89. It was on November 5th by wire that the first intimation came to his owner that her old favourite was quietly and painlessly passing away. That Lambkin was in wonderful vigour up to within a few months ago is vouched for by the fact that Mrs. Balding is the fortunate possessor of a son of his under three months old out of a queen of Mrs, Organ's, kitten is very hardy, and has the same assured, even masterful, way that was so characteristic of his sire; indeed, those who know the strain best think that he is a more thorough 'chip off the old block' than any previous son. Besides this there are five other sons and daughters, under two years old, at Gamlingay to carry on the line. Up to the last, although in confinement, Lambkin has led the same outdoor life as of yore. The only care that has ever been taken was to see that he had a thoroughly snug, draught-proof bed. He has never known the luxury (?) of heated, stuffy rooms; hence probably his very unusual health and longevity.

"As is so often the case with great animals, Silver Lambkin's birth was due in a great measure to good luck. To go back into years that, of course, many of our veteran lady fanciers cannot possibly remember, and when silver tabbies held pride of place, Mrs. Vallance had several 'sports' in females of this variety which had very few markings. These she looked upon as bad tabbies, and consequently did not like. One of them, with those large luminous green eyes, fine texture of coat and expressive head that in those days were known as the Vallance type, came from Aylmers to visit a tom of Mrs. Bridgewater's (Miss Mary Gresham), and this lady, recognising its fascination, did not rest until she had borrowed Beauty, a similar cat of the same strain, from Miss Howe, with the idea of producing and perpetuating a chinchilla-coloured or unmarked silver cat. This Beauty was mated to Mrs. Bridgwater's Fluffy, and produced the original Silver Lambkins which won the gold medal and cup at the Crystal Palace in 1888, under that sterling judge the late Mr. Harrison Weir, and which were illustrated in his book. One of these kittens was purchased by Mrs. Cuniffe Lee, and died at Penshurst; the other went to Pittsburg, U.S.A., with Mr. Jocelyn Landor. The aforesaid Fluffy was a clear-coloured silver. Dimly spotted. He came from Miss Acraman, and was of Mrs. Brydges's strain, a lady who probably owned some of the best Persians ever seen in this country, perhaps some thirty) years prior to this date. Beauty was again on her way to The Lodge, but Fluffy had taken himself off and has never been heard of since. In those days the idea of keeping a cat caged was looked upon with abhorrence. Mrs. Vallance's Fluffy II. was thought of, but he, also, was roaming free and wild in the woods; then, as no time was to be lost, Mrs. Sheerman was asked to lend her beautiful imported smoke, Perso, which had lately won the medal for best in the show at the Crystal Palace. Perso was an unmarked smoke with a magnificent coat and mane; he was sent, was mated to Beauty, and produced the hero of our tale. Beauty was a wonderful dam; it was hard to go wrong with her. Her next mating was to Mrs. McLaren Morrison's fine cat, the imported Nizam; another success resulted, the produce being Lambkin Queen, Twin, and I, who have all left their mark on the breed; but this is a digression.

"Silver Lambkin never saw the inside of a show-pen; probably because at an early age he showed his value as a sire, and in this capacity his name has been made. We believe it is a fact that for fourteen years running his children or grandchildren took the kitten cup at the Palace. To enumerate all his well-known progeny would be tedious, but the leading branches are: Lord Southampton (whose son, Silver Sultan, and grandson, Silver Halo, are among the most representative cats of the breed to-day), Lord Argent and Mowgli, all of whose names are prominent in present-day pedigrees. His best daughter was undoubtedly Mrs. Bluhen's beauriful Silver Lilly, perhaps the best queen of the variety ever seen, not excepting even the well-known Ch. Zaida, but, like many others, she was never shown when at her best.

"Mrs. Balding owned from time to time several good sons of the old cat, but even in the heyday of Lambkin's success she had almost abandoned showing, and parted with many good kittens that might have carried her name to the front. Tod Sloan was an exception; he was shown twice. At the Palace under novice judges he was first in limit but beaten in open, the open winner being again beaten for best in show. Tod had his revenge at Brighton five weeks later, when that keen fancier, Miss Hester Cochran (now Mrs. Higgens), recognised his worth by awarding him first and all specials, although the cream of the chinchilla fancy was represented. Poor Tod's end was untimely - the trap-door of his house fell and he was shut in his outer run all one wet night soon after Brighton, and pneumonia supervened, for he had been used to much warmth at his cottage 'walk.' Silver Owl, whose name speaks for his face and eyes, left his mark on Silver Charm, his offspring by Dimity, who was a daughter of Lord Southampton. Silver Squire, another good cat, died young; but he had already shown his worth by siring Mrs. Wellbye's beautiful Silver Lotus and Veronica.

"Mr. Rowland Ward is stuffing the old cat's remains, for they are to be honoured by being placed in the Natural History Museum at Kensington, with other giants of the past to bear him company. Is it not meet that it should be so? Other sires have created a strain, but Silver Lambkin has created a variety. - WILL RAMBLE."

THE schedule of the N.C.C. Show at the Crystal Palace on December 12th and 13th has just reached me. The names of the judges have already been announced, but the list of their different classes has been awaited with interest. Mrs. Mackenzie Stewart takes the blacks, long and shorthaired and the long-haired blues; Mrs. Harpur, long-haired brown tabbies and all neuters; Mr. Hawkins, long-haired chinchillas, smokes, silver tabbies, oranges and creams, also Siamese; Mrs. Pettitt, long and shorthaired whites, tortoiseshell and tortoiseshell and white; Mrs. Bonny, short-haired brown and silver tabbies; and Mrs. Higgens, short-haired blues, red tabbies, creams, Dutch marked and the Abyssinians and Manx, There is the usual long list of challenge cups and special prizes, and the classification presents no startling innovations except the class for black and white Dutch marked and pied short-hairs.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.
(For Rules see last week's issue.)
SOUSA. - Many thanks for your letter. I should be pleased to receive the photograph, and if good enough it would be reproduced. I quite agree with you that Siamese cats should be more popular than they are. I think you could readily sell them for moderate prices by advertising them in THE LADIES' FIELD. So many people ask high prices for Siamese cats that people who would gladly have them as pets consider them quite beyond their means.
MISS ATWOOD. - I am very glad indeed to hear of your success in rearing hardy outdoor Siamese kittens. I think the must be really strong to thrive on such a very varied diet. I always fed mine on meat. I should not think you would have any difficulty in selling the kittens. Is it not odd that I should have received two letters on the same subject on the same day? - DICK WHITTINGTON.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, December 1, 1906, pg 523.

A CERTAIN well-known judge and exhibitor told me many years ago that his most successful show cats were bred from short-haired dams and long-haired sires. Though I have seen many very handsome cats bred in this way, I rather doubted his statement, as there was usually a coarseness of coat or a common-looking head to "give away" the origin of the specimens I have met with. I have recently had cause to alter my views, for I have met with a kitten, or, rather, a young cat, showing every mark of high breeding, whose mother is a common short-haired cat. The sire is a very well-bred cat, and the kitten far surpasses him in looks and quality. It is, I believe, an accepted fact that our long-haired cats were in early days freely crossed with short-hairs, in order to produce certain desired colours. I am under the impression that no good blue long-hair has been imported. Those I have seen showed very decided traces of short-hair blood. Whites, blacks and brown tabbies are the most common colours among imported cats.

SO the members of the Southern Counties Cat Club have decided against N.C.C. championships for their show; thus, sad to say, what might have been the most important show of the year, after the Crystal Palace, will step into the second rank. If the S.C.C.C. wishes to cater for kittens, surely it would have been wiser to have held it in the autumn, as the classes would have filled better then. The kitten classes at the Cat Club Show at Westminster were for kittens between five and nine months, and were never very popular or successful.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.
(For rules see previous issues.)
WORRIED. - Replies cannot be inserted in "next week's LADIES' FIRLD." Short-haired neuters are frequently excellent mousers. As with other cats, it depends upon the individual. Surely you can obtain a kitten from a good mousing strain locally; if not, you had better advertise your wants.
M.B. - Your vet. may or may' not be right, but I have of late come across several cases where there were bad after effects from what you speak of. The hot milk is probably the cause of the trouble. Give water to drink, and no milk. Give one ounce of raw beef three times daily with a pinch of carbonate of bismuth over it until the acute symptoms have subsided. Then stop the bismuth, and give a teaspoonful of Kepler's extract of malt and cod-liver oil daily.
IND. - I have never heard of a genuine case of rheumatism in a cat, and being on damp earth occasionally would certainly not cause it. The case is a very curious one, and sounds like the result of a strain or blow, and if there is a clever vet. in your neighbourhood I should be inclined to ask him to look at the cat. Rubbing his back and loins with embrocation might do good, but I should like a full description of his age, general condition and diet. Do you know if he has worms? I suppose you are sure the cat is not constipated. I have known cases where precisely similar symptoms were quickly removed by a dose of castor oil. - DICK WHITTINGTON

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, December 8, 1906.

OWING to illness Mr. Hawkins will, I am sorry to say, be unable to fulfil his judging engagement at the Crystal Palace. The Siamese classes have been given to Mrs. Higgens, but who will take the chinchillas I have not yet heard.

WEAK or inflamed eyes are a very frequent cause of trouble among kittens, especially those reared in large catteries. The usual and best remedy for inflammation is boracic lotion applied very hot. It is essential that the patient should be kept in a warm but well ventilated apartment, and protected from draughts. When there is little or no inflammation, but the eye is merely weak, I prefer to use cold applications, as there is less risk of the animal being affected by cold, and it can therefore be allowed more liberty. Cold strong tea, weak alum and cold water, and cold boracic lotion are all excellent lotions for weak eyes, and one may suit one case and one another. The eye should be well bathed two or three times daily and carefully dried, and the patient should be kept in one room for half-an-hour afterwards.

MR. LOUIS WAIN, the president of the National Cat Club, has sent to the Press a most able letter on the subject of the exhibition of young kittens. Mr. Wain evidently feels strongly on the subject, and says that he considers the showing of weakly kittens has become a scandal unworthy of a club of the standing of the N.C.C.

ON the same subject comes an effusion "with the compliments of the Committee of the Southern Cat Club," wherein I seem to trace the pen of the able hon. secretary of that body. In very flowery language and complicated sentences the intention of S the S.C.C.C. to go its own way in the matter I of kitten classes is set forth; but I must strongly protest against the inaccuracy contained in the following sentence, which refers to the prospective Westminster Show: "Even that myth of the cat fancy, the tortoiseshell tom, may become an entity for the occasion." Why a myth? Has the writer never attended a large cat show, and has she never heard of such cats as Saul and Ballochmyle Samson? both tortoiseshell toms and good ones. Samson's portrait has appeared in the pages of THE LADIES' FIELD, and both cats have been well known to all show-goers for many years.

MISS SAMUEL sends me a charming photograph of her well-known winning Manx Boygym, in order that I may see that my prophecy has been fulfilled, and that he has greatly improved since he came to Sutton Place. Boygym is certainly in the pink of condition now, but Miss Samuel does not tell me how he compares with King Kangaroo, and if there is any likelihood of his lowering his illustrious brother's colours if they meet in the show-pen.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, December 15, 1906, pg. 76

WHERE are all the blue-eyed white Manx we have heard so much about? Every now and again we hear from someone who has just purchased a blue-eyed kitten. Enquiries as to its progress elicit no response, and a little later we find the owner exhibiting a yellow or green eyed cat, and if we say "Where is the blue-eyed kitten?" we are promptly told, "Oh! it died a long time ago." So it is with tortoiseshell toms and cream short-hairs. Numbers are reported as born annually, but few, very few, ever see the inside of a show-pen, and after many years of experience, I own to feeling somewhat sceptical about the cat which was "bound to win to-day if it had been shown."

MRS. MACKENZIE STEWART tells me that she now possesses only three stud cats, but they are doubtless all of superlative merit. Ch. Ayrshire Ronald was certainly the best blue of his day, and I doubt if a better all-round cat has yet been bred. Dick Fawe, the orange-eyed black, won the medal for best long-hair at Westminster, and Hero is certainly the best brown tabby male I have ever seen.

MRS. THRING, who is now living at Broadstone, has not had much luck with her cats this year. Cora, the blue queen, sister to the notorious Roy, suffered from a disease of the mouth and had to be destroyed. Mrs. Thring has three queens now - Barbara, a blue by Criquet ex Cora, and Barbara's two smoke daughters by Robin. Robin was the smoke brother of Roy and Cora. Unfortunately, since Robin's death Barbara has refused to breed, and Mrs. Thring has only one litter, by Royal Bobs, this year.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, December 22, 1906, pg. 115

THE death of Miss Samuel's Manx queen, Golfsticks, removes one of the two best Manx queens from the show world. Golfsticks was a really beautiful Manx cat, but those who know Miss Samuel know that her love for the little cat was quite apart from her pride in its show-pen achievements and that she feels the loss of her favourite deeply.

ANOTHER good cat which has joined the majority is H.R.H. Princess Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein's chinchilla male, Puck III. Puck was a prize-winner and sire of some good kittens, and was a light coloured and sweet faced cat who, in spite of his age, looked like an overgrown kitten. He was by Silver Starlight ex Dimity, and was, I believe, presented to Princess Victoria by Lady Marcus Beresford.

RATHER amusing is a suggestion recently put forward that "All the leading cat clubs should be represented on the N.C.C. committee." What a pandemonium would result! I have more experience than most people of cat club committees, and I know the danger of admitting unknown quantities. If a committee works fairly well it is a terribly risky matter to interfere with it. Apart from this, I suppose that all the mushroom(ing) specialist societies are included among the leading cat clubs. Let me ask what they have done or are doing to merit representation? They give special prizes and guarantee classes, no doubt, and, if they care to, they draw up standards of points. What do they expect to do in the N.C.C.? Let the members belong to the N.C.C., when, if they possess sufficient merit, they may be elected on the committee, and in any case they can attend the general meetings and air their views thereat. This is the weak point in the argument of all grumblers. The opportunity to complain is offered to them annually at the general meeting, but they never avail themselves of it; in fact, they rarely trouble to attend the meeting, but they sit at home and write letters to the papers complaining that the N.C.C. committee does not consider their wishes. Were these persons elected on the N.C.C. committee, would they attend the meetings thereof regularly?

REPRESENTATION of the big substantial clubs, such as the Northern Counties, Midland, and even the newly formed Southern Counties, when it becomes mellowed by time and experience, would be an excellent scheme, I fancy the two first are already well represented; but that the specialist clubs should swamp the ruling body would mean that the battles of years gone by would have to be fought once more, and the fancy would soon be involved in general warfare.

CAT GOSSIP. The Ladies' Field, December 29, 1906, pg. 151

IN spite of prophecies, mostly emanating from interested quarters, to the contrary, the Crystal Palace Show was a brilliant success. The entry was good, and the quality of the stock shown was, in nearly every section, extraordinarily good. First in white males went to Mrs. Wilson's Ap Brenin of Arran. dale, a big cat, beautifully shown and having glorious eyes. Lady Decies's Fulmer White Prince unfortunately buried himself in the straw and was marked absent by the open class judge. Later on, when required or the brace class, another judge discovered him, and he was then given an equal first in the open class. He is a beautiful cat; face, shape, coat and eyes, all are exquisite. The Hon. Mrs. Clive Behrens's Swinton Pierrot and Mrs. Baxter's Friar's Son made a good second and third. In the female class Lady Decies brought out two more gems in Fulmer White Snow Queen and Fulmer White Princess. The former has a sweet face, glorious azure eyes and a perfect shape, and her cattery companion is not far behind. The black class were disappointing, and I failed to find a single first-class cat therein. Dunsden Lord Coke, the best of a poor lot, is a fine, big, massive cat with a profuse coat, but his eyes are pale and his colour smoky.

In the blue male class was found the best cat in the show - Mrs. Preston Whyte's Leigh Adonis, a huge shapely cat of a sound lovely shade of blue. He has a good head and ears and orange eyes, and he was shown in excellent coat and condition. In the morning Adonis was quite sweet-tempered and docile, but when he was wanted for the cup judging excitement had got the better of him, and he proved difficult to handle. Fortunately two at least of the judges had had an opportunity of handling and inspecting him in the morning, so that it was considered worth while to make strenuous efforts on his behalf, and eventually Miss Clifton nobly undertook the task of getting him out of his pen, and accomplished it at the cost of a few bites. The second prize blue male was Miss Soan's Moccassin, a big cat, very sound in colour and with good eves; and the third Mrs. Gent's Addington Blue Boy, who excels in face and eyes. The best eyes in the class were owned by Mrs. Sharp's Jocko. The winning blue female was Lady Aberdeen's Sweet Lavender, who is a good all-round cat, especially pleasing in shape and face, but a little pale in eye colour; the second, Mr. Dod's Oulton Pansy, is also a very nicely-shaped cat. Mr. Smith's Dolly, third, has lovely eyes but loses in face.

Mrs. Wellbye's Silver Milord, the winning chinchilla male, is one of the best cats of his colour I have ever seen. He is of a beautifully pale pure tinge of silver, wonderfully clear of marking and without a brown hair. His head is a study, nose short and broad, ears small and low set, and eyes huge and emerald green. Second in this class went to Miss Meeson's Prospero Duvals, who is also pure and pale in colour and round in face; third, Mrs. Dunderdale's Silver Phantom, shows a brown shade. In chinchilla females that much improved cat Pearl Maiden of Arrandale won easily. She is a long, low cat with a thick fleecy coat of a pale, pure silver. Her eye colouring is weak and her expression is not pleasing, otherwise she is well-nigh perfect. Miss Simon's Silver Lily showed a brown tinge, and was consequently relegated to second Blace. Mrs. Sedgwick's Madam Butterfly is good enough to win in most company.

The smokes, taken as a whole, were below the average, but silver tabbies were good. Dunsden Abdul, the winning male, is a huge cat with a grand head and pure colour, but his markings are a little thin; second went to Miss Cochrane's Garry Owen, and third to Miss Anderson Leake's Acrobat of Dingley, far the best so far as markings are concerned, but losing in purity of colour.

Miss Whitney's Brayfort Viking won in brown tabby males. He is a rich sable in colour and handsomely marked; moreover, he is sound in chin colour, but his face is rather pointed. The well-known rich sable Brayfort Tip Topper won easily in the female class.

Mrs. Hobbs's Vivian, first in orange males, is a cobby, heavily-boned cat with good colour and markings and a grand head, and Mrs. Mclaren Morrison's Silverdale Grenadier pressed him closely. The same owner's Silverdale Lurline headed the female class; her colour and eyes are glorious, but her head might be better. Harbledown Sunny loses only in colour, and Gloriana of Arrandale is a grand cat, but shows a light tag.

The cream males were really beautiful, and Wildon Wily is the best of his colour yet penned. Large and heavily boned, with a beautiful head and eyes, sound colour and perfect coat, he would be hard to beat; Garboldisham Junker loses in face, but is a grand cat, and Fulmer Diebi is a most promising kitten, though at present showing slight flank shadings. Mr. Helmer's Wildon Witch was first in cream females; her eyes and colour are excellent, but Romaldkirk Daisy II. pressed her close, and Miss Lea's Ruckholt Miss Coquette made an excellent third. Fulmer Diebi won well in cream kittens, and Orange Duke in oranges; and two really good orange-eyed kittens, in Miss Attenborough's Masterpiece II. of Sheffield and Mrs. Watson's Barry Girlie, headed the blue kitten classes.

The short-haired classes were extremely good, and there was a grand turn-out of Siamese and Manx cats. Among the former, in the class for cats over two years, Mrs. Cooper's Princess Lhassa scored heavily in body and eye colour, and the same owner's Chaseley Chutnee, though darker, is very dense in points. In the junior class Mrs. Backhouse's Banjo has food but slightly clouded body colour, very dense points, and intensely blue eyes. Siamese Princeling has glorious eyes, but shows light hairs on a dark saddle. Krom, Mrs. Aubertin's winning kitten, the winner of the cup for best short-hair, is a beautiful little cat. His body is pale biscuit colour, his points clearly defined, his eyes deep blue, and in every line he looks, as he is, a highly-bred Siamese cat.

Mrs. Carew Cox showed a huge, handsome, but slightly British-looking Abyssinian in Fancy Free, which won in the open class, but was beaten in novice by Mrs. Pitkin's Jeannette, who is quite free from dark spine line. In the Manx classes previous judgments were somewhat upset. In black males Miss Clifton took first and second with Weybourne Daniel and Henry, the first-named a most typical cat and the most absolutely stumpless in the class, while Henry is a typical grand-coated cat, with capital hind legs. King Kangaroo, another good black, loses a bit in coat. The winning black female, Miss Garland's Piccaninny, is a most typical cat, and looks a Manx from every point of view, and Miss Clifton's Witchampton Heads or Tails pressed her close. losing only in coat and eyes.

In the A.O.C. classes Sir Claud Alexander's magnificent whites, Lord and Lady James Dumps, were, of course, invincible, the male on this occasion winning the championship; while those two good tabbies, Mrs. Brigden's Bob I. and Miss Clifton's Manx Queenie, made two good seconds. Lady Alexander won first in the British classes in whites with the sweet-faced, deep-eyed Ballochmyie Billie Blue Eyes II., and in blacks, blues and red tabbies with Ballochmyle Black Bump, Ch. Brother Bump, Mrs. Tuffet and Ch. Perfection, all too well known to need description, while her handsomely marked brown tabby Lab Haraig headed his class. Lady Decies won well with Fulmer Snowstorm, and she showed a couple of promising blue kittens, which were unfortunate to meet so good a cat as Miss Muffet in the open class. Miss Clifton's orange-eyed black cats did well, and her whites were also successful. Mrs. Moore's silver tabby male, Holmfield Tabby Boy, is a beautifully-marked cat, but fails slightly in leg bars. I much liked Messrs. Rhodes brown tabby queen, Highfield Floss. She has bone and substance enough for a tom, and her markings are very nice. Lady Alexander showed a magnificent team of creams, the only entries in their class.

MESSYBEAST - OLD CAT BOOKS

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