Miss Jane R Cathcart, of "The Black Shorthaired Cattery," was responsible for encouraging the breeding of shorthairs in the early 1900s in North America. She imported many cats from Britain and Europe to develop and popularise shorthairs in the USA. The Detroit Free Press, 7th January 1907 referred to Jane Cathcart as “the most noted cattist in the world.” Around 1916 she gave up cats completely and after a few years breeding hackney horses, all her energy was directed towards music. The Biographical Cyclopaedia of American Women (1925) listed her as a songwriter and composer. According to the Zoological Society Bulletin Vol. XVI. No. 55 (January, 1913) Miss J. R. Cathcart was a contributor to the Wild Life Protection Fund ($10)

She was the daughter of George Rhett Cathcart, of New York City, General Manager of the American Book Company. Her father was born in South Carolina and became widely known through the USA. He spent most of the American Civil War in England pursuing literary and legal studies. He later became an editor with the Daily News (Charleston), leaving in 1868 to become proprietor of The American Publisher and Bookseller (a monthly journal). He left the Daily News because his sentiments were too radical for its conservative readership. He was also editorially connected with the New York Times and the Springfield Republican. The American Book Company was an amalgamation of several publishers, including Ivison, Blakeman & Co (Cathcart became a partner of that company in 1881). It published affordable school books. The Cathcart town residence was 11 East 54th Street, NY, close to fashionable Fifth Avenue. George Cathcart became seriously ill in spring 1892 and died suddenly of heart failure at the family's estate in Newport, R.I. on 27th June, 1892, aged 49. His obituary in the Publishers Weekly, Volume 42, July 2, 1892 tells us that Jane was his only child. Jane R. Cathcart was 18 years old when her father died.

Tracing Jane Cathcart’s mother is difficult as she is always referred to as “Mrs. Geo Cathcart”. According to the obituary, in 1866 George R Cathcart married a daughter of Prof James J. Mapes, the New Jersey agriculturalist/scientist. But which one? He left a widow in 1892. The Mapes daughters were Mary Elizabeth Mapes Dodge (author, widowed 1858, died 1903), Sophia Gertrude Mapes Tolles (artist, died 1899), and Catherine T. Bunnell (widowed 1906) – none mention Cathcart. The Mapes girls were home-educated and clever. As well as the usual subjects, they studied French, drawing, music, and Latin. No wonder Jane R. Cathcart had French and musical skills. Mrs Mary Mapes Dodge founded and edited “St. Nicholas” magazine for children; Cathcart answered questions about cats in her aunt’s magazine.

Jane R Cathcart's love of cats began in France when her French Poodle, Black, brought a stray cat home which she named Tiger. Back in the USA she relocated her cats to Oradell Stock Farm in Oradell, New Jersey in 1904 and named her cattery "Black's Shorthair Cattery" in honour of the Cat-rescuing Poodle. Later on, it became "The Black Short-Hair Cattery". According to The Washington Post, 1st October 1905, and Pittsburgh Daily Post of the same date, Tiger longed for feline companions, so Miss bought one and then several shorthairs, and the cats all frolicked about, to Black’s delight.

Her address in Paris in 1904 was Chateau d'Epluches, pres Pontoise, Seine-et-Oise (New York Herald, European Edn, 15th October 1904)

THE BLACK SHORT-HAIRED CATTERY AT ORADELL

A CATTERY FOR BLACK CATS. THE UNIQUE CHARITY OF A WEALTHY YOUNG WOMAN IN NEW JERSEY. The Kansas City Star, 17th September 1904.
Miss Cathcart’s Luxurious $3,000 Country Home for Friendless Felines Provides Its Inmates With a Course Dinner Each Day. From the New York World.
Over in Oradell, N.J., there has just been established a unique enterprise, on a charitable basis, called “The Black Short-Hair Cattery.” Strange to say, a woman, and moreover, a young woman, is the promoter of this enterprise. Miss Josephine [Jane] R. Cathcart is possessed of youth – she is 26 years old – more than the ordinary share of good looks and decidedly more than the average portion of this world’s goods.

It is not supposed, nor evidently intended by a projector, that the cattery will become a paying institution. Any friendly cat with a clean bill of health or the prospect of obtaining one after medical treatment can find a comfortable home in the Cathcart Cattery. Among the rules of the establishment is one that the cats shall be conducted to their destination by agents of the cattery, “thus avoiding the nervous strain of traveling alone. The cattery will receive them for board free of charge at any time the owners may desire within five years from date of purchase. In case of illness, however, the owner will be charged with cost of medicine and professional attendance.”

Cathcart did not actually live at the Oradell Farm where the Black Short Haired Cattery was situated. Her main home when she was in the USA was in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.. about 9 miles away. She spent around half the year in France, returning to the USA during the warmer months, and had a cattery there as well. Because of the amount of time she spent away from home, she employed other fanciers to exhibit her cats. She also brought back British and European-bred cats requested by other fanciers for their own catteries.

Throughout the existence of the cattery, Cathcart placed numerous adverts in pet or cat magazines. She also published and distributed several editions of a booklet called “The Black Short Haired Cattery.” One of her innovations was her illustrated price list printed on glossy paper (the high quality photos were even suitable for framing!) The booklet could be obtained on requested and was frequently updated. It was a glossy catalogue of her cats to help breeders select cats or select a stud cat to send their females to. Her booklets were sometimes used by the press as a source of information about the novelty of a cat-farm run by a woman. Because her father had been in the publishing business she likely had contacts able to print these booklets.

She promoted the Shorthair as being equally worth of attention as the fancier breeds. To that end she advertised for “Agents wanted to sell on commission,” her intention being to set up others whose sole goal would be to breed Shorthairs. She also knew how to publicise the cattery and attract visitors, even those who were simply curious about the establishment. Its attractive grounds became a tourist attraction in New Jersey. Its publications said that visitors could have Luncheon or Afternoon Tea at reasonable rates.

THE SHORTHAIRED CAT NO LONGER SLIGHTED. The Washington Post, 1st October 1905.
(A slightly different version of the same article also appears in Pittsburgh Daily Post of the same date.)
There is a stock farm in Bergen County, N. J., that differs from the ordinary stock farm which raises cattle or horses or sheep, because it breeds cats – shorthaired cats like the one that rubs its back under your chair and mews for tid-bits at your dinner table. It differs from most stock farms in another respect, it is managed by a woman. Miss Jane R. Cathcart is the owner and operator. She is a young woman who drew some attention to herself last summer by addressing various cat clubs on the advisability of arresting all the stray tomcats in the big cities.

As for the spread of the Cathcart idea, a short-hair cattery is soon to be established in Rochester, and another in Connecticut, both with the elimination of the stray Tom as their prime objects. Cat clubs and breeders think favorably of the idea, but have serious doubts of its practicability.

What was this plan regarding the eliminated of stray tomcats? This article from the (Rochester) Democrat and Chronicle explains it. She was in favour of licensing and registering cats and making ownership of [intact] tomcats illegal unless a person was a registered breeder. As The Buffalo Commercial (9th December 1909) later described it “Miss Jane Cathcart, of Oradell, N. J., . . enjoys the distinction of having originated the plan for exterminating stray cats by compulsory registration of all males. There is a horrible suggestiveness in this Malthusian, or should we say Maltesian, scheme calculated to make all men-folk sit up and take notice - and stay in nights, too.”

TO ELIMINATE THE STRAY CAT. PLAN PROPOSED BY YOUNG WOMAN CAT FANCIER Democrat and Chronicle, 12th July, 1905
If a plan suggested by Miss Jane R. Cathcart, of Oradell, N.J., to exterminate the tramp cat is put into operation, Thomas will find his career as a prowler abruptly terminated. Miss Cathcart is a young woman of large means who owns the only stock farm in America devoted entirely to the breeding of short-haired cats. Despite the prevailing fad for Angoras, Persians and other varieties of long haired cats, she declares that she is interested in them only as she is a lover of all animals; that she is primarily interested in short haired cats and is the “champion of the stray cat, because he needs friends most." A talk by Miss Cathcart, who is visiting in Rochester, was the feature of a meeting or the Lockehaven Cat Club held yesterday afternoon at the home of the president, Mrs, Alfred Jackson, in Meigs street. Miss Cathcart is a member of the club. In substance she said:

Miss Cathcart is having an automobile built expressly for carrying her cats and her manager from one city to another where shows are held. The auto will accommodate sixteen cats. She will exhibit eight or ten of her own in the shows the coming season, entering them in every show that is to take place after September 1st. She says the remaining six or eight cages in her automobile may be rented by persons wishing to send cats to the shows. One cage, at least, was spoken for at the meeting yesterday. Miss Cathcart owns a cattery in England and one In France. She also has in France a kennel for a pure breed of black poodles. She has brought some valuable short-haired cats from Europe to her farm in New Jersey. She says she has "cats with long prize lists and no pedigrees and cats with both prize lists and long pedigrees.” Among her famous pets are Champion Belle Bradford, an orange tabby that came from England; Pressie and Lady Ann. both black; Moumouette, a blue tortoise[shell], from France, and Buster Brown, an American smoke cat. Since coming to Rochester Miss Cathcart has purchased of Mrs. Mary S. Sage Raffles and Pollypop. Miss Cathcart has been the guest for a few days of Mrs. Brace. To-day she goes to the home of the Misses Van Voorhis.

The Idaho Republican, 27th March 1908: At a cattery conducted by Miss Cathcart in New Jersey, the tenants are bred and cared for with a strict observance of all the laws of feline hygiene. The kennels, or rather houses, are of Queen Anne style of architecture and provided with doors and windows and nooks and corners to afford pussy the opportunity she so loves to looking out the parlor window or retiring to her chamber for a siesta at will. Each member of this colony is provided with two houses, and is moved from one to the other every two or three days while the first is being cleaned and renovated. The bedding in each house is removed every day and burned. The cat’s toilet consists of a thorough combing followed by a rubbing with a cloth several times a week . . . Among the ninety or more inmates of this cat home are a number of blue-blooded, short-haired celebrities who have won reputations in this country and in Europe. Prissy is a black cat, without a white hair anywhere, and considered the most perfect specimen of her class to be found. She came from London, and is valued at the price of a good horse. Belle of Bradford is another Britisher, and is orange even to the color of the eyes. Requiqui is of Siamese descent, but is a native of Paris, and is dark brown with blue eyes. Buster Brown would be black if he were not tinged with a plum tint, and is what is known as a smoke.

Some of her feline boarders belonged to important owners, for example these pedigree cats belong to a diplomat’s wife. ”Four Siamese cats arrived here recently on the United Fruit Company’s steamship Zacapa which got in from Colon and West Indian ports. They were the property of Mrs. Frederico A. Peret, wife of the Peruvian minister to Panama. Most of the voyage the cats occupied a stateroom, and a special steward was assigned to care for them. They are going to a cattery in Oradell, N.Y., consigned to Mrs. Jane Cathcart . . . The cats were made the subject of a diplomatic correspondence, for the diplomat asked the collector personally to expedite their handing so that they could get to the cattery as soon as possible. Three of the cats occupied a padded crate and the fourth, the head of the family, occupied equally comfortable quarters in another crate. When the vessel sailed out of Jamaica the crates were placed on the upper deck. When the Zacapa was one day out of that port it was discovered that the male cat had broken out of his crate and disappeared. The ship’s officers believed he had been stolen in port and a wireless message was sent back notifying the agent of the escape or theft of the diplomat’s cat. . . . Late in the evening the missing cat was found in the laundry and recaptured after a chase. After his escapade the crates were moved to a stateroom. The animals are said to be fine specimens of their kind. (The New York Times, 21st April 1911)”

A CAT FARM WITH A MISSIONBy Joseph Henry Adams, Good Housekeeping, March 1907

The cattery includes among its own cats a certain number of outsiders whose owners would like them to attend these shows and yet be sure of good accommodations and care en route. They are charged for at the rate of one dollar a week in excess of usual boarding rates, all expenses included, excepting entry fees and medical attendance. A first-class automobile is now being constructed for the accommodation of these cats, and those intrusted to the care of the cattery can be insured against death from any cause while traveling, at a premium of ten per cent on value, as already described in the novel and ingenious insurance feature.

The Black Short Haired Cattery was incorporated as a company (doing “foreign business”) in New York on 7th April 1909. The Black Short Haired Cattery Inc was dissolved as a company on 5th April 1910.

CAT AND DOG LIFE BELIES ITS NAME AT ORADELL. New York Tribune, 10th May 1914
Fido and Tom Agree to Mediate All Their Old Controversies. Tabbies Find Rest From Brain Fag. Home First Founded by Miss Cathcart to House One of Her Pets.
When one wishes to convey the idea of no harmony at all one refers to a “cat and dog” existence, but this does not include the inmates of the Black Short-Haired Cattery at Oradell, N. J. Here the felines and the canines mingle and enjoy one long holiday, and although the hostlery was originally planned as a home for pampered pussies which were suffering from brain fag, they have very generously shared their home with friend Fido, and they do not make him lead a dog’s life, either. In providing places where one might board one’s dogs and horses, no one seemed to consider that pussy might like a place where she could spend her vacation. It seemed to be the order of things that when the rest of the family went away for the summer the feline members of the family were supposed to forage in garbage cans for their food in the day-time and spend the evenings on the fence “making night hideous” for the neighbors. Furthermore, they were supposed to enjoy this nomadic sort of existence, although those who know them best say that cats are quite as devoted to their friends as are dogs.

Miss Cathcart is the owner of some very fine dogs, most of which are home-breds. There are Russian wolfhounds, French poodles, Boston terriers, pointers, Airedales and, last but by no means least, cocker spaniels. Mrs. Curry has a penchant for cockers, and it has been said jokingly that, however strong minded one may be, if one journeys to Oradell to buy an Airedale one will return with a cocker or possibly two. Magistrate is at the head of the cocker family at Oradell. He is a wonderful cream and is well known on the bench as well as in the kennel. Zeka and Defender head the Russian wolfhound army, and many consider them as fine as any American breds in the country. About the best known of the French poodles is Chiquita, a black toy, with an international reputation. Chiquita is a friendly little creature and is always the last to wish one au revoir, and one leaves the beautiful park overwhelmed with the hospitality of the inmates and feeling that there are lots of things that are worse than leading a cat and dog existence.

THE BLACK SHORT-HAIRED CATTERY AT HASBROUCK HEIGHTS

The changes to the Black Short Haired Cattery can be traced in adverts placed in The Evening Record, Hackensack, N.J. between 1912 and 1914. In October 1912 an advert stated it was “Still Doing Business,” referring to its poultry department selling eggs and table fowl. It mentions the poultry business having increased facilities. At the end of 1912, management of the business was transferred to Mrs M W Curry. The emphasis was on boarding and acting as agent or intermediary to get whichever breed of cats or dogs a customer wanted, and it sometimes advertised for “dogs wanted.” It specialised in Cocker Spaniels. There was little or no mention of cat breeding.

In January 1914 until mid-April 1914, it still advertised both longhair and shorthair cats at stud, but also advertised dogs at stud. By 22nd April 1914, the home-bred cats and dogs were being sold off at rock-bottom prices to make way for boarders. It also had a New York Office at 112 Carnegie Hall. The breeding business had been wound down. Until 20th October 1914, there don't seem to be any breeding cats there and even the dogs were being sold off at rock-bottom prices. On 22nd October the advert changed to say all fixtures, buildings etc had to be sold off before November 15th due to "removal." Finally, on 24th November, a few neutered pet cats were offered for low prices.

On 14th January 1915, an advert stated the Black Short Haired Cattery was now located at Hasbrouck Heights. The secretary was still H.V. Furness. By June 1915, the cattery and kennels, having relocated, were offering stud services and sales. Due to its removal to smaller quarters, a number of pens and coops were sold off. The last advert I found was October 16th 1916 for summer boarding.

THE SHORT-HAIRED CAT SOCIETY

In 1906, Miss Cathcart was President of the newly formed national Short-haired Cat Society whose twin aims were to elevate the standard of short-haired cat's standard and prevent the existence of strays. The Society was affiliated with both the American Cat Association and the Cat Fanciers' Association. During a July 25, 1907 visit to Rochester, NY Miss Cathcart addressed the meeting, giving a talk on "raising the standard of short-haired cats by care in their breeding." (Democrat and Chronicle, 25th August 1906). Mrs Elizabeth Brace, Rochester, N.Y., who kept and exhibited Cathcart’s cats during the winter months was Secretary-Treasurer of the society.

In her own promotional booklets Cathcart expounded on her goal of breeding purebred short-haired cats: "It is generally supposed that the common cat is treacherous, stupid, and attached to places rather than to people. In England, however, where the Short Haired branch of the Cat Fancy was first developed, it was quickly discovered that on the contrary this cat needed only the ordinary amount of care and kind treatment to become affectionate, intelligent and surpassingly beautiful. So we purchased our foundation stock there, including Champion Belle of Bradford (Orange Tabby Male), Champion Prissy, and Champion Lady Ann (Black Females), at the not inconsiderable sum of £16 16s 0d each, with the result that our cats now compete favorably with the proudest Persians on the Bench."

DAY OF “SHORT HAIRS” New-York Daily Tribune, 3rd January, 1906.
Short hairs are to play a prominent role in the little feline drama which opens at the poultry show in Madison Square Garden this morning . . . Miss Jane Cathcart offers a jewelled cat collar for the best Siamese male, and there are a souvenir spoon, several more medals, etc. Miss Jane Cathcart, whose cattery is devoted to the production of black short haired neuters, is not only a newcomer among the exhibitors at the Atlantic Cat Club show, but she will be one of the most important of the exhibitors of short hairs this week. Miss Cathcart is a firm believer in the short haired neuter as the most desirable of pet cats. She has had an automobile especially constructed for accommodation of her show cats. Among those which she will have on exhibition at the Garden are Jumbo, a blue; Prissy, a famous black female, bred by Hugh Maxwell, of England; Buster Brown, a native smoky male, and a great prize-winner, and Belle of Bradford, an orange tabby.

BLACK CAT REBELS IN THE GARDEN SHOW The New York Times, 4th January, 1906.
The annual cat show, held in conjunction with the poultry show, opened in the Concert Hall of Madison Square Garden. [. . .] A new exhibitor this year is Miss Jane Cathcart of Oradell. N. J., who has on exhibition three imported cats, all of which succeeded in securing the coveted blue ribbons. The cages in which the cats are shown have been tastefully and elaborately decorated, and the occupants are regally taken care of.

Irene Powell wrote about Miss Cathcart in The Cat Journal, July 1911. "There were Shorthairs in those days but nearly all were, as they were termed 'native' Shorthairs, Miss J.R. Cathcart, called the Fairy Godmother of the Shorthairs, was the greatest promoter of this breed and had some great winners. Ch. Buster Brown, Smoke, and Ch. Imp. Bell of Bradford, Red Tabby, were two of the prominent ones. Miss Cathcart brought other shorthairs from Europe: Moumouette, a Blue Cream, and two Blue Russians from France. However, in 1904 Mrs. Champion wrote that the Blue Shorthair has caused a great deal of discussion in England where it was first exhibited under the title Blue Russian. It was eventually decided to classify all blues as Blue Shorthairs and discard the name Russian, as these latter became too scarce to have a class to themselves. The two female 'Blue Russians' were sent to England to be bred to Peter the Great and Prince of Bath. Miss Cathcart later brought those two females to America where they became mates to Peterkin, a Blue Russian already abiding here and owned by Mrs. Sage. . . . Such was the extent of the recognized breeds of Shorthairs in the early part of the century. Fanciers have caused an evolution of the purebred cat that would cause the old time breeder to look on in amazement, and I am sure the end is not in sight yet."

FANCIERS FORM A NEW SOCIETY TO RAISE STANDARD OF THE SHORT-HAIRED CAT. NATIONAL ORGANIZATION PLANNED Democrat and Chronicle, 25th August 1906
Persons in All Parts of the United States Express Interest. To Promote Anti-Stray-Cat Project - Miss Cathcart President.
An organization that bids fair to be a National association and was formed to be such, has been started in this city by ten persons. It is called the Short-Haired Cat Society of America. The officers are: President, Miss Jane R. Cathcart, of Oradell, N. J.; vice-president, Mrs. Mary S, Sage, lecturer for the Humane Society; secretary and treasurer, Msa. Elizabeth L. Brace, assistant editor of the Cat Journal. The Executive Board is to consist of the officers and ten directors. The directors will all be persons of other cities.

The charter members, besides the officers, are: Mrs. Alfred Jackson, president of the Lockehaven Club; C. H. Jones, editor of the Cat Journal, and Mrs. W. C. Russell, all of Rochester; Mrs. J. See Bain, of North Chatham; Miss Jennie Green, of Hubbardsville; Mrs. J, C. Mitchelson, of Tariffville, Conn., and Mrs. N. S. Stowell, of Hackensack, N. J. A constitution is being prepared. The organization's fanciers will exhibit in every show held by both the associations and will offer cups and medals at each show. Miss Cathcart has already offered a cup for the best short-haired blue male. Mrs. Bain has offered a cup and will later announce for what kind of cat. Four medals will be awarded at each show, for the best male, for the best female, the best kitten and the best neuter. The meetings will be held at the times of the shows, the only times they can take place, aa the members will be widely scattered.

MISS CATHCART ADDRESSES MEETING OF SHORT-HAIRED SOCIETY Democrat and Chronicler, 26th July 1907.
Members of the local chapter of the Short-Haired Cat Society were at the home of the regent, Mrs. Mary S. Sage, in Garson avenue, last night, to meet the national president, Miss Jane R. Cathcart. A number of visitors wag present. The meeting having been opened by Mrs. Sage and the usual reports read, Miss Cathcart gave a talk on raising the standard of short-haired cats by care in their breeding. She enlarged on the object of the organization, explaining its points the more fully because of the outsiders present. This society has the two-fold object of elevating the short-haired cat's standard and preventing the existence of strays.

The society seeks to weed out stray felines by creating a public sentiment that shall have such a result. It doesn’t care for the showing of cats, particularly, but it conducts shows for the purpose of cultivating an appreciation of common cats. Directly a money or prize-winning value is attached to a cat, it argues, children and some grown people, as well, are apt to give it better care. The organization hopes ultimately to limit the male ownership of cats [Note – should be “the ownership of male cats”]. After the meeting, Miss Cathcart left this city for her home in Oradell, N. J. Refreshments were served by the hostess.

A CAT IMPORTER

She apparently brought back Champion Siam de Paris from her first trip to Europe. Siamese cats were a luxury cat in France, but she lamented that no-one seemed to maintain their pedigrees. Siam de Paris was a popular exhibit and often used in her publicity material. When he was sold for $475, the buyer wished to remain anonymous.

The first Shorthair registered in the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) was Ch. Belle Of Bradford (Imp), a British-bred orange tabby male imported and owned by Miss Jane Cathcart of New Jersey. Miss Cathcart claimed Belle had been pronounced almost unbeatable in his class at a Toronto Exhibition. During his nine-year show career in the USA, he was defeated only once by another orange tabby.

BEST BRED CATS ARE IN ENGLAND DECLARES MISS JANE R. CATHCART TO CAT CLUB. UNCLE SAM NOW RECOGNIZES THEM Democrat and Chronicle, 25th July 1907.
Cats Registered in England Pass Custom-House Officials Free of Duty - Lockehaven Club Members Entertained by Mrs. E.L. Brace.
A number of women, members of the Lockehaven Cat Club, who were guests of Mrs. Elizabeth L. Brace, yesterday afternoon, learned the cat news from France and England, from Miss Jane R. Cathcart, of Oradell, N. J., whom they had been invited to meet. Miss Cathcart, who has recently returned from a stay of many months in Europe, is the woman who suggested the plan to exterminate the stray cat, which clubs in various parts of the country are gradually trying to put in operation - the limitation of ownership of either males or females to breeds. She is not a stranger to most of the Lockehaven members, as she has met with them before and is a director of the club.

The Rochester Chapter of the Short-Haired Society will meet at the home of the president, Mrs. Mary S. Sage, No. 379 Garson avenue, this evening. Miss Cathcart is president of the national society. Miss Cathcart is the guest while in this city of Mrs. Brace, where the Lockehaven members were entertained yesterday afternoon.

Cathcart always imported the best cats she could find and bred these imports with her own bloodlines. She specialised in the Shorthair breed and imported top-notch stock from British breeders into the USA. These were often bred with carefully selected local farm bloodlines and they contributed to the development of what is now known as the American Shorthair. An indication of her success is shown by her American-bred white male, Champion Kombo. He won "Best Shorthair" at the 1909 Hartford show, and his sire, Jumbo, was undefeated in the blue colour class during his two-year show career.

She also imported the first blue-cream Shorthair, Moumouette, daughter of a French blue-cream named Bebe Bleue who was bred to English Champion Ballochmyle Brother Bump in England. Moumouette won prizes in many shows in the "Any Other Colour" class, and was bred to Champion Belle of Bradford, resulting in blue-cream “Missy” and tortoiseshell “Mixte.”

In addition to the British and “native” shorthairs, she had Siamese, Russian and Abyssinian cats. In 1909, Cathcart imported the earliest Abyssinians in America. These were cats bred by Mrs Carew-Cox in Britain and were the littermates male Aluminium II (silver) and female Brunette, and another pair of littermates called male Pepper (silver) and female Salt. In 1916 she imported and registered male Gondar and female Tit-Bits, both silver Abyssinians. All of these cats were sired by Aluminium I. They were all registered with the American Cat Association, but were rarely exhibited. Aluminum II and Salt were exhibited – and won - at the Madison Square Garden show in 1909. It is not recorded whether Cathcart planned to breed Abyssinians breeding program, possibly for silver Abyssinians, as there are no recorded offspring from any of these imports.

Irene Powell’ article about Miss Cathcart The Cat Journal, July 1911 mentions the importation of Abyssinians, Manx, Siamese and Chocolates. The latter were either solid brown versions of the Siamese or had the brown Burmese pattern.

The Black Short Haired Cattery sold kittens of several shorthaired breeds: English Shorthairs, Manx, Maltese (Blue Shorthairs), Russian Blues and Siamese. However she remains most famous for her (American) Shorthairs, especially Black Shorthairs. It was also a successful boarding facility for cats, dogs and birds. It also took in female cats for mating to Cathcart’s numerous Shorthair studs, or to "other good studs, never exhibited" at a cheaper rate. In addition to stud services, Cathcart sold cat accessories such as collars, bells, leads and harnesses, indicating that she was a serious businesswoman, not just a hobbyist breeder.

A BUSY LIFE

Miss Cathcart was so busy that she rarely exhibited the cats herself. She had a home and small garden in Paris, just within the city’s limits, close by the gates of the fortifications. Up until the First World War she spent six months over the winter period in Paris, attending to her affairs there (whether business or romantic isn’t known). She also visited England during those winter months and often returned to the USA with quality cats from British breeders such as Mrs Collingwood and Mrs Carew Cox. Mrs. Elizabeth Brace of Rochester, New York, exhibited Cathcart’s cats.

“Mrs. Brace was the corresponding secretary [of the Lockehaven Cat Club] and declined renomination for that office before she was elected vice-president. She resigned because her time is largely taken up with the Rochester Branch of Miss Jane R. Cathcart’s black short-haired cattery, and because of the trips she makes to show the cats in different cities where exhibitions are held . . . Mrs. Brace left last night for Boston, to attend the show of the Boston club. From there she will go to Columbus, O., and thence to Chicago. In shows to be held by the clubs of these cities she has entered twelve of Miss Cathcart’s cats and two of her own” (Democrat and Chronicle, 12th January 1910 )

GREAT CAT SHOW WILL BE HELD HERE IN DECEMBER. The Buffalo Enquirer, 12th November 1906
Miss Jane R. Cathcart of Oradell, N.J., enters twenty-one cats, all short-haired. In about one month Miss Cathcart will go to Paris to remain all winter, probably until June. Mrs. Brace, who has recently been to visit her, will have charge of the exhibiting of all Miss Cathcart’s show cats in her absence. The twenty-one on the list for Buffalo are the cats that will probably be shown all the season, provided their health remains good. The expenses of showing these pets will be not less than $600 or $700. Their entrance fees alone in the exhibition amount to $21. Mrs. Brace will go with them to all the cities where they are shown.

DISTINGUISHED CATS ARE COMING TO TOWN. About Fifteen Are Expected for the Winter - Democrat and Chronicle, 2nd November 1908
Possibly the most distinguished group of cats that ever came to Rochester will arrive on Thursday from Oradell, N.J. For several years Mrs. Elizabeth L. Brace, secretary of Lockehaven Cat Club has had charge of the showing of Miss Jane R. Cathcart’s cats, and this season she will keep them with her in Rochester when they are not on exhibition. About fifteen are expected. Among them will be the pair of great English silver tabbies, Champion Silver Stripes and Champion Dame Fortune II., parents of Genesee Valley Jane, owned by Mrs. Brace. Genesee Valley Jane was the ‘best kitten" in the Connecticut Club show held in Hartford last spring. She won over all the long-haired kittens. This was the first case in which a short-haired kitten in this country had been best In the show. The judges said she was the most perfect specimen they had ever seen.

Mrs. Brace and Mrs. Sage returned a short time ago from Oradell, where they attended a large reception given by Miss Cathcart, at the cattery. Mrs. Sage spoke on ‘'The Short-haired Cat Society of America.”’ She is vice-president of the national organization and regent of the Rochester chapter. The short-haired cat is growing In popularity and fanciers say that many former breeders of the long haired pussies are now raising short-haired ones.

CATS WHICH LIVE BETTER LIVES THAN HUMANS. ROCHESTER WOMAN HAS A CATTERY IN WHICH THE FELINES ARE WATCHED BY SERVANTS AND SLEEP ON SILK AND VELVET CUSHIONS. The Buffalo Enquirer, 23rd November 1908.
Mrs. Elizabeth L Brace is establishing a cattery at her home, No. 437 Frost Avenue, and many of its occupants are famous. Their pedigrees are long, while in most cases their hair is short. As told some days ago, fifteen of these cats come from the Black Short-haired Cattery at Oradell, N. J., owned by Miss Jane R. Cathcart. Mrs. Brace will care for the pets this winter and take them to all the shows where they will be entered.

Master Frank Decker, who was at Miss Cathcart's cattery through the summer, came with the cats to Rochester. He is well informed on catology and makes a valuable assistant to Mrs. Brace.

“Mrs. Elizabeth L. Brace, corresponding secretary of the Lockehaven Cat Club, will leave on Thursday for Oradell, N. J.. where she will attend a party to be given by Miss Jane R. Cathcart, owner of the Black Short-Haired Cattery, and a noted fancier of that place and Paris. After returning from her winter home in the suburbs of the French capital, Miss Cathcart every Year entertains fanciers in the vicinity of New York at her “spring party.” Owners of cats left as “boarders” at the cattery are also invited.” (Democrat and Chronicle, 24th May 1909)

Miss Cathcart's objectives were to provide a boarding place for pet cats where they could have, as far as possible, the 'comforts of home, including spacious quarters and ample opportunity for exercise. Her other objective was to breed high-class short-haired cats. As well as her own breeding programme, she accepted visiting queens for stud service. There were often over 100 cats at the cattery, many of them boarders. As time went on, the management of the Cattery itself became so involved that Cathcart took on a secretary, Mrs. Harriett V. Furness, who was a well-known photographer, artist and breeder of Persians (Buffalo Enquirer, 23rd November 1908). From 1914, she started to accept dog boarders as well, was selling puppies and advertising canine stud services. Only two years later she would run down the cattery and kennels completely.

Cathcart took out full-page adverts in The Cat Review until 1912, at which time she transferred her advertising to The Cat Courier, a journal started by her close friend and fellow Short-Haired Cat Society member, Mrs. Elizabeth Brace. Brace boarded and exhibited some of Cathcart’s cats when the latter was living in Paris for 6 months of the year. Cathcart also advertised in newspapers at that time, for example:

FOR SALE - By the Black Short-Haired Cattery, Oradell, N. J., Persian kittens and five young Persian neuter cats; all colors; also male and female puppies of pedigreed stock, Boston Bull, Airedaie and cocker spaniels, of several colors; also Russian wolf hound, Yorkshire and Maltease poodles. At stud, fine Persian cats, chinchilla, orange or black; stud fee, $30. Short-haired studs of all colors, prize winners, fee $5; Bob-tailed stud, fee $5.00; Boston Bull, stud fee $15; Fine Russian Wolf hound, fully pedigreed, stud fee $25. Send for new catalogue and price list. Cats, dogs ang birds boarded. Expert Care. - The Record, 26th February 1914

LIFE AFTER THE BLACK SHORT-HAIRED CATTERY

The closure of the breeding cattery occurred during the First World War, during which time she would have been unable to travel to France to acquire cats, or to import cats from the UK and Europe. By 1916, the Black Short-Haired Cattery was no longer advertising. Cathcart moved on to horses on her home property in Hasbrouck Heights, establishing a stables and training track that became as much a local attraction as her Black Short-Haired Cattery.

“Exhibitors who lead in the number of their entries for the National Horse Show this year have estates in New Jersey or are permanent residents . . . A newcomer this year is Miss Jane R. Cathcart, of Hasbrouck Heights, who has entered the hackney stallion Florham Squire, bred by the late H. McK. Twombly. “(The Courier, 13th November 1916). American horse breeders believed they could sell hackneys to England after the war, to replace those requisitioned by the army. Unfortunately, the rise of the motor car and motor bus replaced the pre-war hackney carriages. By 1924, Florham Squire (gelded) was listed as the property of C.M.O. Boyle.

In 1918, Cathcart began living with her close friend Ethel Grow, a contralto singer, and it was around this time that she gave up horses and seemed to direct all her energies into the Washington Heights Musical Club. There had been a club of that name in 1908 (The Brooklyn Citizen, 4th April 1908, Page 10), but no further mentions until 1922 when Cathcart is described as founder-president. Ethel Grow and Jane Cathcart were colleagues of Henry Holden Huss; he described them as an American art song singer and a piano teacher and founder of a musical club for young students respectively (letter from Huss to Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, 8th September 1923).

By the 1920s she was advertising her services in New York papers as a piano teacher, which suggests she needed other sources of income. She had previously divided her time between the USA and France and paid others to run her cattery, kennels and exhibit her cats. It seems she no longer had her previous source of income to finance her animal-related businesses/hobbies. Although a few animals could sell for high prices, on the whole the breeding business is not profitable. and between 1905 up to mid-1914 (France’s entry into the First World War), she was paying others to run her businesses for half the year. She was “a woman of considerable wealth until World War 1.” From 1923, she advertised in The Billboard as a piano teacher.

“Miss Jane R. Cathcart, Founder-President of the Washington Heights Musical Club entertained friends last Tuesday evening at her home, 200 West Fifty-seventh Street. “ (Brooklyn Life and Activities of Long Island Society, 14th November 1925)

Miss Cathcart died in 1947: “Cathcart – At her home in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J. on April 30, 1947. Jane R. Cathcart of 324 Henry Street. Funeral service will be held at Hill and Steward Funeral Home, 74 Central Avenue, Hackensack, on Friday evening, May 2, at 8 o’clock. Interment, Woodlawn Cemetery, N.Y.” (The Record, 2nd May 1947) She was 73 years old.

JANE CATHCART DIES IN HEIGHTS. Widely-Known Musician Gave Town Land - The Record, 2nd May 1947.
Jane R. Cathcart of 324 Henry Street, Hasbrouck Heights, a resident of the Borough since 1912 and a musician of note, died suddenly Wednesday morning at her home. Christian Science services will be conducted by Miss Elizabeth Bennet tonight at the Hill and Stewart Funeral Home. Interment will be in Woodlawn Cemetery where her parents, the late Mr. and Mrs. George R. Cathcart, are buried.

Miss Cathcart gave to the town the property which made the Terrace Avenue curve at Henry Street. From her garden came several of the shrubs in Memorial Park which she had her gardener transplant just before the Park was dedicated in 1919. She leaves no relatives. Miss Cathcart lived with Ethel Grow, her close friend, for the past 29 years.

Her name is commemorated in the buildings in Hasbrouck Heights. Some of the properties built on her former stables were listed in the Bergen County Historic Sites Survey for the Borough of Hasbrouck Heights (1980 – 1981) where they illustrate the eclectic taste of the post World War I period (although her name was given as Mrs, rather than Miss).

The obituary makes no mention of her cattery and only a passing mention of an interest in dogs. It is as if that period in her life had never happened. Had she fallen out with her former cat fancy friends? Was it related to setting up home with Ethel Grow in 1918?

SHOW-WINNING CATS

“Aristocratic cats began to arrive from all over the country yesterday for the national cat show which will be held by the Beresford [Cat] Club of America for three days, beginning tomorrow. The largest outside consignment will arrive today from Oradell, N.J., from the cattery of Miss J. Cathcart, who is shipping nineteen entries, in charge of their keeper, Johnnie Fawe. The famous long-haired black cat belonging to Dr. Otto Lenguie [sic], secretary of the Atlantic Cat Club of New York, will also arrive today.” (The Inter Ocean, 15th January, 1906)

“Felines of All Kinds and Conditions to Be Here for Show in January. Michigan Cat Club Plans Big Contest [. . . ] Though the greater number of cats entered will undoubtedly be on the long-haired variety, there will also be an exhibition of short haired cats . . . short haired English cat is beginning to receive considerable attention at the hands of some cat fanciers, and Miss Jane Cathcart owns a kennel devoted exclusively to the breeding and improvement of this animal. Her cats are all registered, after the fashion of long hairs, and it is her aim to give them an equal standing. (Detroit Free Press, 12th November, 1906)

“This is Buster Brown . . . He is a champion short hair smoke and a native of America. Placed by the side of a black cat Buster’s coat showed a tinge of plum color or dark cinder, though without the comparison the difference was scarcely noticeable. Unlike the black cat, however, his under fur is pure white, the hair shading gradually from white at the roots to black brown on the tips. This is the peculiarity of all smokes, which are extremely rare, and especially so in the short haired class. Buster is a champion of his kind and has been beaten only once and then by his wife Judy B., for whom Miss Cathcart paid $200. Judy B. lacks the handsome well shaped head of her mate but excels him in the fine quality of her coat and its even upper tone; also her tail is thinner. What the English call a whip tail is desired for a shorthaired cat, because a thick tail, breeders say, shows a long haired ancestor. (Elevating The Status Of Cats. Daily Arkansa Gazette, 4th November, 1906; New York Sun, 14th October, 1906, Miss Cathcart Runs an Interesting “Cattery” in New Jersey – Real Value is Apparent.)

Mrs. Brace took ten of Miss Jane R. Cathcart’s cats to Chicago, as well as [Genesee Valley Jane], and they too got a fine lot of prizes. Those cats, with a number of others owned by Miss Cathcart of Oradell, N.J. are spending the winter at the home of Mrs. Brace. Eight the New Jersey short hairs won first prizes and the others were awarded seconds . . . On December 29th, a week from tomorrow, Mrs. Brace will go to New York for the show to be hold by the Atlantic Club on December 30th, 31st and January 1st. There she will again enter . . . three cats of Miss Cathcart’s. (Democrat and Chronicle, 21st December 1908)

The twentieth annual exhibition of the New York Poultry, Pigeon and Pet Stock Association was opened at the Madison Square Garden yesterday morning [. . .] prominent exhibitors at this year's show will be Mrs. Champion and the Misses Champion, of West New Brighton, Staten Island; Miss J. Cathcart, of Oradell. N. J. (New York Tribune, 30th December, 1908)

One of the foremost breeders of the shorts, Miss Jane Cathcart of Oradell, N J, exhibits several that were conspicuous among yesterday's winners. She took the blue for the best silver tabby male, the best Siamese male and female, the best Russian female, the best Abyssinian male and female, the best white with blue eyes and the best blue-eyed female. Miss Cathcart in an endeavor to elevate the standard of the short-hairs has been importing the best to be had in foreign lands. One of the best short-haired cats in the land was bred at the cattery conducted in Oradell, N J, by Miss Cathcart. It is a silver tabby named “Genesee Valley Jane,” owned by Mrs Elizabeth Brace of Rochester, N Y. This elating pussy is only nine months old, and she is a champion. . . judges who have examined her say she comes as near to being the perfect cat as it is possible to breed. (The Boston Globe, 15th January 1909)

“All kinds of cats except the backyard variety, opened the first Pittsburg cat show at Old City Hall. Market street, this morning [. . . ] Among the first of the exhibitors to arrive was Mrs. E. L. Brace, with Miss Jane Cathcart's famous Royal Siamese cats. They were brought from Oradell, N.J.” (The Pittsburgh Press, 30th November, 1909)

Mrs. Elizabeth L. Brace, who returned on Saturday from the Boston Cat Club’s show, will leave to-night for Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she will take fifteen of Miss Jane R. Cathcart’s cats and some of her own, to exhibit in the Michigan Club show on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. . . . Mrs. Brace took to Boston The Duchess, a Siamese cat that Miss Cathcart recently imported from Siam at large expense. This pretty creature is so valuable and tender that Mrs. Brace took her in a cage with Genesee Valley Jane, made for carrying by hand. In this they went in the Pullman cars. They scarcely made a murmur while on the trains. The Duchess, who came to Rochester about January 1st, is a fawn color with ears, tail, legs and mask of seal brown. Her eyes are blue. (Democrat and Chronicle, 18th January, 1909)

Poultry and cats again divided attention yesterday at Madison Square Garden, when the biggest Thursday crowd in the history of the poultry show was in attendance. Outside of the judging there was very little to interest the spectator, [. . .] Judging was continued in the music hall where the cats are being shown. Miss Cathcart swept the classes for Abyssinian and Russian felines. (The New York Times, 1st January 1909) (The following were the classes Cathcart won: Siamese, Male, Class 90 – Ch. Siam de Paris. Siamese, Female, Class 91 - First, Siamese Female. Abyssinian, Male, Class 94 – Aluminium. Abyssinian, Female, Class 94A – Salt. Russian, Female, Class 96 – First, Sacha; second, Speedwell.

“Cats of high degree, with proud and haughty manners, are benched at the ninth championship cat show of the Atlantic Cat Club -in the concert hall of Madison Square Garden in conjunction with the poultry show . . . Champion Siam de Paris is the finest type of Siamese cat and is owned by Miss Jane Cathcart or Oradell, N.J.” (Evening Star, 30th December, 1910)