CHAPTER I. 



Before attempting to describe the different varieties, I 

 should like to make a few remarks as to the habits and 

 ways of " the domestic cat." 



When judging, I have frequently found some of the ex- 

 hibits of anything but a mild and placid disposition. 

 Some have displayed a downright ferocity; others, on the 

 contrary, have been excessively gentle, and very few but 

 seemed to recognise their position, and submitted quietly to 

 their confinement. This is easily accounted for when per- 

 sons are accustomed to cats ; they know what wonderful 

 powers of observation the cat possesses, and how quickly 

 they recognise the " why and the wherefore " of many things. 

 Take for instance, how very many cats will open a latched 

 door by springing up and holding on with one fore-leg while 

 with the other they press down the latch catch, and so open 

 the door ; and yet even more observant are they than that, 

 as I have shown by a case in my " Animal Stories, Old and 



