THE CAT 



83 



Lon(;-Haiked Cat in Fol'k Colors — 

 White, Brown, and Blue 



This cat is exceptiunal 



Black, 



Mischances of 

 color and blootl 

 cause many a 

 vexation to the 

 breeder, while 

 climate and the 

 very incomplete 

 knowledge now 

 possessed in 

 regard to the 

 breeding of these 

 animals, based on 

 the principle of 

 race, play him 

 man)- an e \" i 1 

 trick. One curi 

 ous and remark- 

 able fact is that 

 the best colors 

 are obtained by 

 the mating of cats 

 of two wholly 

 different colors. 



The cat show does exist in America, though 

 not on the same scale as in England. The 

 American exhibitions are often well attended 

 and are supported by subscription. In Ger- 

 many and Austria almost no interest is taken 

 in the matter ; in Holland and Belgium 

 exhibitions of cats are very rare. Yet in 

 certain cities of every country we find per- 

 sons who push their passion for cats to 

 excess ; generally, it must be said, they 

 are elderly dames, who establish asylums 

 where neglected, lost, or sick cats may 

 find a refuge. Sometimes these asylums 

 are organized in a practical and sufficient 

 manner, in which case the motive that 

 provided them is laudable ; but often they 

 are mere nests of disease and objects of 

 scandal to the neighborhood. The time 

 and money spent upon them would be far 

 better employed in ameliorating the con- 

 dition of human beings, at least in coun- 

 tries where such succor is sorely needed. 

 Still, in such large cities as New York, Boston, foreign countries, purity of race is not so diffi- 

 Chicago, and Philadelphia, where there are so cult to affirm. Those from the Isle of Man, for 

 many stray cats, such asylums are beneficent, instance, called the Manx cats, are markedly 



They also exist in Cairo, Constanti- 

 nople, Rome, and Geneva. In Geneva 



a society is formed to feed the in- 

 nimierable \'agrant cats of that city. 



VI. Races of Cats 



It is not more difficult to distin- 

 guish the races of cats than the races 

 of dogs. In each country there is lit- 

 tle difference, but the varieties are 

 numerous. It is 

 very difficult to 

 follow the cross- 

 ings, and there 

 can be no such 

 thing as the true 

 breeding of cats 

 unless the ani- 

 mals are, like 

 dogs in kennels, 

 watched, fed, and 

 kept confined; 

 otherwise it is not 

 possible to keep the races pure. Yet all persons 

 who attempt to raise cats for sale and exhibi- 

 tion must be able to distinguish and define 

 the breeds accurately. In the case of cats 

 comins/ from islands and from certain isolated 



Tabhies 



