1 6 RABBITS, CATS, AND CAVIES 



But in this case I must not complain, as he was after- 

 wards sold to someone who took a fancy to him at one of 

 the shows, for three times the price J paid for him. 



To any of my readers who may propose to enter the 

 Cat Fancy, I would advise their beginning with Short- 

 Hairs, and get to understand cats and their ways before 

 going into Long-Hairs, as the latter require much more 

 care and attention in keeping them in show form. 



In Long-Hairs, naturally, the quantity and quality of the 

 coats count for much in their appearance and chances of 

 success at shows ; and to keep them in trim, free from 

 matting knots or felting, necessitates grooming ; indeed, 

 specimens intended for exhibition purposes must have 

 limited liberty to engage in feline amenities with their 

 fellows, or they are likely to suffer, from a show point of 

 view. 



Those concerts which sometimes disturb the rest of 

 light sleepers are not generally engaged in by cats in the 

 higher walks of feline society, but are mostly confined to 

 the Ishmaelites of the cat tribe. 



There are doubtless at the present day hundreds of 

 cats, which, from the time of their birth, are never off the 

 premises of their owners, and there are many firms who 

 are constantly at work building cat houses and catteries, 

 with runs to them, for the preservation and multiplication 

 of the numerous valuable specimens owned up and down 

 the country. 



One piece of valuable advice I may give to intending 

 cat fanciers, and that is, on no account at any time allow 

 your cats to be out at night ; they will soon get accustomed 



