A FEW WORDS ON CATS IN GENERAL 223 



A small shallow tin or box, with dry ashes, or 

 earth, should be included in the furniture of each pen ; if 

 this is done regularly and the pens cleaned every day, no 

 disagreeable odour will be observable, and I have had 

 fifteen or twenty cats so kept in a building, the floor of 

 which (tiles or stone for choice) was sprinkled occasionally 

 with some of the many disinfectants now procurable, and 

 a stranger coming in could not be aware there was 

 a cat in the place. I do not believe in the indiscriminate 

 use of disinfectants in the pens, as it is apt to get into the 

 food or drink ; and I have seen many cases, at shows, 

 where cats have been quite ill from its effects by being 

 carelessly used, thrown all over everything in the pen. 



Cats, although naturally nervous, timid animals, are 

 fond of notice. They do not shrink away from those 

 who are kind to them, and are pleased to meet with their 

 friends wherever they are ; when I have any at shows they 

 often recognise me before I come to their pens, and are 

 not satisfied until they have been made much of. When 

 judging them I can usually tell what sort of home they 

 come from by the way they behave, and those are few and 

 far between I cannot get on good terms with in a short 

 time ; as cats and dogs too are much like children, who 

 can soon tell whether a stranger is interested in them and 

 likely to be worth cultivating as an acquaintance. 



Many people have a habit of turning their cats out of 

 doors at night, this should never be done under any 

 circumstances, summer or winter, even if there are sheds 

 and outhouses they can creep into. 



Not only does it make your cat a nuisance to your 



