50 CATS AND ALL ABOUT THEM 



Care of Coats 



When cats are shedding their coats, it is particularly Im- 

 portant they should have a daily brush, so as to get away 

 the loose fur as quickly as possible, and thus the new hair 

 will have a better chance. 



It is never an easy matter to wash a long-haired cat, and 

 certainly in cold weather it is dangerous. If you want to 

 clean your puss and prepare her for showing, then purchase 

 a box of Pears' white precipitated Fuller's Earth. Rub this 

 well into the fur, especially fingering the parts that are at all 

 greasy. Then clear away the powder with a soft brush, and 

 you will see a vast improvement in your pussie's appearance. 

 Camphorated chalk can also be used, but it has a cloggiog 

 effect on the coat, is more difficult to brush out, and is not 

 good for the cat should she take to licking it. 



Avoid washing your cats if possible, and specially be 

 warned against putting any carbolic in the water, with a view 

 to killing the fleas ; you will probably kill your cat, and cer- 

 tainly change the colour of his coat, if he be a Cream or Orange. 



When a cat's fur looks " spiky," that is, standing out in 

 separate bits of hair instead of being fluffy, you may be 

 pretty sure that puss is troubled with worms. 



When our pussies are rapidly shedding their coats they 

 need a little extra care and extra food. I feed oftener in 

 the hot weather, giving less at a time. It is bad at any 

 season to leave food standing about, but this is especially 

 the case in hot weather. 



Parasites, or to be more explicit, lice on cats and kittens, 

 are very troublesome and destructive. They increase with 

 great rapidity, and thrive better on an unhealthy specimen 

 than a robust one. These horrid insects, as well as fleas, 

 exist on the blood of their victims. It is, therefore, most 

 important to check the evil at the commencement. 



