CAT CLUBS AND CAT HOMES 105 



to suffer much ridicule, for the majority of human beings 

 have very little sympathy with " mere cats," and seem to 

 think they, of all animals, are least deserving of kindness 

 and consideration. Miss Swifte's private address is 2 Earls- 

 fort Mansions, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin. 



The Battersea Home for Lost Dogs has also accommoda- 

 tion for cats as strays and boarders. 



And now a few words about the boarding out of our 

 pussies. I am constantly asked if I know of a good place 

 where cats will be taken care of during the absence of the 

 owner. I wonder that more cat lovers and cat fanciers 

 wishing to add to their incomes do not start boarding-houses 

 for cats. I think there is a great opening for such an enter- 

 prise. At present I only know personally of two ladies who 

 receive pussies at so much per week. Miss Harper, of 

 Briarlea, Haywards Heath, is well known in the Fancy, and 

 although I have not been to see her " catteries," I am told 

 they are capitally planned, and I have often recommended 

 my friends to send their cats to be taken care of by Miss 

 Harper, who gives her personal attention to all the boarders 

 entrusted to her. 



I have also had testimony to the excellent manner in 

 which Mrs. Carew Cox caters for her pussy visitors. A 

 fancier who had placed her cats at the Kremlin, New 

 Milton, Hants, for some months, was so surprised and 

 delighted at the appearance of her pets on their return that 

 she wrote asking for a special description of the menu pro- 

 vided. 



Mrs. Carew Cox and Miss Harper are both successful 

 breeders of prize-winning cats, and they have also that 

 genuine love for the animals which is so necessary and 

 essential when taking charge of other people's pets. 



I may here mention that the chief organs of the cat 

 world in England are Fur and Feather and Our Cats, and in 

 America, The Cat Journal, The American Cat News, and 

 Field and Fancy. 



In regard to the Blue "Maltese" (a name which, perhaps, 

 has as much justification as the English " Russian ") in 

 America, Mr. E. N. Barker says : "There are lots of Blues, light 

 and dark, short-haired, and these are always called Maltese. 

 The origin of the term I never could trace to its foundation, 



