CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



39 



all stations are proverbial. A very delicate 

 cat or young kitten finds great comfort in 

 winter from a hot-water bottle placed inside 

 the hamper for it to rest against. Queens 

 should have a good meal an hour or two before 

 starting, as they often arrive upset with the 

 journey, and in their strange new home will 

 not at first touch any food. Do not put any 

 food in the travelling basket. It is not well 

 for a queen to mate just after a heavy meal. 



Fish and warm milk, if these agree with the 

 queen, or a small meat meal, may be offered 

 after a long, cold journey, and, if eaten, the 

 queen should be allowed to rest an hour or 

 two before introducing her to the stud cat. 



After mating, a queen should be kept quiet 

 for a few days on her return home, as much 

 apart from other cats as possible ; but no un- 

 easiness need be felt if the visit does not seem 

 to have quieted the queen, as she will settle 

 down in a few days and cease to think about 

 her mate. With regard to treatment of cats 

 in kitten, some queens are gentle and quiet, 

 and very careful of themselves, others are 

 exceedingly bad-tempered, fighting and quar- 

 relling, while some amuse themselves by climb- 

 ing up high places and jumping down, be- 

 having in such a wild and excitable fashion 

 that they not only endanger their own lives, 

 but run the risk of bringing maimed and 

 deformed offspring into the world. Cats such 

 as these should be kept isolated, if possible, 

 or at most with only one 

 other quiet queen, and 

 all high shelves or tall 

 articles of furniture 

 should be removed. It 

 is always well to be very 

 careful in handling cats 

 in kitten. They must 

 never be lifted up by 

 their fore legs, but when 

 absolutely necessary to 

 move or carry them, both 

 hands should be used to 

 do so, one being placed 

 under the body by the 

 shoulders to carry the 



weight, while the other hand gently supports 

 the hind-quarters ; but the less a cat is 

 lifted about the better. All medicines should 

 be given quietly and quickly, so that there 

 may be no struggling. The cat's head should 

 be grasped firmly with the left hand, the 

 fingers and thumb on each side of the 

 corners of the mouth, and forced back on 

 the shoulders with a firm pressure ; this 

 will cause~heT to open her mouth, when medi- 

 cine can be popped quickly down the throat 

 from a spoon held in the right hand. In the 

 case of a very restless cat, it is advisable to 

 have an assis'tant in administering medicine. 

 Amateurs would do well to practise giving 

 water in a spoon to queens who are in health, 

 so that they may become used to this simple 

 method of administering medicine. Cats in 

 kit require three or four meals daily of nour- 

 ishing food raw meat from four to six ounces 

 night and morning, and fish and scraps and 

 vegetables or biscuit, etc., for the midday 

 meal. Half a teaspoonful of cod-liver oil on 

 their food two or three times a week is very 

 good for the queens in cold weather ; but 

 if sickness ensues, of course the oil must be 

 discontinued. Never suffer dianhce-a to go on 



THREE UTTLE MAIDS. 

 (Photo: E. Landor, Ealing.) 



