THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



SPRATT'S TRAVELLING BASKET. 



changes of temperature than to provide for 

 your pets sleeping warmly and comfortably 

 at night. The hot-bottle plan has many 

 advantages over the heating of the sleeping 

 houses by stove or lamp during the night. It 

 is better for the animals themselves, as the air 



is not ex- 

 hausted, and 

 they are not 

 so prone to 

 take a chill 

 going from 

 heated air to 

 the outside 

 rawness of 

 a w i n t e r's 

 morning. It 

 is much safer, 

 and it is also 

 much more 

 economical. 



Personally I prefer the indiarubber bag to 

 the old-fashioned stone bottle, and in the 

 smaller sizes (which are quite large enough) 

 are not much more expensive than the latter. 

 If not filled too full, and wrapped in a wash- 

 able cover flannelette is very good it can 

 be laid flat under the hay, and the cat will 

 remain upon it all night. In the case of a 

 sick cat the cover should always be of flannel, 

 to avoid any chill as the bag grows colder. 



Then, in our list of appliances, proper travel- 

 ling baskets must come under consideration. 

 I say " proper " advisedly, for how hetero- 

 geneous is the collection of hampers, .boxes, 

 baskets I had almost added bundles one 

 sees brought in by the officials during the re- 

 ceiving hours before a big show ! Every 

 variety of package, very many of which are 

 exactly what they ought not to be. Some 

 unnecessarily elaborate, polished wooden cases 

 with brass fittings handsome and durable 

 no doubt, but far too cumbersome, and by 

 their very weight inflicting much jar on the 

 occupant when moved about ; while others 

 are a disgrace to anyone pretending to care 

 about a cat or even to know what a cat is, 

 many deserving to be straightway brought 



under the notice of the Society for the Pre- 

 vention of Cruelty to Animals. 



I have seen big heavy cats jammed into 

 margarine hampers, a thin wicker receptacle 

 whose sides slope inwards like a flower-pot, 

 where the animal must have suffered agonies 

 of cramp in a veritable chamber of " little 

 ease." Others are sent weary distances in 

 shallow, rough grocery boxes with a few holes 

 bored for ventilation, subject to be thrown 

 about in transit, first on one side then oil the 

 oth'er, the lid perchance nailed on, giving 

 thereby much extra trouble to the penning 

 officials. Little wonder if the cat arrives 

 bruised, shaken, frightened nearly to death, 

 and very probably wild and savage. 



Now, as evil is wrought bv want of thought 

 (and common sense) as well as want of heart, 

 I have thought it well to comment on these 

 very wrong and stupid ways of sending our 

 cats on their journeys before advising better 

 arrangements. 



Here are two illustrations of excellent 

 travelling baskets, which fulfil pretty nearly 

 all requirements for cats travelling singly. 



The first is made by Messrs. Spratt, and 

 has an inner skeleton lid, which is much to be 

 recommended when sending a vicious or very 

 timid cat that is likely to make a bolt on the 

 basket being opened. 



The second, bee- 

 hive shaped, is de- 

 signed by Mrs. Paul 

 Hardy, of Chobham. 

 It is of strong white 

 wicker, the lid fas- 

 tening with a rim of 

 about two inches 

 deep over the body 

 of the basket, aper- 

 tures in the rim 

 allowing the wicker 



loops of the fastenings to project ; when the 

 cane stick is thrust through these the basket 

 is absolutely secure not a paw can get out. 



This beehive shape has several advantages. 

 The cat can stand up and stretch itself at ease, 

 when tired of lying down. The handle being 



A USEFUL CAT HASKET. 



