62 



THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



matted, his tail dirty, and his fur soiled. We 

 have only to run our minds back to the various 

 exhibits of well-known fanciers at our large 

 shows, and we shall find that the most per- 

 sistently successful exhibitors have been those 

 who have sent their cats to the shows in the 

 best condition. Some fanciers, wishing to 

 help on entries at a show, will exhibit their 

 Persian cats when quite out of coat. This is 

 a mistake ; send your entry money if you like 

 to the secretary, but keep your coatless cats at 

 home. As regards the short-haired breeds, 

 these cats should have coats with a gloss and 

 brilliancy like that of a well-groomed horse, 

 shining like satin ; a spiky appearance in the 

 fur denotes poor condition in both long and 

 short breeds. 



In getting cats ready for exhibition owners 

 should look to their comforts in every way. 

 Their houses and beds should be kept clean, 

 their coats combed and brushed daily. At- 

 tention shouid be paid to their ears, for if these 

 are neglected a cat will continually scratch 

 them, and thus injure its appearance by tear- 

 ing out its fur. Some fanciers are in favour 

 of washing their cats, but when we take into 

 consideration the usually delicate constitutions 

 of Persian cats, and the restless, impatient 

 nature of these animals, it behoves us to try 

 to find some other effectual means of cleansing 

 their coats, which in the case of white and 

 silver cats are naturally easily soiled. Experi- 

 ence has taught me that very good results can 

 be obtained by damping the coats with a soft 

 cloth dipped in a weak solution of ammonia 

 and water. Follow this up by rubbing some 

 white powder into the fur and well fingering 

 the parts that are at all greasy. Pears' white 

 precipitated fuller's earth is the best prepara- 

 tion, and is perfectly harmless. To clean away 

 the powder use a fairly soft brush, and after 

 this process has been gone through several 

 times your cat will be fit for show. Another 

 method of cleaning long-haired cats is to 

 heat a quantity of bran in the oven. Put it 

 into a large bowl or footbath, and stand the 

 puss in it. Rub the hot bran well amongst the 

 fur for some minutes, and afterwards carefully 



brush it out. This treatment will give a soft 

 and silky appearance to the coat, but for light- 

 coloured cats the powder is more cleansing. 



Cats require to be educated to the show pen, 

 and it is very necessary in some cases to give 

 a course of training. For this purpose it is 

 well to obtain a similar pen to those used at 

 shows, and to place your puss in this for an 

 hour or two daily. In time he will learn to 

 come and sit and look out of his temporary 

 prison, and when lie makes his d/'but he will 

 not spoil his chances by crouching at the back 

 of the show pen, or vex his would-be admirers, 

 who may have recourse to the use of an um- 

 brella or stick to make the exhibit move into 

 a more convenient and conspicuous position. 



Taking it for granted you have decided to 

 send your cat to a show, the first step is to 

 register it in the club under whose rules the 

 show is to be held. At present the National 

 Cat Club and the Cat Club both require 

 separate registration, the charge being one 

 shilling. It is, however, to be hoped that the 

 earnest wish of all cat fanciers and exhibitors 

 will ere long be fulfilled, and that one register 

 will be kept by an independent person, so that 

 pedigrees can be verified and mistakes rectified, 

 and the confusion caused by a double regis- 

 tration will cease to worry and perplex the 

 cat-loving community. Registration forms 

 are supplied by the secretaries of the respective 

 clubs, and you must fill in the particulars of 

 your cats as set forth on the forms, a sample 

 of which is here given, together with the regis- 

 tration rules of the National Cat Club : 



REGISTRATION. 



The registration rules of the National Cat Club are 

 as follow : 



I. Every Cat exhibited at a show under National Cat Club 

 Rules must (except such as are exhibited exclusively in Local 

 Classes, or exhibited in Classes exclusively for litters of 

 kittens), previous to the time of entry for such show, have 

 been entered in a registry kept by the National Cat Club at 

 their offices. A charge of is. each shall be made for regis- 

 tration. In such registry shall be inserted the name and 

 breed of the cat, and its breeder's name, the date of birth, 

 names of sire and dam, and of grand-sires and grand-dams, 

 and if the dam was served by two or more cats their several 

 names must be stated. If the age, pedigree, or breeder's 

 name be not known the cat must be registered as breeder, 



