EXHIBITING. 



67 



MRS. GREGORY'S " SKELLIXGTHORPE PATRICK." 



(Photo : . W. J. Smith, Lincoln.) 



much better than being stuffed with a variety 

 of dainties brought in paper bags. 



Whilst the inmates of your cattery are 

 attending shows it is a good opportunity to 

 give an extra cleansing and airing to their 

 houses, and on their return be careful to 

 destroy the hay or straw contained in the 

 hampers or boxes, and thoroughly disinfect 

 these, leaving them out in the open air for a 

 day or two before packing them away. It 

 is generally advisable to give a slight aperient 

 to grown cats after they come back from a 

 show, for it often happens that these cleanly 

 creatures refuse to make use of the scanty 

 accommodation provided for them in the 

 show pens, and thus complications may arise 

 unless attention is paid to their wants on 

 their return. If many cats are kept, and 

 some are sent to a show, on no account allow 

 these to mix with your other animals on their 

 return. It is a wise precaution to keep then 

 apart for a few days, more especially if you 

 have young kittens to consider. 



The prize cards should be returned in the 

 hampers when sent back to exhibitors. If 

 these are soiled or broken on their arrival, 

 a request to the secretary asking for fresh 

 ones will probably be attended to. 



Every member of a cat club and exhibitor at 



a show has a right to lodge a complaint with 

 the secretary and committee of the club under 

 whose rules the show is held, if an injustice 

 has been done to an exhibit in the opinion 

 of the exhibitor. According to the rules a 

 deposit has to be paid, which can be reclaimed 

 unless the complaint is considered " frivolous." 



Show promoters cannot afford to give their 

 money away without some return or pro- 

 visional stipulation, and therefore fanciers 

 must not complain if when a class does not 

 fill it is either amalgamated or only half the 

 advertised prize money is given. This latter 

 plan is by far the more satisfactory. There has 

 probably never been a show of any live stock 

 held where complete satisfaction has been 

 given ; but, generally speaking, " grumbling " 

 is a most mistaken and pernicious habit, and 

 exhibitors should strive to become good losers. 

 If they cannot learn this lesson, then the 

 remedy remains in their own hands, and they 

 had better keep their cats at home rather 

 than run the risk of being disappointed them- 

 selves and of causing unpleasantness to others. 

 If a judgment is obviously wrong, then the 

 triumph is with the best cat, and we should 

 take our defeat in a sportsmanlike manner. 



In July, 1902, a cat section in connec- 

 tion with the annual dog show was held in 

 the Old Deer Park, Richmond. This proved 

 a great success, and entries numbered over 

 three hundred. A 

 fdw words in de- 

 scription of this 

 show may be ap- 

 propriate here, 

 especially 

 in view of 



" INQUIRY. 

 (Photo : Mrs. S. F. Clarke.) 



