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THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



be eight or nine o'clock, when the hall should 

 be cleared and the pens covered over. I con- 

 sider one good feed of raw meat ought to suffice 

 during the day, with fresh water continually 

 supplied. The hour for opening on the second 

 day may be ten o'clock, and before then the pens 

 ought to be cleaned out, fresh straw given 

 where needed, and disinfectant sprinkled up 

 and down the passages between the rows of 

 pens not in them. Careful attention to these 

 points will ensure the show being free from 

 disagreeable odours by the time the public are 

 admitted. It is a wise plan to arrange and 

 announce that the show closes, say, at five p.m. 

 on the second day, so that exhibitors can, in 

 many cases, get home with their cats the 

 same night. It is unreasonable to ex- 

 pect to be allowed to depart before the time 

 fixed, even though in some cases half an hour 

 would save a train. As regards a one-day 

 show, it is almost impossible for a secretary 

 and manager to get through the necessary 

 work and to open in anything like time. 

 There must be a scramble, and for the ex- 

 hibitors to be obliged to present themselves 

 and their cats at some unearthly hour in the 

 morning is very trying and most inconvenient. 

 Then a two-days show is, of course, an ad- 

 vantage as regards the entrance money. The 

 Cat Club used to have a stringent rule against 

 exhibitors penning their own cats, but at the 

 Westminster Show this rule was amended, 

 and cats could be penned by their owners or 

 representatives on the night before the show, 

 but not in the morning. No evil result 

 followed this concession on the part of the 

 authorities, and therefore I trust this very 

 natural desire on the part of the exhibitors 

 to see their precious pussies safely into their 

 temporary quarters may always be permitted 

 at Cat Club shows. 



In order to facilitate the work of the judges, 

 it is well to have their books carefully and 

 clearly arranged, and this especially applies 

 to the list of special awards. I instituted a 

 plan at Westminster Show, in 1901, which gave 

 great satisfaction, but which entailed a lot of 

 extra work for the secretary. I am sure, 



however, this special arrangement lightened 

 the labours of the judges, and hastened the 

 appearance of the special prize cards on the 

 pens. I had separate books for the special 

 awards, and carefully cut out of the schedules 

 the prizes pertaining to each judge. Thus, if 

 Mr. A. had black, white, and blue long-haired 

 classes, every challenge medal and special 

 offered for these cats I arranged in order on 

 one side of the page, with the numbering as 

 it appeared with them in the schedule. So 

 in the left-hand page would be, say, " Special 

 No. 10, for best long-haired black," and on 



the right-hand page " Awarded to No ," 



leaving a blank for the judge to fill in the 

 number of the winner. Any prizes that had 

 to be awarded in conjunction with other 

 judges, such as for best long-haired cat in 

 the show, I made a note of to this effect. Let 

 me add that I gummed the printed portions 

 relating to the prizes, cut from the schedule, 

 into the judging books, so the judges needed 

 neither schedule nor catalogue to refer to. 

 In preparing judges' books it is very helpful 

 to place male and female (M. and F.) after 

 each catalogue number in the mixed kitten 

 classes, to avoid reference for the special 

 awards ; and this should also be done in the 

 catalogue itself, as very often the name of the 

 kitten does not indicate the sex, and would-be 

 purchasers are obliged to make inquiries. 



I am always an advocate for having selling 

 classes for cats and kittens at shows, where 

 the price should be limited to 5 55. in the 

 long-haired classes, and 3 33. in the short- 

 haired classes. It would be an assistance if 

 someone who understood cats, and was also 

 a good salesman or saleswoman, undertook to 

 preside over the selling classes. The 10 per 

 cent, commission deducted by the show 

 authorities is a material help, and often a little 

 pressure and persuasion, combined with useful 

 information, will decide a wavering purchaser. 

 A class I should like to see introduced into 

 our shows is one for kittens bred by exhibitors. 

 I am of opinion that more encouragement 

 should be given to fanciers to keep the best 

 of their litters for exhibition. Lady Marcus 



