SILVER OR CHINCHILLA PERSIANS. 



159 



I confess this puzzles me, for I should imagine 

 that the food supplied by the second mother 

 would be too weak in quality (as Nature 

 provides it shall be of different quality to suit 

 the age of all and every kind of baby) for 

 the big kits after that of the first foster, and 

 I should have also imagined the second foster 

 would refuse to nurse kits so much bigger 

 than those she had just left. 



" When my kits are four weeks old I give 

 them raw lean beef scraped, not chopped 

 beginning with half a teaspoon ful daily, then 

 the same quantity twice daily, then three times 

 a day; and at the same time teach them to 

 lap, using a plate, which, being shallower than 

 a saucer, causes less choking and fear to the 

 little things." 



Mrs. G. H. Walker, of Woodheys Park, is 

 the chief supporter of the Northern Counties 

 Cat Club, and is a member of the National 

 Cat Club Committee. For several years she 

 has been a well-known breeder and exhibitor 

 of silver Persians, and has a most excellently 

 planned cattery, which I had the pleasure of 

 seeing when on a visit to Woodheys Grange. 

 Mrs. Walker kindly had some views taken, 

 specially for reproduction in these pages. I 

 consider the arrangements for the pussies' 

 comfort and well-being as 

 complete as it is possible to 

 make them. The floors of the 

 outside catteries, which face 

 south, are cemented, so that 

 they can be washed over 

 every day. The roofs are 

 boarded, and then covered 

 with galvanised iron, so that 

 all the rain runs away easily. 

 The spacious apartments are 

 fitted with benches and 

 ledges, and trunks of trees 

 and leafy shrubs are planted 

 in the ground for the cats' 

 special amusement and ex- 

 ercise. The kennels which, 

 for the purpose of photo- 

 graphing them have been 

 placed outside are the cosy 



sleeping dens of the pussies. There is a. 

 maid in attendance on these fortunate cats, 

 and the man who looks after the kennels, 

 of dogs also gives a helping hand. 



In one of the pictures will be seen a stair- 

 case, and this leads to three charmingly 

 arranged rooms. All the appliances and 

 utensils connected with the animals are kept 

 in one of these apartments. Another is set 

 apart for mothers and their families, and a 

 third is kepjt in case of illness for an isolation 

 ward. In one of the loose boxes near at 

 hand the cooking for the pussies is carried 

 on, and there is a larder specially for the 

 cats' food. Mrs. Walker devotes much of 

 her time to looking after her pets, and great 

 has been her sorrow over the untimely death 

 of some of her treasured pussies. After 

 one of the large shows, infection crept into 

 her cattery, and worked most cruel havoc. 

 Such losses as Mrs. Walker sustained were 

 enough to damp the ardour of the most 

 enthusiastic cat lover and fancier ; but the 

 lady of Woodheys Grange bravely faced 

 the situation, and after a period of sad 

 reflection she once again resumed her hobby 

 with renewed interest. At the Northern 

 Counties Cat Show at Manchester in 1902 



"THE SILVER LAMBKINS." 



By " RAHMAN " ex " BEAUTY." 



