304 



THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



for the best cat in the show was won by a 

 brown tabby a native, or, as some people 

 designate them, Maine cats. This cat was in 

 every way a good one ; but he was a gelding, 

 and, of course, in May, much ahead of the 

 breeding cats as to plumage ; but, still, there 

 was little dissatisfaction at the awards. Of 

 English cats there were not more than about 

 eight, and several died soon after ; and of all 

 those shown at this our first show the only ones 

 that have really made any mark or real im- 

 pression upon the cat fancy in America may 

 be mentioned " King Humbert," " Topaz," 

 "Minnie," and "The Banshee." The first- 

 named were all brown or grey tabbies, the last 

 a white. Cats bred from these are still win- 

 ning, and their descendants keep their names 

 green in the annals of present-day stud books. 



White cats had always been popular in 

 America, and the first show produced speci- 

 mens as good as, or even better than I have 

 ever seen in this city ; up to now, in fact, 

 we have never had anything to beat "Ajax," 

 who made his first and last bow to the public 

 here. 



No other shows occurred for some time till 

 the autumn, when an exhibition was held at 

 Newburgh, sixty miles up the Hudson River, to 

 be repeated the next year, with the New York 

 show of 1896 in between. At this latter great 

 improvement had been made in colours and 

 varieties ; and, in fact, all concerned had 

 made considerable advance in the meantime 

 as to knowledge of different varieties of cats. 



At the second show in New York a club was 

 formed, intended to be the National, but it 

 died, and affairs were in a comatose condition as 

 regards shows in New York until the consent of 

 Mr. Crawford, the manager of the poultry show, 

 was obtained for the holding of a cat show in 

 January, 1902, in the concert hall which opens 

 out of the main hall at Madison Square. This 

 show, though a small one, was well attended, 

 and though the entries only numbered about 

 no, the quality of many of the cats was very 

 much ahead of the five years before, and the 

 classes of silvers were good enough for any 

 country. The impetus gained by this show 



and the results obtained were not over- 

 estimated by those who promoted the show, 

 and the bringing together of many staunch 

 breeders who had sprung up in the meantime 

 made it possible to organise the Atlantic Cat 

 Club, which has gathered such headway in the 

 year of its existence that it is becoming one 

 of the most powerful factors in the American 

 cat fancy. The show held at Madison Square 

 in 1903, with the fine collection of challenge 

 cups and the many other valuable specials, 

 speaks to the gathering interest and the strength 

 of the fancy in the district, and the club is 

 being every day still further strengthened ; 

 and, if the treasury balance is any indication, 

 the future of the Atlantic Cat Club will be 

 very marked, especially as many people of 

 wealth and influence are being enrolled upon 

 the books and are becoming most enthusiastic 

 upholders of the cat in New York. 



In discussing the eastern affairs, we must 

 not leave out the Boston shows, which have 

 been a steady factor for some years, and gave 

 opportunities to the more northern cats to 

 meet and compete together. These shows 

 have been kept alive by Mr. T. Farrer Rack- 

 ham, to a great extent, and from the opening 

 of the cat fancy up to now he has been a 

 steady promoter of the interests of the cat, 

 and has steadily worked to keep up the interest. 



In thinking of the breeders of the eastern 

 portion of this continent we have to range over 

 a good deal of territory, and even the State of 

 New York alone takes us quite out west, and 

 from Mrs. Conlisk (who lives at Gowanda, and 

 who owns " Bitterne Silver Chieftain " and 

 a daughter of " Whychwood," besides " Silver 

 Belle," who came from England lately) our 

 thoughts drift down to Pittsburg to Mrs. L. 

 T. Hodges, who is making a speciality of 

 smokes and silvers, and has commenced well 

 by winning in kittens at Cleveland with 

 "Wahanita," "Southampton," and "The 

 Dusky Pilgrim" a capital smoke, since sold 

 for 50. Mrs. Mix, although in New York 

 State, lives 180 miles to the westward of New 

 York City ; but, still, the effect the cats that 

 she has imported from England have had upon 



