326 



THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



admired a beautiful white Persian cat with 

 a family of kittens, belonging to the cook, 

 who gave him a pair of them. They grew and 

 were nursed with tenderest care, the female 

 developing much the better quality in hair ; 

 but females were not highly prized at that 

 time. 



They were both kept two or three years to 

 get a good male for a gelding. I was told 

 that they destroyed all the female kittens ; 

 but at last they were rewarded, and then the 

 original pair were sent to a relative in the 

 country. 



From that time on long-haired blue-eyed 

 white kittens sprang up in most unexpected 

 places. At intervals they have appeared 

 and almost disappeared several times for 

 want of care in "breeding, but with this draw- 

 back they will still frequently come forth in 

 the same fine type. 



I owned a very fine specimen called " Dot," 

 who became a noted winner, and who came 

 from this strain about eleven years after the 



" HKNNESSY. " 

 OWNED BY MRS. HALL, BELFAST, MAINE. 



kittens landed. I think he was quite as good 

 a specimen of Persian as the one that came 

 from the original kittens. They were both 

 cat show winners at the same time, although 

 " Baba " (or " Babie ") was in his dotage 

 when " Dot " was in his prime. We were 

 not thinking of pedigrees then, but merely 

 who had the best cat. 



"Baba" at that time belonged to Mrs. 

 Mason (formerly Mrs. Philbrook), and won the 

 cup over everything in the Boston show. 

 " Dot " was not at the Boston show, but won 

 first in his class at Bangor, Maine, which was 

 held at about the same time. 



" Dot " was sent to the Bangor show to 

 please Mr. Robinson, owner of " Richelieu," 

 who had the management of it, and without 

 the slightest thought of winning. He brought 

 home a gorgeous silver butter-dish, elaborately 

 inscribed, which sat about at least ten years 

 before being given to the cook. Oh, that 

 I had it now, that its picture might grace 

 these pages ! 



For intelligence and affection " Dot " was 

 by far the superior cat. I have never seen his 

 equal. Although deaf, his other senses were 

 so keen that we hardly realised he did not 

 hear. He would answer to the slightest 

 beckon, and was always watching for a call. 

 He was quite proud of his beauty, and never 

 failed at his mistress's receptions to speak to 

 each person present before taking his seat in 

 the window. 



At one time some office girls who passed 

 our house every day on the way to their work 

 told me he was usually on the gate-post at 

 seven o'clock in the morning to salute them 

 and wave his plume to them. Each one 

 stroked his head, said " Pretty kitty ! " and 

 passed on. He then took his morning roll on 

 the lawn, and was ready for his breakfast. 



His benevolence and tender feeling for cats 

 of low degree was displayed by his keeping a 

 cat two winters ; his protege was an example 

 of the sad-eyed forlorn cat (one sad eye, the 

 other closed beyond repair) ; spirit completely 

 broken by neglect. As soon as the weather 

 became cool, " Dot " would usher his sad 



