MAINE CATS. 



327 



friend into the kitchen every morning and ask 

 for breakfast for him, then sit back on the rug 

 the while, and with utmost satisfaction 

 expressed in song watch the tramp cat eat 

 it. Where he kept his friend when he was not 

 eating we knew not ; he was invisible. 



He also excelled as a traveller, making 

 several short journeys. When with me he 

 scorned a basket, much preferring to sit on 

 the seat and look out of the window and inci- 

 dentally entertain the other passengers by his 

 unusual privileges in cat travelling. 



He developed an unusual taste for moisture, 

 often sitting on a garden bench through a heavy 

 shower, while his frolics in a light snowfall 

 were most entertaining. 



Taking him all in all, I have not yet seen 

 a finer pet cat. We sent him to rest in the 

 happy hunting grounds at the age of ten 

 years. 



I would like to say a few words here in 

 regard to American cat shows. We are con- 

 tinually hearing it stated, or seeing it written 

 by the clubs and those who are new to the 

 fancy, " The first cat show ever held in this 

 country," and so forth, was, we will say, 

 according to their light, some three years ago. 

 That is true so far as clubs go, but large cat 

 shows were held spasmodically in all the 

 large and some small eastern cities as far back 

 as the 'seventies. 



I have a photograph of " Richelieu," 

 owned by Mr. Robinson, of Bangor, Maine, 

 who had won first in his class at Boston, 

 New York, and Philadelphia previous to 

 1884, when he was shown at Bangor, Maine, 

 in a limited show of the one hundred best cats. 

 He was a silver or bluish tabby, very lightly 

 marked ; about seven years old at the time ; 

 weight about twenty pounds ; he was, as his 

 picture shows, rather a coarse-grained variety ; 

 a drug store cat. 



I know nothing of his early history ; but 

 his owner had the cat fad a well-developed 

 case and travelled from city to city to show 

 his cat, much as we are all doing now twenty 

 years later. 



At that time Maine, near the coast, was 



. '' IH.UK DANUBE." 



BRED BY MRS. E. R. PIERCE. 



rich in fine specimens of the long-haired cats. 

 That was before they began to sell. I have in 

 mind their brown tabbies. 



We often hear it said by people who know 

 them not that the Maine cats are unhealthy, 

 that they have worms ; and I have to admit 

 it, and that they sometimes die like other cats ; 

 but here is one that didn't until he had 

 rounded out his full seventeen years. 



On page 329 is a picture of " Leo," brown 

 tabby, born 1884, died 1901 ; presented to Mrs. 

 Persis Bodwell Martin, of Augusta, Maine, by 

 Mrs. E. R. Pierce, when he was six months old. 



He lived a life of luxury and ease, having 

 his meals served by his mistress's own hand in 

 the upper hall, where he chose to spend his 

 time for the later years of his life. 



If I may be permitted, I would ask com- 

 parison between the picture of " Leo " and 

 any thoroughbred brown tabby first, colour 

 of muzzle, length of nose, size and shape of 

 eyes, breadth of forehead,' size of ears, length 

 of hair in the ears, and on the head. In body 

 markings " Leo " would fall off, as his hair 



