MAINE CATS. 



329 



I really know nothing of the cats that are 

 said to be found on the islands ; but no doubt 

 they are much the same as those found all 

 along the New England coast. 



For a long time the long-haired cats seemed 

 to be confined mostly to the coast towns and 

 cities ; but the giving their best to " their 

 sisters and their cousins and their aunts " 

 have spread them inland, as well as scattered 

 them over nearly every State in the Union. 

 They thrive as well as any other long-haired 

 cat. No doubt they do still better in Maine, 



very like it while at their summer home on 

 the coast of Maine. The fad is contagious, 

 and if they have the fever running very high 

 they send back east to their "handy-man" 

 to get them a long-haired cat, and these cats 

 become popular. Clubs are formed to discuss 

 points and exchange knowledge, shows become 

 a necessity, large premiums are offered, numer- 

 ous valuable specials become a feature, cats 

 must be found to fit them, the home market 

 at a low figure is looked over, many Attic 

 treasures are brought out, and have often 



" LEO." BKOWX TAIiBY. 



OWNED BY MRS. P. MARTIN. 



(Photo : Bunion, Hallowell.) 



but the difference comes from the fact that 

 they have the freedom of living a natural 

 life, without dopes or over-coddling. Their 

 offspring are beautiful, because they are from 

 their own choosing, and not from compulsory 

 mating often distasteful, no doubt. 



About 1895 or 1896 the cat fad struck the 

 Middle West. The time was ripe for its 

 development. The high, the low, the rich, 

 the poor have all felt its force, as the real love 

 of animal pets is no respecter of persons, and 

 this fancy has made the whole world kin. 



A few people who had never seen a cat show 

 in their native land " go across," attend a 

 cat show, or pick up a cat at a bargain on the 

 streets of London ; they " fetch " it home, 

 and, lo ! their neighbour has seen something 



tipped the scales in favour of the Yankee cat. 

 We all turn green with envy. Before another 

 show we must import a ready-made winner 

 at any cost ! In the meantime, the demand 

 for the home-grown article is increasing, and 

 prices are getting much inflated, the dealers in 

 large cities keeping their buyers busy in the 

 New England field during the fall and winter 

 months. But the stock of kittens has been 

 looked over by the summer residents or 

 visitors ; the real cream disappeared with 

 the first frost to some winter homes in the 

 big cities ; the dealers get what is left at 

 almost any price they please to pay, many of 

 the specimens being indifferent, and some, 

 no doubt, mongrels. 



In the last few years I have known less of 



