34-2 



THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



An old hand will tell you, " Yes, a grand head, 

 but where he got it from is a miracle, with 

 such parents "; or, "Colour? Yes, first-rate, 

 but he was the only one clear from sandy 

 in the litter." Well, what can a bewildered 

 novice do ? Remember, you have to try to 

 cap each of your queen's defects with a cor- 

 responding virtue in her mate. If she is 

 snipey in face, make head a chief point ; if she 

 fails in colour, lay great stress on colour ; 

 and so on. My advice is, do not send her to 

 a new star who has but just arisen in the sky 

 of the cat world until you know a little more 

 about your business. Mark your catalogue 

 at shows. Study the cats and kittens whose 

 points please you and who are filling the prize 

 lists, and then notice their sire's name. When 

 you find the same name repeated again and 

 again, and always attached to animals of con- 

 sistent merit, you will not do far wrong to 

 choose the owner for your queen's mate. 



But after having exercised all possible care 

 in the selection of a male cat, we must not 

 expect the litter of kittens to be perfection. 

 All breeders know that there is, as a rule, one 

 kitten in each litter which far surpasses its 

 fellows in beauty. 



Perhaps one will possess the type of head 



you so covet, but 

 the colour is in- 

 ferior. Another 



" STAR OF THE SPHERES " AXD " SON OF ROY. 



BRED BY Miss E. A. CHAMBERLAYNE. 



(Photo : Russell & Sons, Baker Street.) 



has colour or markings to perfection, whilst 

 the head is poor. Well, then, they must be 

 mated with an eye to remedying these defects, 

 and a near relative possessing these strong 

 points will be likely to prove the most success- 

 ful cross ; for in-breeding careful, cautious, 

 and judicious is another secret of the success- 

 ful breeder. But cne word of caution to the 

 novice : Never be persuaded to breed from 

 an unhealthy animal, be his or her points what 

 they may, and never allow your queens to 

 mate when thoroughly debilitated and out of 

 health ; for this lies at the bottom of the diffi- 

 culty experienced in carrying out the next 

 point we have to consider i.e. the successful 

 rearing of kittens. If cat fanciers could learn 

 this lesson, we should hear far less of infant 

 mortality. 



For the ordinary mode of kitten rearing it 

 is essential to have proper out-door quarters, 

 and, if possible, quarters isolated from each 

 other. There is nothing more suitable than 

 the portable houses so readily obtained ; but 

 these must be on a dry foundation. 



Sunshine, fresh air, and wholesome food 

 are the essentials of a kitten nursery. More- 

 over, there must never be many young things 

 kept together. Otherwise, some imlucky day 

 you will find a sad-faced kitten looking down 

 its nose, and in two or three days more your 

 whole tribe will be down with distemper and 

 your hopes for the year shattered. 



I know it sounds brutal, but I cannot re- 

 frain from saying that sentiment is 

 the ruin of successful kitten rearing. 

 Some tiny morsel develops a skin 

 trouble, has chronic diarrhrea, bad 

 eyes or snuffles, and we tenderly nurse 

 it for many weary weeks and perhaps 

 save it. 



A victory ? Yes, if the morsel 

 were a gem of great value, one of 

 the " surprise babies " in colour or 

 shape that now and again visit every 

 cattery, it may have been worth pay- 

 ing the cost. For pay we shall have 

 to, make no doubt of that. Your 

 kitten nursery will never be quite so 



