A review of the cat fancy in America carries us over so vast an expanse of territory, that it is not easy at one fell swoop really to do it justice. The only way that seems feasible is to take the fancy by districts; and as the cat fancy—exemplified by shows—may be said to have arisen in the east, this district should, I think, have the pride of place, though it has for a time to give way to the reign of the cat further towards the setting of the sun.

On referring to Mrs. Pierce’s notes, it will be seen that Maine had its cat shows long before we had—some of us—come to America. The cat fancy—as it is now—in America may have been said to have sprung into a steady existence with the first show held in the Madison Square Garden, New York, on May 8th, 1895. This show was organised by Mr. James T. Hyde, an Englishman, who has been closely identified with the horse shows at the Garden for many years, and the idea of holding a cat show came to him suddenly, from having attended the Crystal Palace show.

The first cat show in New York was a great success from the time the doors opened till its close, though the temperature—which was for part of the time as high as 96 degrees—was hard upon the cats, especially those that had just come from England. When we returned home the morning after the show there was a white frost! Part of the judging was done—and well done—by the late Dr. Huidekoper, who had picked up a good deal of his cat lore while a medical student at Paris and Edinburgh and in London. Miss Hurlburt and Mr. T. Farrer Rackham were the other judges.

In regard to this show—which marks the beginning of the cat fever in America, that spread outside of the State of Maine—I think I ought to point out what was chiefly remarkable, and the parts of the show that were destined to bear upon the future. In the first place, the prize 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 impression 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 winning, 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 specimens 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 110, 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 overestimated 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 Rackham, 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 the young stock and the future of our cats in certain lines has been very marked. As a sire of good ones no cat has exceeded “King of the Silvers,” and his children have been picked on several occasions for best in show, and the influence that these may have in the future cannot yet be fully estimated. The winnings of this cattery have been many, but as the home of good breeding stock and as the practical founder of a strain for the future this cattery is destined to rank very high in our annals. At the Old Fort cattery reside “King of the Silvers,” “Jack Frost,” “Tortie Diana Fawe,” “Lady Lollypop,” and many other good ones, and from this cattery to many parts of the country have gone cats that for type and quality have not been excelled.

Not far from here—at Saratoga—is the summer residence of Dr. Ottolengui’s cats, under the care of Mrs. Hall, and these at the present time are doing a great deal of winning, not so much by cats purchased as by home-bred ones. For instance, I may mention “Lord Lossie,” who has some of the cream of the English blood in his veins; and lately has come to this cattery “Sir Robert,” the black, a winner at the Crystal Palace, and who repeated his triumphs at other shows here. “Dollie Dutton,” a black daughter of “Persimmon,” is largely aiding this cattery as a mother and a show cat.

Dr. Ottolengui’s advent into the fancy in January, 1902, as secretary of the Atlantic Club gave an impetus to things in general that only future times can show the full effect. The cat fraternity needed an organiser and a worker to bring it together, and he was found just at the right time.

Miss Lincoln, of Worcester, Massachusetts, has done quite a little work for the good of the majority; but has not had the best of luck with her cats so far, and Mrs. A. G. Brown, of Melrose, Massachusetts, is a steady breeder of whites and other colours, and she has in her cattery “His Majesty,” the white that has won many prizes and is the sire of winners.

Mrs. Neel, at Urbana, New York, established a cattery, and has been a very hard worker in the cause, doing good from her experience in a medical way, by writing for the papers, by upholding the shows—often a good distance from home—and by the general support she has afforded to all who made use of the help she was willing to give.

Whilst in this direction I must not forget Mr. C. H. Jones, who commenced as a breeder and exhibitor, though his business kept him away from home a great deal; yet the fever grew upon him until he started a newspaper called The Cat Journal, which, no doubt, is one of the principal factors in keeping up the interest in the cat in general. Though on account of Mr. Jones’s other business engagements it is not possible for him to report shows, he brings out this paper monthly at great personal cost to himself and with little chance of profit on anything like a fitting scale at present; so that we may say that, considering the work of the paper is done after business hours and is largely supported by his own purse, we cannot help but think that it is most probable the cat family never found a more enthusiastic and disinterested devotee in the whole course of its history. Mr. Jones gave up his exhibition cats, and yet for sheer love of the race and from motives of pure humanity he still continues to move heaven and earth for their support, and must always be reckoned one of the foremost exponents of the cat in America, and one of the staunchest friends the cat ever had.

Among fanciers in the vicinity of New York must be enumerated Miss A. L. Pollard, who has imported and bred a few good cats, and has made a name for herself with “Omar,” by “St. Anthony.” Miss Pollard’s place is situated at Elizabeth, New Jersey, about fifteen miles from New York, and so is practically in the metropolitan district. “Purity,” the white which was so successful in England, and the tortoiseshell “Woodbine,” are factors in this cattery, which is quite a large one, and very well-arranged. The crops of kittens have been most successfully reared and distributed, in fact with more success than many of our fanciers have been able to show.

Mrs. W. S. Hofstra, the president of the Atlantic Cat Club, lives on Long Island, the other side of New York, and devotes herself to her Siamese and Persians, and has had a very decided influence in the development of the club over which she so ably presides.

The Lindenhurst Cattery at Ridgefield, New Jersey, is also becoming prominent, and in Brooklyn the Misses Ward have done very good work and have reared some fine cats and kittens. The keynote of this establishment has been “Robin,” an orange tabby son of “Persimmon,” who seems to breed back to his sire, and begets a good many brown tabbies as well as oranges.

We must not leave New York State without remembering Mrs. F. L. Norton, of Cazenovia, who has built one of the most beautiful catteries in America, and has spared no expense or trouble to stock it with good cats; and here reside “Sussex Timkins,” “Sweetheart,” and many others known to fame.

Mrs. Champion, now settled at Hart Park, New Brighton, Staten Island, New York, with her two daughters, is doing a great deal for the cats of America, and the two Misses Champion will probably have to do for some time a good deal of the judging for us. Mrs. Champion’s cats did well at the first New York show at which they made their appearance, and “Lord Argent,” “Silver Flash,” “Argent Puffy,” “Moonbeam II.,” and “Lord Sylvester” are becoming household words. “Argent Moonbeam II.” was best in the show of January, 1903.

Mrs. Gotwalts, of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, must not be omitted from the eastern contingent, for she has the nucleus of a good cattery, and owns a son of “Blue Boy II.” called “Amesh,” and she has some “Persimmon” blood in the cattery, and also some of the smoke blood of the “Backwell” strain obtained from Mrs. Harold James. Mrs. Gotwalts keeps fine cats, and is very fond of breeding her own, in which she takes much pride.

Mrs. Brown, of Millerton, New York, has bred and kept cats for some time, but does not favour the shows much.

Washington has come to the fore of late, but has not within her borders many regular breeders outside of Mrs. Hazen Bond, who exhibited with a good deal of success during the season of 19011902, and Miss Eleanor Burritt, who most successfully brought to a termination a good show in Washington in December, 1902; and this will, no doubt, be followed by others in years to come.

Our travels in search of cats do not take us very far south, for in these regions the fleas alone make the rearing of cats in anything like numbers an impossibility. Mrs. B. M. Gladding most pluckily tried it at Memphis, Tennessee, but has been obliged to give it up, though she was one of our most promising cat lovers.

The Connecticut cats bid fair to be quite a factor in the American race for prominence in catty matters, and within the borders of Connecticut we have to record a few breeders. In 1903 we have a show at Stamford, Connecticut, which is an important place, and where the show now begun might assume quite extensive proportions; for at Stamford are many large country houses, and it is a centre that can well afford to have the best of everything.

Connecticut has within her borders the possibilities of future greatness, and is at present emerging from comparative obscurity, though always having had some good fanciers. Miss Lucy Nicholls was, for a time, perhaps one of the best, known, but she died in the spring of 1902. Dr. Frank Abbott is stirring up the fanciers of Connecticut, and a little while from now there would probably be a good deal more to say about this region, which holds such breeders as Mrs. Copperberg, Miss Anna Marks, Mrs. Ida Palmer, and others.

I leave the Maine and the northern division to Mrs. Pierce, who was born there, and has known this region and its history for many years, and who can cover it so much better.

Mrs. M. B. Thurston was much missed as an exhibitor, as for a time she was very successful, but more with cats she bought than with cats she bred.

Miss K. L. Gage, of Brewster’s, New York, is not now so prominent as of yore, but still for a time was energetic in disseminating good cats, and was the owner of the silver tabby “Whychwood,” who bids fair to leave a name behind him.

The New York show of 1903 revealed to us that we are making steady progress in long-haired silvers, and the probability is that at the present time, if we could make up a team of four or five of our best and take them to England, we should give a good account of ourselves.

At this show the blacks, thanks to recent importations, were much better than heretofore; and Miss Hurlburt’s “Eddie Fawe,” Dr. Ottolengui’s “Sir Robert”—a previous winner at the Palace—and Miss Lincoln’s “Jack Fawe” made a trio that we may be proud of.

The blues were a decided improvement on last year, and so were the whites; and Miss Pollard had “Purity” and the blue-eyed “Fairy” put down in splendid shape, and won well.

Orange cats are always pretty popular in America, and are, owing to Miss Ward and Mrs. Copperberg, coming well up to the front.

In the silvers Mrs. Champion’s “Argent Moonbeam II.” carried all before him in males, and Mrs. Conlisk took first in queens with “Silver Belle”—a big one and a good one. The “Blessed Damozel” is perhaps our best queen, and there is really nothing to beat her in the female division; but she was not put down for competition, as her owner does not approve of a four days’ show. Mrs. Mallorie had a big strong silver—“Silver Glen”—second to “Argent Moonbeam II.” The silver tabbies are coming along well, and so are the smokes, and one—“The Dusky Pilgrim,” a son of “The Passionate Pilgrim,” who has been altered—was sold for £50. “The Passionate Pilgrim,” a very light and massively built cat, promises to be a great loss to breeders, as he is an almost complete out-cross, but he has left several good kittens. Mrs. Mix, who was judging, brought out some beautiful silvers, and her home-bred “Jack Frost” was a notable cat.

“Arlington Hercules,” the brown tabby, made his first appearance in New York, and was very much admired. Prices ran high for good cats, especially smokes and silvers, as these are new to Americans. The blue colour they are more familiar with from the long acquaintance with the short-haired blues or Maltese; but there is no denying the fact that the blues are always dangerous when it comes to judging for specials, for in their all-round quality they show the care that has been bestowed upon them in England.

Old “Tortie Diana Fawe” is still our best tortoiseshell, without much apparent chance of being deposed.

Mr. H. T. Draper—an old Londoner, who has exhibited short-hairs steadily since 1895—is still with us, and taking prizes as before; he has been a very steady supporter of the short-hairs for years.

DISTRICT NO. 2.

District No. 2, that we shall consider next, is the city and region of Chicago, which is not placed second as a matter of its importance, but simply comes in in chronological order. The first show to be held there was three years after the first in New York, and was promoted and managed by Mrs. Leland Norton; and this show was such a decided success that a club was formed, called the Chicago Cat Club, which held together for some years, but was in the end dwarfed by its rival the Beresford Cat Club. This came into being in 1899, and grew to such dimensions that the club soon numbered over 300 members, and reached in January, 1902, to the highest place by far of any American cat club, having at the show in Chicago over 250 cats, which was at least 100 in excess of any show ever held up to that time in America.

Not the least important work done by this club was the inauguration of a stud book, which has now three volumes, and contains a record of nearly all of the cats that have been factors in the development of the fancy in America. No doubt a greater part of the success of the Beresford Club has been brought about by the energy and management of Mrs. Clinton Locke, aided by the corresponding secretary (Miss L. C. Johnstone), and it is impossible to compute the work they have done. The mass of information collected in the stud books will always be the basis for the future, and on this may be built the stud book in use by the whole of America.

The vicinity of Chicago has been the centre of the cat fancy in America, and in this city and its vicinity there have been more steady breeders and more people who have selected, bred, and reared the best cats they could obtain, so that, of course, the shows have been the biggest and best ever held in America. The one striking feature of the Chicago shows has always been the white long-haired cats.

Of late another club has started, called the Orange and Cream Club, which may be said to have had Chicago for its birth-place, and this club flourishes and prospers.

We can best gauge the Chicago division by looking over the breeders and taking a glance at the shows, and as I was judge there at the show of 1901 and also in 1902 I have had the opportunity to make acquaintance with many of the owners and many of the cats. If we turn back to the Beresford Cat Club stud book we find among the officers of the year many of our best known breeders, and I commence with Mrs. Clinton Locke, the president. It must not be imagined that this was her first attempt at cat breeding, for she had been a breeder of long-haired cats for years, and I must say I had heard of Mrs. Locke many years before I ever had the pleasure of meeting her, and her cats were well known before the advent of cat shows. Mrs. Locke has made a name with several colours and breeds, and has imported and bred Persians, Siamese, Russians, etc., and the last two shows displayed the fact that she held a strong hand in most of these. “Melrose Lassie”—a blue sent over in 1900 from England by Miss Frances Simpson, and who developed into a beautiful quality cat with lovely orange eyes—was the best at the Chicago show in 1901. This cat the next year was not shown for competition, and the premier honours went to her kennel mate “Lupin,” and these two when mated together have produced several winners. “Lupin” was bred by Miss Beal, and is by “Romaldkirk Midshipmite” ex “Daisy Belle,” by “Romaldkirk Toga.” “Lupin” was selected at Romaldkirk by myself when a promising kitten of six months, and to say that he fulfilled his promise is sufficient, for he grew in size and stature, and retained his beautiful golden eyes. He is now owned by Mrs. White.

The winning kitten of the 1901 show was from the two (“Melrose Lassie” and “Lupin”), and Dr. Ottolengui’s two winning queens in 1902—“Lady Lola” and “Isis”—are bred from the same two. It is curious to watch how blood will tell, for in the winning blue male at Washington, December, 1902, we had some of the same blood again in “Lord Lossie,” by “Lucullus” ex “Dollie Dutton,” who was by “Persimmon,” “Lucullus” being a son of “Lupin” ex “Lucy Claire”—late the property of Mrs. Falconer Sinclair, and known in England as “Baby Flossie.” Among other celebrities of Mrs. Locke’s cattery were “Lord Gwynne”—the white imported from England through the kind offices of Mr. A. A. Clarke—and this cat at once made a name for himself as the sire of “True Blue,” “Mars,” “Prosper Le Gai,” and many other good cats. “St. Tudno” and “Blackbird” were two blacks that did well for Mrs. Locke, and “St. Tudno” sired the winning black in 1902, who very nearly annexed the prize for best in show. The “Beadle,” another of Mrs. Locke’s blues that must not be forgotten, was a cat bred by Mrs. Dean, and he did yeoman service in his time, and has left many promising young ones. Mrs. Locke has been the owner of good Siamese, and from “Siam” and “Sally Ward” she bred “Calif” and “Bangkok,” who carried all before them at the Chicago show of 1902, and were the best pair I have seen this side the water, and would have given a good account of themselves anywhere.

Mrs. Locke’s Russians—“Blue Royal” and “Schuyla”—were respectively obtained from Mr. Towlerton, of Wakefield, and Mrs. Carew Cox, and have passed into other hands after winning many prizes. Among other Chicago ladies who have been very prominent in cat breeding for many years we must not forget Mrs. Cratty, who built up a beautiful strain of whites from a pair she obtained in Switzerland twelve years ago. Mrs. Cratty has now given up breeding, finding the rearing of kittens too great a tax upon her powers; but as a consistent and steady breeder, instead of simply a buyer and exhibitor of other people’s efforts, she will be much missed.

Mrs. W. Eames Colburn has at the present time probably one of the largest and most successful catteries in America. In 1901 she made a reputation with her cat “Paris,” which was bred by herself, and which, besides winning in the strongest of company, has been a most successful and prolific sire of white kittens, a good many of which have taken honours on the bench. Mrs. Colburn also possesses two very fine blacks—“Blackthorn,” which she imported from Asia, and “Blackberry Fawe,” sent to her from England by Miss Frances Simpson. Many people who have visited the cattery of late are heard to speak enthusiastically of the quality of the inmates and of the perfection of the appointments and the way the cattery is fitted up. Miss L. C. Johnstone, the ever busy secretary of the Beresford Club, has been a prominent exhibitor, and has taken many honours with “Blue Flash,” “Persimmon Squirrel,” and “Kew Laddie.” “Blue Flash” grew into a beautiful cat, taking at the Chicago show, 1902, the special for best queen in the show.

Mrs. Jerome H. Pratt has usually been an exhibitor at the Chicago show. She won her championship with “Sir Henry Irving,” a very richly marked silver tabby by “Whychwood,” who was by “Charlbury Silver King.” Mrs. Tolman has always been an energetic officer of the Beresford Club, and is very energetic at the shows, and in cats her fancy runs to creams, of which she has brought out several winners. Mrs. L. Nicholson (formerly Mrs. F. Fisk Green) has been a prominent and good supporter of past Chicago shows.

Mrs. F. W. Story has been known as a successful breeder of orange cats and some whites, and in having obtained possession of the fine orange “Hamish” will, no doubt, find herself in a few years in the position of being a prominent breeder of this colour. “Bunch,” the former stud cat belonging to this cattery, did good service in his day, and is responsible for a few winners; but the absence of any details in the American catalogues of the shows makes it difficult to arrive at a very accurate estimate of all his performances.

In speaking of Chicago we shall have to include Miss Hazelton, who has turned out several winners, all descended from “Sapphire,” that she bought of Mrs. Barker in 1896. Mrs. Fred E. Smith has been one of the shining lights among the Chicago breeders, and has been a consistent winner at Chicago shows; she now holds a strong hand in the white division, and was fortunate enough to pick up on the Pacific coast a fine male in “Light of Asia,” who was imported from Asia. “Swampscott,” another good cat, makes his appearance every year, and usually finds himself in the prize list, and he has the most fascinating way of turning up in splendid coat at most of the shows. This cat is a pure Maine cat, if we may so call him; but as an example of vigour and good health, year after year, he stands pre-eminent. Mrs. Smith is now building up a strain of silvers of her own composing, which may be very valuable to the attenuated strains of the ordinary breeder, who is only too glad to welcome something that will be an out-cross and will not spoil the silver colour.

Mrs. C. E. S. Blinn is another breeder who is always present at the shows, and whose cats usually find their way into the prize list. Mrs. Blinn is a consistent breeder who does not always make herself very prominent, but she obtains the results on the quiet.

Mrs. Blanche Robinson has bred several of her own prize-winners, and her black “Othello,” of which we spoke previously, is more than a good one. The name of Mrs. McKenzie will always be associated with “Prince of Orange,” whose name will designate his colour, and this cat is a hard one to beat in any orange class, for he is very rich and deep in tint.

In 1902 there were two shows held in Chicago by the Beresford Cat Club, one in December, 1902, or just a month earlier than usual, really representing what would have been, in the natural course, the 1903 show. This show did not reveal to us any very great changes; there are a few new home-bred ones, but the principal wins in the highest of the specials were made by imported cats. The advent of some nice new whites was welcomed, as usual, and “Toddles” is an addition to our list of white males, and is a nice cobby sort, bred from “Light of Asia.” “Little Miss Eiger,” one of Mrs. Cratty’s breeding and own particular strain, won in the blue-eyed white queens. “Lupin” kept on his winning career, and took the prize for the best in show once more, and this, under judges who had never seen him before, seems to endorse the estimate made of him heretofore. “Melrose Lassie,” shown this year again for competition, took the first prize in blue queens. Blacks, taking the open and novice together, came out strongly, and black seems to be one of our strongest colours. “Prince of Orange” is still invincible at this show in orange males, and the orange queens are coming along nicely. Mrs. Sarmiento’s “John Bull,” in much better form than last year, again sweeps the deck in the silver class. The silver tabbies still continue to prosper. “Arlington Hercules” went down, for the first time, at this show, largely on a question of eye colour.

Smokes in the year gone by have not made much advance in the West, and this year the cream females outnumber the males, and a descendant of “Kew Laddie” takes the eye of the public with colour, coat, and points. Mrs. C. A. White, who in the spring bought “Lupin” and “Melrose Lassie,” was most successful at this show, and is probably destined to be one of our successful breeders, and with the co-operation of her husband (Dr. White), who is very clever with animals, the assistance she will receive will very largely help to bring her to the front.

Mrs. White is the lady who is organising a home for deserted dogs and cats, with a hospital attached, and on a scale and with a foresight that is certainly remarkable. Considering that Dr. White is the head of the Veterinary College in Chicago, the benefit that may accrue to the dogs and cats in the future from the opportunity of humane study that this will give will be incalculable. This, when put alongside of the horrible revelations that we are treated to anent vivisection, may, I hope, have the effect of swinging the balance the other way, and help to show the rash experimenters that there are people in this world who recognise the individuality of the animal creation, and that we who use them for our own ends and have crowded them out of their place in Nature to a certain extent should at the same time look at the other side of the picture, and should consider the debt we owe to them during their short lives—that humanity, practised towards the dumb animals, is nothing more than their just due.

A great many of the same cats won at Chicago at this last show, “Lupin” being again best cat in show, and among the younger brigade the most remarkable was a lovely cream kitten owned by Mrs. Locke, which is by “Kew Laddie.” “Toodles,” a white son of “Light of Asia,” was the best white.

DISTRICT NO. 3.

District No. 3, which we shall assign to the Detroit contingent, is certainly one of our most important. The Detroit fanciers are situated more in a central position—that is, as regards getting to several shows a year, for Detroit is accessible to Cleveland, Rochester, Cincinnati, and Chicago, all of which are good shows; so this gives the Detroit fanciers the chance to come out at several shows besides their own in the course of the winter.

At Detroit reside several of our most enterprising and successful breeders and exhibitors; for the Detroit fancier is not content simply to stay at home and only take part in the one local show of the year, but is to be found at a good many, even so far away as New York. In the list of these we place Mrs. F. J. Sarmiento and Mrs. Dwight Cutler, who own the well-known cats “Arlington Hercules,” “Bar Abdul,” “Marriame,” “Dingley Belle,” “Champion Floriana,” “Brownie Pink,” etc. The history of these and their wins is written on the sands of time and will not be lost for many years, and they represent the enterprise of buying and importing the best English strains and taking care of them.

Mrs. Owen, at the Owena Cattery, has been an important factor at many shows for the last two years. Mrs. W. M. Chapman is well known to show-goers, and has won a good many honours, and rather in a way not too common here—that is, by breeding her own cats. This has been done with skill and patience; for Mrs. Chapman has selected the parents with forethought, and has not been one of those who has paid large sums for breeding stock. The keynote, more or less, of this strain has been a fine brown tabby obtained from Canada some years ago—viz. “Prince Rupert,” who goes back in his pedigree to cats owned by Mr. A. A. Clarke, and also to some imported by Mrs. Cumberland, of Port Hope, Ontario.

Mrs. W. J. Stanton deserves mention in the Detroit list as a breeder of short-haired orange and tortoiseshells, with and without white, and I must say I watch this lady’s career with interest, for she has brought out several winners in her specialities, and is probably destined to make things interesting in the short-haired division.

Mrs. N. C. Ellis is another of the Detroit breeders likely to be heard of at show times, and Mr. and Mrs. Franklin have both made a name for themselves with cats of their own breeding. We must not forget Mrs. Hemenway, who was the owner of “Royal Bengal,” a fine brown tabby, and several good orange cats bred by herself.

Cincinnati is our next point of interest, though I have not had the opportunity of meeting so many of the Ohio breeders as I should like, but this is destined, I feel sure, to be one of the prominent fancier sections in the future. In passing through Ohio we must never forget that Ohio has the two important shows of Cleveland and Cincinnati, and holds within her gates Mrs. E. R. Pierce, whose tastes run to orange and creams; Mrs. Chas. McCloud, of Marysville, Ohio; and Mrs. Wagner, of Sandusky, who brought a very fine lot of long-haired cats to Cleveland this year. Mrs. Wagner is well known, and has been for some time a breeder of blacks; her silver tabby “Queenie” was the sensation of the Cleveland show in 1902, and is destined to win a great deal more in the future.

Mrs. Ferris has developed a faculty for bringing out good orange and brown tabby cats. Mrs. C. F. Russell, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, is also well known. Mr. G. G. Brown, of East Cleveland, Ohio, deserves more than a passing mention, for though not a cat breeder, he has made it his business for two years to organise and carry through two of the best shows in the country at Cleveland, which have been of material help to the fancy, and did a great deal of good. What cats are kept at the Brown homestead are short-hairs and some nice Manx, but in other lines, such as poultry and dogs, Mr. Brown is hard to beat.

Mrs. D. E. Peters, of North Baltimore, Ohio, has owned quite a few good cats, including some that came from Romaldkirk, but of late she has signified her intention of selling out.

Indianapolis, though rather south-westerly, is more in this division, and contains a good many cats and some breeders, though they have not been able up to now to come to shows and meet the more northern and eastern cats. Miss N. H. Wilson, whose prefix is “Spokane,” is well known; and so is the cattery of Mrs. Ida M. Shirk, who has carried on the business under the name of the Linden Cattery.

DISTRICT NO. 4.—CANADIAN CATS.

The two pioneers of the cat in Canada—i.e. the two who were most prominent as breeders when I went to the first Canadian shows—were Mrs. Cumberland, of Port Hope, Ontario, whose prefix or affix of “Demain” bespeaks her early efforts. Even earlier than Mrs. Cumberland, the cats belonging to Mr. A. Burland, an Englishman, attained prominence, and the blood that he brought from England—mostly from Mr. A. A. Clarke—is now diffused into or among many of our best-known catteries.

We had a dim suspicion—in fact, more than a dim suspicion—that there was tucked away in Canada more than one good cat; and so, being in Toronto, we made an exploration, thanks to the help of Mrs. Ellis and Mr. Boyd.

Our first visit was to the Pioneer Cattery, where we found the ravages of gastritis had been severely felt only the week before, and, of course, some of the very best, including some we had portrayed lately, had succumbed. The most noted inmate was “Marie,” a cat of good type, very sound and in good condition, with capital eyes of a good, rich orange—she should breed something good; and—we hope we can say it without offending anyone—this cat, old as she is, is the peer of any brown tabby put down in America last year, and we only hope she will live to breed one more good litter, which should be retained to perpetuate the race.

It was only a short walk to Mrs. Mallock’s, who is rejoicing in the possession of a very cute young black male, capital in style, with a lovely coat and colour, named “Furzo,” bred by Mr. Empey, of Montreal.

After lunch we drove to see Miss Cox, who has the same nice white male we saw there six years ago, and he has done yeoman service in the meantime. “Cadi,” a young brown tabby male, is a year old, and a credit to any cattery. Miss Cox is also the possessor of a nice white queen by “Fluff,” who is responsible for some of the good kittens.

We next journeyed to the home of Mrs. Bell, who has one queen and two very strong kittens. Mrs. Bell, however, intends to strengthen her cattery soon by the acquisition of some good queens.

Leaving Mr. and Mrs. Bell, we journeyed to the ferry and went over to the Island, getting a glimpse of the beauties of Toronto and a fine view of the water front and the suburban attractions. We landed at the house of Mrs. McAdley, and were introduced to the grandest lot of brown tabbies we ever remember to have seen, outside, perhaps, Mrs. Cutler’s, which we should not like to compare, not having seen them. We may safely say that nothing so good was shown last year as Mrs. McAdley’s. At the head of the list is “Prince,” a grand old cat, imported from Ireland seven years ago, and there are few cats extant to-day, or ever were, that can take his measure. His head is magnificent, and he is short on the leg, has plenty of bone, grand colour, no weak colouring around the lips or chin, and, what is more, he sires the right sort. “Paddy,” his daughter, is the peer of any brown tabby queen we have seen in the ring for a long time, and we saw nothing to beat her in England two years ago.

Mrs. Ellis has adopted the kittens, and these will not pass out of Canada under pretty stiff figures, and wherever they appear in the show room they will have to be reckoned with by the very best.

We got back to our hotel at 11 p.m., after a most enjoyable day among enthusiastic and painstaking fanciers, and we had unfortunately to leave out one house for lack of time. Another cat enthusiast who has some good Romaldkirk stock to sell—viz. Miss Cottle—journeyed over from Kingston on purpose to have a catty talk at the dog show. We feel sure that the Canadian contingent will have to be reckoned with in the future as breeders, and in brown tabbies are a hard proposition. As soon as they get hold of some better cats of the other colours they will be up with us, though we do not see some of the best of the other colours, notably Miss Cottle’s and the Montreal blacks.

DISTRICT NO. 5.

California is a district by itself, which can never be in active touch with the east, and the future cat of California may probably be the Siamese, for the demand for them is growing every day, and the climate favours them. California is too warm to coat the long-hairs, and the vermin are too promiscuous in most parts to make the rearing or caring for the long-hairs a pleasant occupation. Mrs. C. H. Hoag and Mrs. C. E. Martling have been two of the most energetic in promoting the cat as a fancy in California, and several shows have been held, but at present—in the language of the slang—“there is not much doing,” except in Siamese; so that in taking a look over the past from a high point and looking down, we cannot say that up to now we can point to many families or strains that have yet made their mark in America; that is, a mark that is very conspicuous, for there has not been time. But still there are signs of strains that will be matters of history, and there are families that may be called distinctive, because the descendants win under different judges with sufficient regularity to make this noticeable.

Some of these I have sketched in my other notes; but probably the most far-reaching of the families that win in all colours is the “Humbert” strain, which emanates from Mrs. Barker’s “King Humbert,” imported in 1895. Not only did this cat sire a lot of winners himself, but cats with the “Humbert” blood to the third and fourth generation, such as “Prince of Orange,” etc., are still winning all over the country. Judging by present appearances, the “King of the Silvers” family, coupled with his sire “Bitterne Silver Chieftain,” is forging to the front, and is marking out a path of its own as regards winnings in public. One cat—“The Blessed Damozel,” bred by Mrs. Barker in England, and by “Champion Lord Southampton” ex “Peggy,” by “Champion Silver Mist,” is making a big reputation through her children, and the second generation is now beginning to win as did the first. This blood is very successful wherever found, and this is, no doubt, largely owing to the kittens by “King of the Silvers,” though “The Passionate Pilgrim,” who goes back through his sire to “Whychwood,” is as good as anything Mrs. Barker has yet produced; and this is saying a good deal, for she has bred a great many winners in many colours, and the effect of cats imported or bred by her is seen at every show we go to, and the ramifications of blood lines spread over America would make a book in itself.

The very best cats from England will win here every time they are shown in good trim, and in picking cats for best in show the greater part of the prizes go to English cats, or to cats bred from English parents. The crossing of the natives with the English is very successful in some cases, and, no doubt, the changes of blood will in the future work to the good of the majority, for in size, shape, and coat many of the American cats are very good, but fail in type and quality.

The cat fever in its present form may be said to be so comparatively new as an industry that it has not been easy to give a comprehensive view of the whole. Some exhibitors have come up suddenly, and after seeming to have carried all before them have disappeared as suddenly as they came, while others have kept on right through, though these are few by comparison with the great possibilities. We are now passing through the early days of organisation, and the future is not always too clear; but, still, I have tried to give the most prominence to those who have braved the light of day and have supported the shows, and this, really, is the only practical test of where we any of us stand. If I were to enumerate all I have heard of, and the many people who are interested in, the cat in America, there is no doubt but that a good deal more space than I have at my command would be used two or three times over; and such is the size of the country that it is only possible to give a light sketch of the whole; and I do not expect that I shall, or anyone else could, begin to do justice to, or could in any way really gauge, the number of people interested in cats in America. In ten years’ time I expect to see cities that now bring together perhaps 100 cats, then having shows containing hundreds; for in most places, even where shows have been held, we have hardly scratched the surface, and in perhaps only one out of 100 important and possible towns have we ever had a show. The extent of the possibility of the future can only be slightly grasped by those who have touched the fancy, but those of us who have worked for many years at it see signs of growth now that may increase the fancy as a snowball will grow—the further you roll it the faster it grows in proportion. We are only just waking. The future alone can say whether we shall succeed; but we must face the fact that in America the cat fancy, as a whole, is an impossibility, and that cats as exhibition cats can only, as a rule—unless belonging to rich people—meet each other in competition if within reasonable distance of each other.