A standard of points for all long and short haired cats was drawn up by a sub-committee of the Cat Club, of which I was a member; but since specialist clubs have come into existence, having each their own list of points, nothing much has been seen or heard of the Cat Club's standard. It is just as well to have some definite lines upon which fanciers and exhibitors may base their ideas, and so aim at, if they cannot attain to, the height of perfection set forth in these standards. They are really not meant for judges, because I venture to assert that a judge is no judge if he requires anything besides his own personal conviction, experience, and common sense when called upon to decide the various points in the different breeds. A good judge of old china will not search for the mark to know whether the specimen is Chelsea or Worcester. He will tell you "it is marked all over" - that is. he knows a good bit of stuff, even if it should not have the gold anchor of Chelsea or the square mark of Worcester ware. So it is with a good all-round cat.

It appeals at once to the eye of the connoisseur, just as a worthless specimen is at once put out of the ranks of winners.

Richmond Cat Show: Judges At Work. (Photo: Cassell & Company, Limited. )

It is the greatest error not to have thorough confidence in oneself when undertaking to judge cats, or, in fact, in judging any animal, or any thing. No one should undertake to judge if they wish to seek the counsel of others. They must have the courage of their own convictions, and, although some amount of training may be required, I think that judges are born, not made; and people who have not a keen power of observation and a faculty of coming rapidly to a fixed conclusion can never hope to become satisfactory or competent judges. There are many cat fanciers on whose judgment of a cat I should implicitly rely, and who know a good specimen when they see it, but if placed before a row of twenty or thirty cats of a breed they seem to lose their heads and get hopelessly confused, and then the reporter says, "We could not follow the awards." There is no doubt that judges of cats are severely handicapped. Firstly, cats are such terribly timid, shrinking animals that when dragged out of their pens with great difficulty - for the doors are most inconveniently small - they often struggle so violently that, for fear of hurting the animal or of its escaping, the judge will swiftly restore it to its resting place without having obtained much satisfaction from his cursory examination.

Unless judging pens are provided, there is really no chance of making fair comparisons between two cats which may appear of almost equal merit. How is a judge to decide on the form of limbs and general build of a cat when holding it in his arms or seeing it huddled up at the back of its pen ?

An agitation is now on foot for having cats judged in a ring, and, no doubt, in time this will be the order of the day at our shows; but fanciers will have to train up their cats in the way they should go - namely, when quite young they must be accustomed to a lead and also be constantly brought out amongst strangers. As an example, I would refer to the starting gate recently introduced into this country on the racecourse. It was no use to attempt it for the old stagers, but trainers soon accustomed the two-year-olds to the innovation, and I believe many, if not all, the objectors are now converted to the new system of starting racehorses.

In judging a class, I first go round and mark the absent cats; then I note down those that could not under any circumstances take a prize. If there is a large class - say, of twenty to thirty specimens - I mark off all poor and seedy-looking cats until the number is reduced to about eight or ten; then I begin to search for the winners. At this point I take out each specimen, and, if no judging pen is provided, I get someone to assist me, and by bringing out two cats at a time I can make comparisons and note down any remarks in my book for further reference. It often happens that one particular cat will stand out prominently from all the rest in a class. and then there is no difficulty about the first award. It is always well to give a "reserve" and to distribute - but not too freely - the V. H. C., H. C., and C. cards. It does not do to make these too cheap, and scatter them all over the class. V. H. C. might be awarded to a cat in splendid coat, but which failed in head and eyes; H. C. to another specimen with hardly any coat and poor head, but correct in eye; and C. to a promising youngster without any serious fault, only with no striking point of merit.

A good judge must thus weigh the pros and cons and have a reason to give himself or anyone else for each degree of merit, from first prize to the humble C. And here I would mention that there is a nice and a very nasty way for an exhibitor to question a judge's award. To be attacked suddenly with the query, "Why have you not given my cat a prize?" is quite enough to make a judge retire into his shell and refuse any explanation; but if asked to kindly give a reason why a certain animal has failed to win, and to explain why one specimen, apparently a fine cat, should be lower than another, I am sure any judge would gladly give the inquirer the benefit of his larger experience and the reason for his awards. It is a mistake for a judge to distribute the full complement of prizes in a class when and where the exhibits are not possessing of sufficient merit. A first prize cat should be a good specimen of its kind, and it is much better to withhold this award than to give it to a poor representative of his breed. It also reflects discredit on a judge, for an exhibitor wishing to boast of his honours may publish that his "Tommy Atkins" took first under so-and-so, when perhaps there were only two cats in the class.