I know some judges who say commended cards are very cheap, and they please the exhibitors. True; but are you not pleasing them in a wrong way by making them think their cat is better than it is?"

"Rokeles Kissi. "Bred by Mrs. Bennet. (Photo: H. Warschkowski, St. Leonard-on-Sea. )

Mrs. Herbert kansome is well known in the feline world as a successful breeder of blue Persians, and as the hard-working secretary of the Northern Counties Cat Club, and more recently as the editor of Our Cats. Her two blue stud cats, "Darius" and "Darius III.," have earned a great reputation, not only in the show-pen, but as the sires of many lovely prize-winning kittens, notably "Orange Blossom of Thorpe, "owned by Mrs. Slingsby, of Ouseburn, Yorkshire.

"Scared. " Two Blues belonging to Lady Marcus Beresford. (Photo: Cassell & Company, Limited. )

It is only of recent years that the name of Mrs. Paul Hardy has become known in the feline world as a breeder of blue Persians. Mrs. Hardy was a member of the Cat Club Committee, but on her removal to some distance from London she resigned her post. To her the Cat Club is indebted for a very beautiful design of a medal which, in silver and bronze, is competed for at the Westminster and other shows (see illustration).

Cast Ok The Cat Club Medal Designed by Mrs. P. Hardy.

Her first adventure into the domain of cat-keeping was in the case of a very fine blue cat named "Juliet," whose first few litters were not a great success, so that sensible cat took matters into her own hands. She chose for her mate the raggedest black torn she could find, and though, of course, the results of this mesalliance were not at all satisfactory from the show judge's point of view, in later years, when suitably mated, "Juliet" did not once throw back to a wrong-coloured kitten. I am not sure that I can follow Mrs. Hardy to the logical conclusion of her deductions from this fact, but I think it is worthy of notice by those extremists who hold the view that an incorrect mating in the first instance spoils a queen for the rest of her life.

It was at the Crystal Palace show of 1897 that Mrs. Hardy exhibited her first litter from her blue stud "Wooshoo," and she was then awarded a first, a special, and two or three silver medals. Another famous cat in Mrs. Hardy's establishment was a blue, named "Mark Antony, " who met with success at several Scottish shows. Later ha came under the notice of Mrs. Mackenzie Stewart, into whose hands he passed, and received a good deal of favour at the hands of the judges. From Mrs. Stewart he passed into the possession of the late Dr. Longwill, and was sire of the famous Crystal Palace winning female blue, "Dolly Gray," in 1902.

Mrs. Hardy's success has not been achieved without some set-backs, more particularly of recent years, since her cattery has been enlarged, and she has had to fight her way against disease and death. Her own account is so vivid that I quote it, so that fanciers in a like evil condition may fight for the lives of their pets to the last: "I was singularly free from illness of any kind amongst them, and I lived for some time happy in the belief that the Persian puss was in no wise different from her short-coated sister in the robust possession of nine lives; so I added cat unto cat, and bred for show; when swiftly Nemesis overtook me. I showed five full-grown cats at the first Westminster show, and twenty-four hours after the show was over my best blue queen, a young beauty whose proud owner I had been only for one brief month, died of acute pneumonia. A few days later influenza showed itself amongst the others, and all four were down with it.

"What a time I had, with the experiences of a ward-nurse! But I pulled them through, all but one young kitten of four months, in whom acute laryngitis developed, and so she had to be put to sleep.

Miss G. Jay's Cattery (Photo: W. Field, Putney. )

"'Wooshoo' was given up by the vet., as he piled so many complications into his system one after the other, developing bronchitis, gastritis, and jaundice on the top of the original complaint. Poor fellow, for twenty-four hours he lay unconscious, but I kept his heart going by doses of pure alcohol every two hours, while I fought the disease with hot fomentations, medicated steamings, and other proper remedies.

"For just one month I had to hand-feed him, and then one afternoon it occurred to him he might try his minced oyster by himself, greatly to my joy and triumph; and when he feebly washed his face afterwards I felt like setting the church bells ringing!

"I am convinced, in serious cat illness, it is the night nursing that does the trick and determines whether your patient is to live or die. It is somewhat of an effort, I admit, to have to arise two or three times in a night (nearly always in the bitter weather, when these epidemics occur), and, in my case, to be obliged to dress and go out of doors to the stable-yard, with a dimly burning lantern.

"In every cat lover's career there must be some such saddening memories. Saddest when, after the efforts of the night, and you have left hopeful the morning will bring improvement, you return in the early dawn to note on entering a sign that causes your heart to beat heavily - your patient's bed is empty!

"You know what that means, and look round. Yes, there in a corner, flat, stiff, and draggled, where he has crawled in the last uneasy seeking for air, is your poor pet, still for ever!"

Mrs. Hardy, in connection with illnesses, has some advice to offer as regards medicines which she has tested herself, and which I think will be of service to my readers: "While not intending to say anything authoritatively upon the subject of remedies for various cat ills, all of which will be most ably and exhaustively gone into by the writer of later chapters in this book, I might perhaps mention one or two things of which I have had personal experience, restoratives rather than drugs, which I now keep always at hand.

"One is a preparation of beef called 'Soma-tose. ' It is sold in 1 oz. or 2 oz. tins, is in the form of a fine soluble powder, and has this advantage over certain beef essences - that it will keep good any length of time, and has not to be used up directly the tin is opened; while it is no more expensive, and a little will go a long way if used as directed.

"I make it by putting some boiling water into a saucer, sprinkling about a teaspoonful on the water, and allowing it to dissolve slowly till cold, when it would look like weak tea. It is a most powerful restorative and stimulant, and given cold in teaspoonful doses can be retained in the worst case of stomach irritation.

"A second good thing is Plasmon powder. I was recommended to try this by a cat lover, for a case of dyspeptic sickness of a chronic character. For delicate kittens it is most valuable, and I believe the very worst cases of diarrhoea or dysentery can be cured, and the patient saved to grow up strong and healthy, if a diet of Plasmon jelly, given cold, with alternate meals of Somatose, also given cold, be persevered with until the bowels are normal. Never give milk in any form, either plain, boiled, or in puddings, to a cat that is suffering from looseness of the bowels. Another little hint I may be allowed, perhaps, to give: Don't wait for illness to come before you train your kittens to take medicine from a spoon.

"I teach all my youngsters to drink easily from a spoon, beginning with something nice - sweetened milk or the. like, going on to cold water and, when necessary, a drop or two of Salvo's Preventive in it. Then, when it becomes necessary for a real nasty dose, they are not in the least nervous of the spoon beforehand, and the dose is down and gone before they discover anything unusual. Never have I to wrap cloths round any of my cats, or get people to hold them by main force; but some cats will nearly turn themselves inside out when a spoon is held to their mouths! All the fault of early training. Badly brought up! You must be very patient with a young kitten; never do anything in a hurry. When once you have gained a cat's confidence it will let you do anything to it."