A good judge of cats should have had years of experience in breeding in order to realize quickly all the good, as well as bad, points in the animal he is judging; also, he must show no partiality towards the owner, nor should he favor any certain cat because a long price has been paid for it, as that does not make it the best; for one must remember that often hundreds of dollars will not purchase some of the best cats of the day. Now, if any of these things are likely to influence you at all, do not attempt to judge. You may please a few people at a show, but you will displease the whole fancy by partiality in judging. Do not try to please the owners, but put the best cats first, and the majority will thank you. Of course, it is useless to try to please everybody, because unreasonable persons are to be found everywhere.

Many think, because they love their cats, they must be the best; but unfortunately people often pick out the worst show cat to make their special pet. This is a great mistake for any fancier to make. You must know, when breeding animals, that you cannot keep them all; therefore, make up your mind to make the greatest pet of the best kitten. By so doing, you educate it and improve its disposition, and make it as fearless as possible in the show-pen.

Remember that most judges have their own methods, but they generally work out the same in the end; so in this article I can give the novice hints from my own personal experience. For instance, it is, in my opinion, quite impossible for any judge to judge every cat with a score-card. You will find, after judging a few years, that your score-card is in your own head; that is to say, you must bear in mind all the different points of the three or four cats you have picked out as winners, and compare them, one with the other. You will find, if you test your judgment with a score-card afterwards, that the result will practically be the same. Of course, for judging different colored cats for cups and special prizes, you might find the score-card useful.

In judging, never run away with the idea of one extra good point in a cat making it the winner; you must compare all their points one against the other, before deciding which is the best.

Never judge cats in the show-pen; always take them out and either place them on a table or in a judging-pen; but if a cat rubs incessantly against the wire, it is better to take it out, as a long-haired cat's beauty is spoiled when the coat is smoothed down.

Do not judge a cat's head by its appearance, but always place your hand across the front of the skull, and feel if it is wide. Another great point, and one seldom noticed by judges, is the width of the chest. This also should be felt. In fact, half the judging should be done by well handling the cats. If you are afraid to handle all sorts of strange cats, do not start to judge; without feeling a long-haired cat you cannot correctly judge it, as a wealth of coat often covers a multitude of faults.

Always handle strange cats, especially males, as if you were not the least bit afraid of them. Use loose fitting leather gloves, if you wish to get a firm hold on a cat. If it should appear savage, grasp it firmly by the "scruff" of the neck, then it will be unable to scratch and bite you. I have always made a practice of handling all the cats I have made winners and have not yet received a bad bite or scratch. One must learn to be a good "handler" before one will make a good judge.

At all shows insist upon having daylight for judging, as artificial light appears to alter the colour of the cats; then when the same cats are judged at another show by daylight others may reverse your decision, probably correctly, and this will reflect on your judgment.

The short-haired cat should be judged for the same points as the long-hair with the exception of the coat, which should be very smooth, harsh, and short. The other points for both varieties are as follows: - The head should be round, the face short, the nose should be snubby and have a good stop - that is to say, the nose should have a decided break in the middle to make it retrousse in appearance, the cheeks, and under the eyes, should be round and very full; the eyes large and round and set straight in the head; they should not be angular in any way; the ears should be small, and set well apart, pointing somewhat forward and well tufted; the body should be cobby and very deep and broad in the chest, and the back as straight as possible; the legs should appear to be set low down, and not to continue up to the top of the shoulders.

In the long-haired variety, the hair should be as long as possible, and no very short hair should be seen across the shoulders and hind legs; this is a very bad fault, as it gives a cut-off appearance to the head and frill, and shows a lack of good breeding; the legs should be short and thick, and the hair on them the longer the better, so that in this respect they in no way resemble the short-haired cats.

I have seen a pedigreed Persian with legs exactly like a short-haired cat; this is very ugly, and you will find that there is a defect in the pedigree if a cat has this fault, as the better and higher bred a cat is the longer the hair is on the legs, and a corresponding length of toe and ear tufts will also be noticed. These of course, are good points. The tail should be short enough to be carried slightly away from the body, but not touching the ground or turning upwards at the end; if it does this, you may know it is too long in proportion to the length of the legs. The hair should be very long under the stomach to prevent a "leggy" appearance.

The aforementioned points should give the novice a good idea of the shape of both the short and long haired cats, and the scale of points and description of colour of the different varieties given below should be all that is necessary to give any one a fair idea of how to choose their winners either in breeding or judging.

One very important point which judges should be strict with, is faking of any kind. I am glad to say that, little, if any, is done with cats, but such unfair advantages as placing powder or flour on a light cat to make it lighter or to improve it in any way, should be strictly prohibited by judges and also by show committees; for where does the novice's chance come in when the "old hands" take these unfair advantages! Any cleaning preparations can be brushed out before a show and the cat kept in a clean place until that event, thereby removing all danger of disqualification by the judges for "faking."