On the next page is a copy of the entry form used by The National Cat Club, which will serve as a sample of the general form used by various club secretaries:

Miss Frances Simpson's Blue Kitten Bonnie Boy' Gunn & Stuart, photo Richmond

I feel I cannot bring my remarks to a close without making some reference to those excellent institutions which must appeal to the hearts of the animal-loving public. I mean the homes for poor stray and starving cats. The first organised attempt to deal with this question in London was started in 1895 under the title of "The Society for the Protection of Cats." In connection with this there is now A Home for Starving and Forsaken Cats. Mrs. Gordon is a most able and energetic Hon. Secretary, and devotes a great deal of her time to the poor animals that are brought or sent to Gordon Cottage, King Street, Hammersmith. Let those interested in the humane work carried on at this excellent institution send for a report, or, better still, pay a visit to the cottage home, where they will be welcomed between the hours of 2 and 5 p.m.

In the North of London there is another excellent institution for Lost and Starving Cats, to which her Majesty the Queen has graciously given her patronage. This home is entirely dependent on the voluntary aid of sympathetic friends, and when I mention that during last year nearly 12,000 cats were received, some idea will be given of the amount of funds required to carry on this work of mercy. The premises have lately been enlarged, and the Hon. Manageress, Mrs. Morgan (35, Ferdinand Street, Camden Town, N.W.), is sorely in need of donations towards the extra expenses incurred. I have personally visited both these institutions, and can testify to the excellent arrangements for feeding, and also for painlessly destroying them when no homes can be found.

The Dublin Cats' Home was started by Miss Swifte sixteen years ago. I have been deeply interested in reading the annual report. It speaks well for the natives of the Emerald Isle and for the hearts of the Irish people, that they should be the first to recognise the needs of poor stray and forsaken cats. With characteristic enthusiasm they set about erecting an institution at Grand Canal Quay, Dublin. Miss Swifte, the President and Hon. Treasurer, was the pioneer of the movement and has carried on her good work in the face of many difficulties and, I have no doubt, also that she and the other founders of like institutions have had to suffer much ridicule, for the majority of human beings have very little sympathy with " mere cats," and seem to think they, of all animals, are least deserving of kindness and consideration. Miss Swifte's private address is 2 Earls-fort Mansions, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin.

The Battersea Home for Lost Dogs has also accommodation for cats as strays and boarders.

And now a few words about the boarding out of our pussies. I am constantly asked if I know of a good place where cats will be taken care of during the absence of the owner. I wonder that more cat lovers and cat fanciers wishing to add to their incomes do not start boarding-houses for cats. I think there is a great opening for such an enterprise. At present I only know personally of two ladies who receive pussies at so much per week. Miss Harper, of Briarlea, Haywards Heath, is well known in the Fancy, and although I have not been to see her " catteries," I am told they are capitally planned, and I have often recommended my friends to send their cats to be taken care of by Miss Harper, who gives her personal attention to all the boarders entrusted to her.

I have also had testimony to the excellent manner in which Mrs. Carew Cox caters for her pussy visitors. A fancier who had placed her cats at the Kremlin, New Milton, Hants, for some months, was so surprised and delighted at the appearance of her pets on their return that she wrote asking for a special description of the menu provided.

Mrs. Carew Cox and Miss Harper are both successful breeders of prize-winning cats, and they have also that genuine love for the animals which is so necessary and essential when taking charge of other people's pets.

I may here mention that the chief organs of the cat world in England are Fur and Feather and Our Cats, and in America, The Cat Journal, The American Cat News, and Field and Fancy.

In regard to the Blue "Maltese" (a name which, perhaps, has as much justification as the English "Russian") in America, Mr. E. N. Barker says: "There are lots of Blues, light and dark, short-haired, and these are always called Maltese. The origin of the term I never could trace to its foundation, but they are much treasured. Occasionally you find Maltese (so called) of other colours, and Blue and White. The owners are generally under the impression that these cats are a special breed to themselves; this point, however, is open to doubt."

The same authority, referring to Tortoiseshells, says: "I doubt if this breed will ever find favour in America, and Blacks are too sombre for this country, where people enjoy a good deal of sunshine, the fancy being more apt to run to lively colours."

Another curious item about American cats is that there have been for many years, in the States of Maine and Massachusetts, and on the islands off that coast, quite a number of longhaired cats, called by the natives "Coon cats," because of their jackets. History relates that they were brought from the East on ships, and being landed on the islands are tolerably pure, though some have crossed with wild cats and ordinary cats and have varied also from climatic influence. They are mostly rather large, strong cats, well coated, with wonderful tails, big in the ear, short of fur over the head and inclined to be long in the nose. Amongst the Maine cats are some of a curious seal-brown colour, or deep mahogany red, with not a vestige or sign of markings, giving them an undoubted suggestion (however impossible) of a 'coon (raccoon) strain in them. Hence, presumably, the name.

I confess that I should like to see specimens of these cats in England.

Miss Helen M. Winslow in her book concerning cats says that by many people this Blue or Maltese cat is not considered a distinct breed. It seems vaguely to be known as the Archangel, Russian, Spanish and Chartreuse, and yet probably it is only a cross between Blacks and Whites. Miss Winslow gives a picture of her "Pretty Lady" and describes her as a "beautiful, fascinating and seductive Maltese, with white trimmings to her coat." The illustration suggests a cross between a Russian and a short-haired English cat with an expansive white shirt front and white gloves.