How many people there are who ask, "What is a Maine cat?" and "Why is it not as good as the imported 'longhair'?"

Possibly some twenty years ago they were as good as any other imported long-haired cat, as they came from all parts of the world on the trading vessels, and had the breed and the different colours been carefully kept separate and bred scientifically, they might to-day equal our imported long-hairs. Those that were not crossed with the ordinary short-haired cat were bred without any regard to keeping the different colours separate; pure blacks, blues, whites, tabbies and oranges were crossed indiscriminately, with the result that to-day the Maine cat is, in most cases, little or no good for breeding purposes, as even when crossed with a thoroughbred long-haired, the result is usually a litter of many colours patched with white.

I am not saying that there are not good specimens of the long-haired variety to be found among the Maine cats, as I well remember seeing, when first coming to this country, a second prize-winner at a show, which I thought might easily have won. When inquiring of the judge why it did not, he remarked, "It is only a Maine cat, and the first prize-winner has just been imported from England." At a properly managed show these facts should not be known by the judge; then probably the Maine cat would have been given the premier position, and it would have been left to the breeder's discretion whether they bred from the first prize-winner without a known pedigree or the second prize-winner with a pedigree traceable for many generations. My advice is always the latter.

Breed from pedigree as far as possible. This is the only quick way to success. You had far better purchase the worst kitten from a litter of pedigree stock than buy the best of a litter from practically unknown ancestry, as the former, when mated to a good cat, will produce stock far better than itself, whereas the latter, no matter how well mated, will always disappoint you, as the kittens will seldom be even as good as the parents. One can give no advice as to how to mate these cats, as what is a good cross with a thoroughbred long-hair cannot be applied here. If you know your cat to be bred from many colours, do not breed from it; but if you know absolutely nothing of the pedigree, why, then try your cat, and in a few cases you may be successful. The white cats native to this country are perhaps the only variety which, in some few cases, have been carefully bred, true to colour. Many of these white Maine cats have been bred for generations from white cats, and often blue-eyed ones; therefore, they are sometimes useful as crosses for imported stock.

In consequence of this, the white classes at our shows are large, and, in quality, would hold their own in any country. A few of these cats have retained the long, locky coat of the imported cat, but the majority have a somewhat harsher and shorter coat, which is not at all desirable. Those who still own Maine cat stock can in some cases improve them; that is to say, if they possess certain colours - for instance, pure blue, black, or orange, or any solid colour - of fairly good breeding, may be crossed with imported specimens, and in the resulting litters there will be one or two good ones; then in the course of a few years, with careful selection, good show specimens will be the result. Should you possess a breed very much mixed up in colour, or colours marked with white, any improvement is hopeless, as white will appear generations afterwards, and spoil many otherwise good specimens.

There is no doubt that in a few years' time such a cat as is now termed a Maine cat will become unknown, as so many of those interested in these cats realize they must improve their strain, and therefore are crossing them with imported stock. Those who formerly sold their kittens for a few dollars to the city dealers have lost this trade, as dealers have found them very profitless.

Brought up in the wild condition in which they are kept on the farms in Maine, these kittens quickly die when kept in confinement, either from fright or distemper, as they are, for the most part, poorly fed, and quickly contract colds and infectious diseases.