Catteries are usually started in a small way, and gradually increase each year, until in a few years you may find yourself with two or three males and five or six females; then, as the years go on, also several old favorites too healthy to destroy, and no use for breeding purposes. These old pensioners should be allowed to end their days in the free run of the cattery or premises, being painlessly destroyed when they begin to look miserable and unhappy, probably at ten or twelve years of age.

In addition to these there will be fifteen to twenty kittens to dispose of; with the exception of two or three of the very best of these, which must be kept to improve the strain and to take the place, say, of their great-grandparents. Never be tempted to keep too many, or you will find it difficult to have them properly fed and cared for, the result of which will be sickness and the loss of many of the youngsters.

Proper housing is the first consideration. A barn or a good stable is the least expensive to start with; these can be fitted up and divided inside, runs being made outside for exercising. Never make use of a large, rambling building, allowing the cats to run about in hay lofts and places which cannot be kept scrupulously clean; if so, you will have no success.

Horse-stalls can be converted into very suitable pens for one male cat, or two queens which agree may be kept in each. They must be securely wired in, and the floor covered with linoleum or rubberoid, then painted with floor-paint. Oilcloth should be tacked about two feet up the sides, and allowed to lap over the edges of the floor coverings, and the wall kal-somined or painted. Shelves placed at the windows and sev-eral on the walls will make a comfortable little place. Then have a hole cut through the walls to the outside run. Similar divisions can be made in any part of the barn, always having a window to each compartment. Remember, the floors must be properly covered so that they can be washed; if rough board flooring is used, it is impossible to prevent flea-eggs hatching out in the cracks; the roughness also spoils the cat's long, soft fur.

Cats turned loose in a building like so many chickens, with no attention paid to having properly fitted up places, become infested with fleas, and are always out of condition.

Should the barn be badly built, the walls which come directly in the cats' pens should be interlined with boards, and sawdust filled, to be warm in winter and cool in summer, as a well-built cattery without artificial heat is far better for your cats in winter, and a barn with hayloft over, to keep off the sun in summer and keep off the direct cold in winter, is far better than a cheaply built cattery with a flat roof.

In summer all outside runs should be shaded by trees or artificial means," either by canvas or window-blinds, as no cats will keep in condition exposed to the heat of summer sun; neither should cats be allowed out in their runs all and every day. Cats show no discretion as to weather conditions, and will often sit out in the rain and cold winds when they should be warm and dry inside. Of course, we know there are some cats which will stand all weathers, but these are as a rule not highly bred, and are usually the survivors of the fittest.

If you are unable to have your cattery under shade trees, then have trees planted near, and use artificial coverings and fast-growing annual creepers, such as Japanese cucumbers or bell-vine, until the trees are large enough to take their place.

Cats are far better kept inside during the hottest hours of the day in summer, and only allowed out in the mornings and evenings. Never leave a cat out in the runs at night, as they are sure to make good their escape sooner or later, or strange cats may get in, as wire-netting is not always guaranteed hole-proof after a few years of wear.

A window left covered with good strong wire-netting will be sufficient on very warm nights.

In building a cattery, always have it protected on the north by another building, if possible; a long, lean-to building, about ten feet wide and as long as you may wish to have it, allowing at least six feet for each compartment, with a window in every division, will be found the least expensive method, and should you wish to keep several queens together, the divisions can be made much larger. Inside, the partitions can be made of light spruce timber and wire-netting, leaving a passageway at the back. These pens should never open into one another, for in the case of two male cats there would be an accident should the two come together.

In housing male cats the divisions must either be of double wire, allowing a four-inch space between, or else boarded halfway up, and the wire of one inch mesh, used beyond the boarding, as male cats invariably become sworn enemies sooner or later.

Two male cats should never be housed together, even if they have been raised so from kittens, as some day they are sure to have a deadly quarrel, and the result will be that one or the other will be killed or seriously injured, unless someone is there to separate them in time. Kittens are far better raised in the house, if possible; large, airy rooms at the top of the house are best, having all windows open should the weather be suitable, and have a slight amount of heat in winter to take off the chill and prevent damp. A room on the ground floor makes an ideal spot, especially if it opens on to a piazza, as this can be screened in with mosquito-netting and will then afford a lovely run for the kittens.

I do not recommend outdoor catteries and runs for kittens, unless they are large and very well built.

The runs should be roofed over and have a board flooring covered with linoleum, as any dampness or sudden change is sure to give the kittens cold; in fact, to raise kittens successfully they must be provided with large enough quarters to enable them to be shut up in bad weather and yet have plenty of exercise and air; they cannot be expected to keep healthy exposed to damp and sudden climatic changes; therefore, it must be left to the judgment of fanciers to provide the best possible quarters for raising the kittens.