Our Cats And All About Them | by Harrison Weir
Their varieties, habits, and management; And for show, the standard of excellence and beauty; Described and pictured
| Title | Our Cats And All About Them |
| Author | Harrison Weir |
| Publisher | Fanciers' Gazette |
| Year | 1892 |
| Copyright | 1892, Fanciers' Gazette |
| Amazon | Our Cats And All About Them |
Engraved by P. Taylor, from a Photograph by G. Glanville, of Tunbridge Wells.
By Harrison Weir, F.R.H.S
To My Dear Wife, Alice Mary, I Dedicate This Book, In Token Of My Appreciation Of Her Gentle And Tender Kindness Towards All Animal Life, More Particularly "The Cat." " Iddesleigh," Sevenoaks.
Preface- What is aught, but as 'tis valued ? Troilus and Cressida, Act II. The following notes and illustrations of and respecting the Cat are the outcome of over fifty years' careful, thoughtful, heedfu...
- Preface To New Edition
- 'Twas pitiful, 'twas wondrous pitiful. Othello. Some time has passed since I published my book, Our Cats and all about them, in 1889, and much has taken place regarding these household pets. All...
- Preface To New Edition. Continued
- Yet I find that at a trial for witchcraft, the following questions were put to a man: Well! and what did you see? Well! I saw her Cat walk up and try to open the door by the latch. What did you d...
- Our Cats And All About Them. Introductory
- After a Cat Show at the Crystal Palace, I usually receive a number of letters requesting information. One asks: What is a true tortoiseshell like? Another: What is a tabby? and yet another: What ...
- The First Cat Show
- On the day for judging, at Ludgate Hill I took a ticket and the train for the Crystal Palace. Sitting alone in the comfortable cushioned compartment of a first class, I confess I felt somewhat more ...
- Habits
- Before attempting to describe the different varieties, I should like to make a few remarks as to the habits and ways of the domestic cat. When judging, I have frequently found some of the exhibits ...
- Trained Cats
- That cats may be trained to respect the lives of other animals, and also birds on which they habitually feed, is a well-known fact. In proof of this I well recollect a story that my father used to tel...
- Well-Trained Cats
- Cats, properly trained, will not touch anything, alive or dead, on the premises to which they are attached. I have known them to sport with tame rabbits, to romp and jump in frolicsome mood this way, ...
- Long-Haired Cats
- These are very diversified, both in form, colour, and the quality of the hair, which in some is more woolly than in others; and they vary also in the shape and length of the tail, the ears, and size o...
- The Angora
- The Angora cat, as its name indicates, comes from Angora, in Western Asia, a province that is also celebrated for its goats with long hair, which is of extremely fine quality. It is said that this det...
- The Persian Cat
- This differs somewhat from the Angora, the tail being generally longer, more like a table brush in point of form, and is generally slightly turned upwards, the hair being more full and coarser at the ...
- The Russian Long-Haired Cat
- The above is a portrait of a cat given me many years ago, whose parents came from Russia, but from what part I could never ascertain. It differed from the Angora and the Persian in many respects. It w...
- The Tortoiseshell Cat
- I now come to the section of the short-haired domestic cat, a variety possessing sub-varieties. Whether these all came from the same origin is doubtful, although in breeding many of the different colo...
- The Tortoiseshell-And-White Cat
- This is a more common mixture of colouring than the tortoiseshell pure and simple without white, and seems to be widely spread over different parts of the world. It is the opinion of some that this co...
- The Brown Tabby Cat
- The tabby cat is doubtless one of, if not the most common of colours, and numbers many almost endless varieties of both tint and markings. Of these those with very broad bands of black, or narrow band...
- Spotted Tabby Cat
- I have thought it best to give two illustrations of the peculiar markings of the spotted tabby, or leopard cat of some, as showing its distinctness from the ordinary and banded Tabby, one of my reason...
- The Abyssinian
- I now come to the last variety of the tabby cat, and this can scarcely be called a tabby proper, as it is nearly destitute of markings, excepting sometimes on the legs and a broad black band along the...
- The Short-Haired White Cat
- This of all, as it depends entirely on its comeliness, should be graceful and elegant in the outline of its form and also action, the head small, not too round nor thick, for this gives a clumsy, heav...
- The Black Cat
- It is often said What's in a name? the object, whatever it is, by any other would be the same, and yet there is much in a name; but this is not the question at issue, which is that of colour. Why sh...
- The Blue Cat
- This is shown often under a number of names. It was at first shown as the Archangel cat, then Russian blue, Spanish blue, Chartreuse blue, and, lastly, and I know not why, the American blue. It is not...
- The Black-And-White Cat
- This is distinct from the white-and-black cat, the ground colour being black, marked with white; while the other is white, marked with black. The chief points of excellence for show purposes are a den...
- The White-And-Black Cat
- Thts differs entirely from the black-and-white cat, as just explained, and is the opposite as regards colour, the ground being white instead of black, and the markings black on white. For exhibition p...
- Siamese Cat
- Among the beautiful varieties of the domestic cat brought into notice by the cat shows, none deserve more attention than The Royal Cat of Siam. In form, colour, texture, and length, or rather shortn...
- Siamese Cat. Continued
- The one exhibited by Lady Dorothy Nevill (Mrs. Poodle) had three kittens by an English cat; but none showed any trace of the Siamese, being all tabby. Although Mr. Herbert Young was informed by Mr. B...
- The Manx Cat
- The Manx cat is well known, and is by no means uncommon. It differs chiefly from the ordinary domestic cat in being tailless, or nearly so, the best breeds not having any; the hind legs are thicker an...
- Cats of Various Colours
- Those who have had much to do with breeding, and crossing of animals, birds, or plants, well know that with time, leisure, and patience, how comparatively easy it is to improve, alter, enlarge, or dim...
- Usefulness Of Cats
- In our urban and suburban houses what should we do without cats? In our sitting or bedrooms, our libraries, in our kitchens and storerooms, our farms, barns, and rickyards, in our docks, our granaries...
- Cat Feeding
- Adult cats require less food in proportion than kittens, for two reasons. One is this: a kitten is growing, and therefore extra bone, flesh, skin, hair, and all else has to be provided for; while in t...
- Cat Sleeping Places
- I much prefer a round basket filled with oat straw to anything else; some urge that a box is better; my cats have a basket. It is well to sprinkle the straw occasionally with Keating's Powder or flour...
- Cat Washing
- Most cats have a dislike to water, and as a rule, and under ordinary conditions, generally keep themselves clean, more especially the short-haired breeds; but, as is well known, the Angora, Persian, a...
- Cat Mating. Cat Breeding
- Yet nature is made better by no mean, But nature makes that mean: so, o'er that art, Which, you say, adds to nature, is an art That nature makes. Coriolanus, Act II. Scene 1. This requires much and ...
- Cat Mating. Cat Breeding. Part 2
- With cats the matter is entirely different, it being the male at present that is the difficulty, if a real difficulty it may be called. Mr. Herbert Young, a most excellent cat fancier and authority o...
- Cat Mating. Cat Breeding. Part 3
- In other domestic animals blue colour is not uncommon. Blue-tinted dogs, rabbits, horses of a blue-gray, or spotted with blue on a pink flesh colour, as in the naked horse shown at the Crystal Palace ...
- Cat Mating. Cat Breeding. Part 4
- Abyssinian To breed these true, it is well to procure imported or pedigree stock, for many cats are bred in England from ordinary tabbies, that so nearly resemble Abyssinian in colour as scarcely to ...
- Cat And Kittens
- Care and attention is necessary when the cat is likely to become a mother. A basket or box, half filled with sweet hay, or clean oat straw, with some flannel in the winter, is absolutely requisite, an...
- Kittens
- Kittenhood, the baby time especially of country cats, is with most the brightest, sprightliest, and prettiest period of their existence, and perhaps the most happy. True, when first born and in the ea...
- Of Kittens In General
- Kittens usually shed their first teeth from five to seven months old, and seldom possess even part of a set of the small, sharp dentition after that time. When shown as kittens under six months old, a...
- Management Of Kittens And Cats
- These require quiet and kindly treatment. Do nothing quickly or suddenly, so as in any way to scare or frighten, but when speaking to them, let the voice be moderated, gentle, and soft in tone. Cats a...
- Points By Which Cats Are Judged, As Specified By Myself
- Revised and corrected to the present time. What you do, Still betters what is done. Winter's Tale, Act IV. The Tortoiseshell POINTS HEAD . . . . . . . . 15 Small, br...
- Diseases Of Cats
- Cats, like many other animals, both wild and domestic, are subject to diseases, several being fatal, others yielding to known curatives; many are of a very exhaustive character, some are epidemic, oth...
- Catarrhal Fevers In Cats
- Cats are, like some other of the domesticated animals, liable to be attacked by two kinds of Catarrhal Fever, one of which is undoubtedly very infectious - like distemper in dogs - and the other may ...
- The Wild Cat Of Britain
- The wild cat is said to be now extinct in England, and only found in some of the northern parts of Scotland, or the rocky parts of the mountains of the south, where I am informed it may yet occasional...
- The Wild Cat Of Britain. Part 2
- Those who have seen the wild cat of Britain, especially in confinement, will doubtless be ready to endorse this description as being true to the life, even to the rufull noyse, or his industry in ...
- The Wild Cat Of Britain. Part 3
- Much has been written as to the aptitude of the domestic cat at catching fish. If this be so, are fish necessarily a part of the food of the native wild cat? Numerous instances are adduced of our hou...
- The Wild Cat Of Britain. Part 4
- In this way I think we may account for the size and appearance of the so-called ' wild cats' which are from time to time reported south of the Tweed. Perhaps the last genuine wild cat seen in Englan...
- The Wild Cat Of Britain. Part 5
- I scarcely think this the right conclusion, the English wild cat being anatomically different. In Hone's popular works it is stated that Cats are supposed to have been brought into England from the i...
- Concerning Cats
- Cat Irish, Cat; French, Chat; Dutch, Kat; Danish, Kat; Swedish, Katt; German, Katii or Katze; Latin, Catus; Italian, Gatto; Portuguese and Spanish, Goto; Polish, Kot; Russian, Kots; Turkish, Keti; We...
- Concerning Cats. Continued
- Caterwauling The wrawl of cats in rutting times; any hideous noise. Topsel gives catwralling, to wrall; wrawl, to rail or quarrel with a loud voice; hence the Yorkshire expression, raising a wro...
- Cat's-Eye
- A precious stone, resembling, when polished, the eye of a cat. It has lately become fashionable. A large collection of Burmese, Indian, and Japanese curiosities was lately sold by auction. The great...
- To Turn Cat In Pan
- This phrase has been a source of much contention, and many different derivations have been given; but all tend to show that it means a complete turn over, that is, to quit one side and go to the other...
- To Whip The Cat
- To practise the most pinching parsimony, grudging even the scraps and orts, or remnants of food given to the cat - Hollow ay {Norfolk). A phrase applied to the village tailor going round from house...
- Cat Dictionary
- The following are culled from the well-known and useful book, Jamieson's Scottish Dictionary: Cat A small bit of rag, rolled up and put between the handle of a pot and the hook which suspends it o...
- Cat Proverbs
- A blate cat makes a proud mouse (Scotch). An idle, or stupid, or timid foe is never feared. A cat has nine lives, a woman has nine lives. In Middleton's Blurt Master Constable, 1602, we have: They...
- Cat Proverbs. Continued
- Like a cat he'll fall on his legs. To succeed, never to fail, always right. Like a cat round hot milk. Wait and have; all things come to those who wait. Little and little the cat eateth the stickle ...
- The Cat Of Shakespeare
- Shakespeare mentions the cat forty-four times, and in this, like nearly all else of which he wrote, displayed both wonderful and accurate knowledge, not only of the form, nature, habits, and food of t...
- Superstition And Witchcraft
- A very remarkable peculiarity of the domestic cat, and possibly one that has had much to do with the ill favour with which it has been regarded, especially in the Middle Ages, is the extraordinary pro...
- Weather Notions
- Signs of Foul Weather, by Dr. Erasmus Darwin. In a poem, the well-known relative of the eminent Charles Darwin describes the various natural indications of coming storms. Among the animals and birds...
- A Cat-Clock
- The following curious incident is to be found in Hue's Chinese Empire : One day, when we went to pay a visit to some families of Chinese Christian peasants, we met, near a farm, a young lad, who w...
- Puss In Boots (Le Chat Boite)
- Is from the Eleventh Night of Straparola's Italian fairy tales, where Constantine's cat procures his master a fine castle and the king's heiress, first translated into French in 1585. Our version is...
- Cat Signs
- D'Urfey, in his poem on Knole, speaks of The Cats at Sevenoaks. The Cat or Cats is by no means a common sign. The subject is well alluded to in The Cat, Past and Present, from the French of...
- The Law On Cat Killing
- An Articled Clerk, writing to The Standard with regard to the illegality of killing cats, states: It is clearly laid down in 'Addison on Torts,' that a person is not justified in killing his neighb...
- Dead Cats
- Lifeless cats have been from time immemorial suggestive of foolish hoaxing, a parcel being made up, or a basket with the legs of a hare projecting, directed to some one at a distance, and on which the...
- Cat In Heraldry, Etc
- A cat (hieroglyphically) represents false friendship, or a deceitful, flattering friend. The cat (in heraldry) is an emblem of liberty, because it naturally dislikes to be shut up, and therefore the ...
- Performing Cats
- Cats, unlike dogs, are not amused by, nor do they in any way take an interest in what are termed tricks. Performing dogs will sit about their master watching anxiously for their turn, and they have ...
- Performing Cats. Continued
- In 1758, or the following year, Bisset, the famous animal trainer, hired a room near the Haymarket, at which he announced a public performance of a 'Cats' Opera,' supplemented by tricks of a horse, a...
- Cat-Racing In Belgium
- On festival days, parties of young men assemble in various places to shoot with cross-bows and muskets, and prizes of considerable value are often distributed to the winners. Then there are pigeon cl...
- Cat Images
- Those with long memories will not have forgotten the Italian with a board on his head, on which were tied a number of plaster casts, and possibly still seem to hear, in the far away time, the unforgot...
- Lovers Of Cats
- The Turks greatly admire Cats; to them, their alluring Figure appears preferable to the Docility, Instinct, and Fidelity of the Dog. Mahomet was very partial to Cats. It is related, that being called...
- Cats Endowed By La Belle Stewart
- One of the chief ornaments of the Court of St. James', in the reign of Charles II., was La Belle Stewart,afterwards the Duchess of Richmond, to whom Pope alluded as the Duchess of R. in the well-k...
- Cats Imitated In English
- Worn out with age and dire disease, a cat, Friendly to all, save wicked mouse and rat, I'm sent at last to ford the Stygian lake, And to the infernal coast a voyage make. Me Proserpine receiv'd, and...
- Cat Games
- Cat's Cradle Or Catch Cradle Dr. Brewer, in his Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, thinks this the corrupt for cratch cradle or manger cradle, in which the infant Saviour was laid. Cratch is the Fren...
- Nursery Cat Rhymes And Stories
- These are as plentiful as blackberries, and are far too numerous to be treated of here. Some are very old, such as Puss in Boots, Whittington and his Cat, Hey, diddle, diddle! etc. Some have a p...
- Fishing Cats
- Having just come across a communication made to The Kelso Mail, in 1880, by a correspondent giving the signature of March Brown, bearing on the subject to which I have already alluded (Fishing Cats...
- Cats And Horses
- From time immemorial cats have been kept in stables, and when this is the case there is generally a friendly feeling between one or other of the horses and the cat or cats. Such I have known with the ...
- Grammer's Cat And Ours
- By John Tabois Tregellas John Tabois Tregellas (i792-1865), born at St. Agnes. The greatest master of the niceties of the Cornish dialect, in which he wrote largely, both in prose and verse. The piec...
- Lost
- How beautiful she was in her superb calmness, so graceful, so mild, and yet so majestic! Ah! I was a younger man then, of course, than I am now, and possibly more impressionable; but I thought her the...
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