Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-08-31
CATS OF NEW YORK
Will FIND THEIR LIVES WORTH
LlvlNo-AT LEAST 1000.
Three Houses and SIX Acres OF oren.A
sss Apsrs for . Refngs-womsA
who win Make Cats Happy
NAV York SUM-


notary. To. day the document will be pre-
scented to Judge Patterson in the supreme
Court for examination, and then II WIN %
sent to the Secretary Of State. The fve
kind hearted ladies who ore managing the
affair. and who declared last night that
they had resolved to devote the remainder
of their lives to the cause OF bettering tho
condition of city cats, are prepared 70
plunge at once into the work. house mas
been selected, and the ladies hope 10 take
possession next week.
Reports of the movement nave aireauy
been published, but the real scope OF tne
Old ladies who make cat hospitals OF tneH
houses are plentiful everywhere, but TINS
scheme is much more ambitious than any
heretofore projected in this country. 0ne
purpose is to produce a superior breed OF
cats. The plans include the wholesale
slaughter, by painless means. OF sickiy,
homeless cats Of inferior breed, ana the
careful nurture Of cats of fine blood and
physique. The name of the new corpora
ton Will be The Society to Befriend Do
nestle Animals" The articles OF incorpo-
ration state the objects of the corporation
thus:
To provide shelter and food for homeless ana
msItrested amin ais; 10 secure painless death
10 animals rendered decrepit by accident or IN
durable ailment; 70 secure through educau.o
agencies the repression Of all forms OF cruelty
TO animals.
The corporators are Mrs. Sarah J. Ed
wards, Mrs. Georgia q. Devide, Mrs. Emma
Charleton. Mrs. Mary Hama, and Mrs. Mary
Z. Wilson.
The drawing up of the document occa-
stoned q vast amount of hustle and talk IN
Mrs. Edwards fat at 125 west twenty
eighth street yesterday. The meeting was
called for o'clock, and when the Sun re-
porter got there he found the place full OF
women and cats. Mrs. Edwards. who IS
benevolent-looking young woman
stepped over three cats while usner-
ing the reporter into the parlor. There
were five or six women there and one man.
There were fifteen or twenty cats. Most
of the cats were asleep. Two were on the
piano, one was on the table, several
on the sofa, and moro were walking
around or curled up in a corner. Each
woman had a cat in her lap. and very
black cat. with a scarlet silk bonnet, was
asleep in o small basket on the floor. The
reporter sat down on q cat which was con-
cealed in the cushion of an armchair, but
was lucky enough not to hurt 1t.
The women were talking yolubly and all
their talk was about cats. They were all
kind-faced and enthusiastic. Mrs. Devlde,
who is young, attractive. and animated,
is the leader of the movement and Will be
| the matron of the cats paradise. The re.
porter's entrance did not check the flow OF
enthusiastic talk ID the least. The women
| were waiting to be summoned into the
next room, where Real Estate-Dealer
Thomas w. Organ and the notary were
| drawing up the papers. Mr.. Organ is
prohibitionist and philanthropist and Is
| interested in the new home.
YES" said Mrs. Devide. flushing with
| excitement. we've got the finest place IN
the world for the poor cats. It's big
farmhouse in six acres OF ground. right .1 on
| the banks of the Harlem, at the end of the
| cable road Oh. it's fine place! It's got
a couple of barns upon it which we'll fix
up for the cats to sleep in, YOU know. I'll
| live IN the house. and Mrs. Edwardss
niece, who loves cats Just as much as do,
| will be there with me and help care for the
poor maltreated things. Oh. we're going
| to have a regular little heaven for the cats
up there, you know. Wen have the place
| all fenced in with wire, so that they cant
get out. and they'll have the run OF the
| house during the day. Now, Just think
| Oh, Mrs. Edwards. do you remember that
poor cat we saw stoned the other day?"
~ do" said Mrs. Edwards feelingly, by
| those brutes that men call BOYS"
Now Just think how that cat would
revel on the green lawns Why, even men
are brutes. declare. l believe in Anarchy.
| I wish the Anarchists would blow every
human being out of existence. Why,
they've said to me that animals are cruel
| To each other Perhaps they are, but
| they're not so cruel as men. I'm gong to
| devote the rest of my life to cats"
and so am l." said Mrs. Hama, plea
| sant-faced woman. with gray hair.
| "Cats," continued Mrs. Devide earnestly,
"hsve only to be treated gently and
trained. and all their natural ferocity and
| trickiness, which men talk 50 much about,
Will vanish. Yes, it will, sir. Won't it,,
| Mrs. Hanay"
aft is only necessary" said Mrs. Hama,
"to treat cats as you do human beings to
discover that fact. But you must not feed
cats raw meat, you know =.
"No. no." put in Mrs. Devide energeti-
cally: "none Of. the cats in our refuge
we call it a refuge, YOU know are. to be
come ferocious if they ate raw meat.
| Everything they eat will be cooked"
| "What will be the menu in your hotel?"
asked the reporter blandly:
We shall have two meals day-break-
fast and dinner. For breakfast the cats
| will have milk. oatmeal, and stale bread.
| we shall soak the bread in milk: Some
times shall give them toast. They like
toast. You make 1T pretty brown, you
| Fnow. and soak it in milk. You know nv
Nellie thinks there's nothing in the world
en- GOOD as toast and milk. Well, for din
ner we'll have meat. The first course will
he mutton broth. not hot. you know. but
| inst cool enough for the cats. to. like II.
| After that we'll have mutton haslet, boil.
ed. Haslet is the heart. liver. lights, and
| throat of tho sheep, you know Its good,
nourishing food, and cheap: Why, we can
| feed orr cats for nothing. almost, you see,
for butchers will only be too glad to have
us cart the stuff away"
"But won't the cats get hungry between
times, with only two meals day!" asked
@Oh. we're going to have plenty of cold
| stuff standing around all the, time, you
know" said Mrs. Devlde, gianclng re-;
nroacbfully at the questioner. You did
not suppose was going to let the poor
famished things 90 without anything when
aver thew were really hungry, did you 7"
"a sort of free lunch, suppose?"
] said the Sun man. .
the ladies in chorus.
1.-THE free lunch" continued Mrs. De-
| vide enthusiastically and flushing again in
her excitement, twill be tastefully dis
piaved ON innumerable tin plates in yari-
ous parts of the dining-room. But. oh l
forgot to tell you how we are going to
serve meals. The kitchen of the farm
bnrse will be the dining-room. We shall
law out the food in tin plates in rows upon
the floor. There viii be plates enough for
all. so the "old generals" as /! call the big
toms who always fight so dreadfully, won't
have any reason to quarrel over their food.
THEY'LL soon learn when meal time Is due,
1 Won know, and get around when the bell
rings. Oh, You don't know cats. THEY'VE
got more sense than you think. Mrs. Will
son. will YOU look at Cash over there. See,
he's got his ewes only half shut, pretending
| he doesn't hear"
"Iye been looking at him." said Mrs.
Wilson, glancing at huge yellow cat on a
chair near by. He's taking it oil in,
| though. know"
AT this moment there was tremendous
crash upon the keys of the piano, and the
| Sun man. who was sitting by the instru-
ment, Jumped out of his chair. It was
only one of the cats which had awakened
| from mp on the piano.
"Only Nellie" said Mrs. Devide. do
| Won know, Mrs. Hama. that Nellie has very
bad habits? Yes. she is fond of beer.