The evening times., 1900-09-29
cAMPToWN's HoMING CATS.
A New Sport Introduced Into New
jersey Village.
CFrom the New York Sun.)

(FrOm the New 1OTh SUM-
If the National Association of Homing
Cat Fanciers is ever formed Ike GllVreF'
of CamptowR N J., can boast that he
made its existence possible, for he is the
founder of the first homing cat club II
the world It is the Camptown Homlng
Cat Club and has for its emblem cat S
head in garter with the motto, And the
cat came back
The club has seven members. Each
member owns a loft OF cats, all properly
marked with light collars and tags The
cats are of no particular breed, but are
Just plain barnyard and kitchen Tables
of country raising The cat fanclers say
that they doubt If city cats will ever be
good homers, owing to the fact that they
are inclined to follow roads and fences.
while the country cat will take the short
est line home except where his tight Is
interrupted by water courses so vide tnat
a dctour must be made to H. p bridge.
The best kind OF homing cat, the club men
say is one that has done his hunting
around the house and barn and has not
been led away by taste for field mice,
grasshoppers, sparrows, and young rao-
bits, for a game hunting cat would be
sure to daily on the way home to look
for toothsome morsel-
The homing cats belonging TO the Camp
town Club are classified according to age
and sex but in no other PlanneT. as there
can be no champion class this year Since
last spring the members have been train
ing their cats over short flights, SuCa as
I eco or 1000 yards. Ike GiIvrey says that
his striped tabby julie came home 1900
yards frem Short Hills q few nights ago III
fifty-eight minutes. 4 cat is taken in an
ordinary fishing basket to a point decided
upon and released at a specified time, while
the owner sits up, watch III hand, to note
the return of his favorite. Most OF the
early training for short distances was done
by dropping the cat from buggy and drlV-
ing rapidly away. This has been kept up
persistently until the cats seem to under
stand the necessity of a speedy return. bat
it must be observed that this is only one
cat practice, and until last Sunday night
nobody could tell how a bunch OF cats
might act if loosed together.
The first race was set down for o CLOCK
on Sunday night, and nine cats were
entered and sent to a point on the road il
the outskirts of Railway. The distance was
:. .Oo9 yards. or nearly three miles The
cats were placed in seven baskets anc
taken to the starting point by Ira Cole
whose watch was set 10 correspond witt
the others. Ike Gilvrey and Louis Nelden
bach each had two entries and the res
one apiece. Each man guarded his loft II
j company with a companion 10 cofrooorat'
! his record. With one exception the cav
| were all good looking animals The eX
ception is said to have been pinched from
Hen Gleichman's tavern by one OF th'
/ members couple of months ago ant
/ thoroughly trained by some secret method
! This was a NANCY, fwo-year-oio gre.
tabby that nobody would think of petting
The cats were let loose promptly at
| o'clock and Just as promptly two ca
fights started in the road, while hve othe
cats took to cover in FIVE different direc
tions. One alone headed straight TO
home on the road she came. 1t was ae
/ GIeichman's grey, entered by Lloyd Nc
Kelley. She was back on his front stoo
at 6:1:la. and Ike Gilvrey's grey was sec