The times., 1901-04-07
BOARDING HOUSE FOR CATS
A Unique Institution, Its Manager,
and How 1t Is Conducted.
Shelter Furnished for the Friendless
Feiines of the City-Homes Found
for Many, While Others Are Pain
Icssiy Executed in Gas Chamber.


the summit you look down into the val
ley beyond, and right under your nose is
little brown frame house. clustered
around by a number of white outbuild-
ings. sign on the house bears the leg
end. Cat Shelter-Boarding Cats"
The unpretentious little building is, as
it's sign indicates, a home for cats, and
the business of it's human occupants is to
take care of all the homeless pussies that
roam the streets of Washington, and to
find them homes, or failing in this. to put
an end to their lives. Tap on the door,
and ii is opened to you by a small man
with rough clothing. but a kindly face
that is all smiles and a manner that is all
softness and gentleness. Ask him about
the shelter, and he win tell you:
ut is this way: Everybody will take
dog into the house You do not find
horses loose around the streets and cows
always have some owner II is only cat
that is kicked out of the door when she
runs in for shelter The stray dogs, if
there are any, are taken care of by the
District. but the District does not take
care of the cats. So the Humane Society
took it up, and now if a cat has no home
IL is because someone is too lazy to send
us a postal card TO tell us where to find
it."
The present cat shelter Is the successor
to the Bertha Langdon Barber Refuge.
which was once located at the corner of
Nineteenth Street and Columbia Road.
The lot was left by a Miss Goddard to
the Humane Society, and the society es-
tablished upon it a cat shelter. When CO.
lumbia Road was widened the lot was con-
demned, and it was found necessary to be-
gin the Cat Shelter Institution on diff
ferent basis. The kindly faced man who
greets you at the door is Frank Buckley,
and il was he who managed the first
refuge. At that time it was his sole busi-
ness to look after the cats: now he is an
agent of the Humane Society, and looks
after the cats as an incident to various
other kinds of work But his heart is with
the soft. purring little animals, and one
need only see him lift one up to be con-
vinced of this. When he enters the room
the cats flock to him with purrs of pleas
ure. and fight with each other for the
privilege of rubbing their backs against
his legs.
The Cat Shelter is purely a charity con-
Germ 1t looks after the animals for moth
ing and gets no reward beyond the con-
sciousness that cat misery is much al
leviated because of its existence. we
want to save them from being thrown
down the sewer or stoned to death, says
Mr.. Buckley
Cat boarding is Mr. Buckley's own per-
quisite Mr.. Buckley knows how TO humor
the feines, and how to attend to their
wants, SO he is eminently well suited TO
take care of any cats that people may
want to leave for safe keeping. During
the summer time, when the rich people OF
the city are away, he has in his shelter
--er
The cats that are brought to the shelter
are kept for only short time. They are
brought to the little house really for
dire purpose namely to put them out OF
existence just as easily and as quickly as
possible. The majority of the cats that
roam the streets are sickly, and ought 10
be put to death, but the strong must go
with the weak, and all die, with the eX-
ception of one or two a month, when are
kept because they are especially nne IN
coloring or breed. Some few are kept TO
be distributed to people who may want
kittens for their children to play Win
The cats are given free TO anyone VINO
call for them, but the agent makes some
restrictions. He wants to be assured that
the animal will have a good home, ana
that 1t viii be treated properly ana De
given food enough He goes to the house
where he has left a cat to be taken care
of and sees personally that the animal Is
being properly fed and housed. 1t Is a
sharp man who gets cat from MT. Buck
ley unless he is sure of the home 1t is
going to .ind the surroundings II will have.
The agent is usually notified of any cats
which are to be disposed of, through
postal card. He has pile of them foot
or more high. Come, take five kittens
away from -, - Street or "A black
cat is sick in our cellar: come and take 1t
away and oblige yours, -. Ihat IS
the usual way he receives his notice, and
upon the strength of II he makes the visit
with his basket, made especially for the
purpose of soft wicker and well ventllat-
ed The cats are put in, the lid shut
down. and then he trudges home. There
the tragedy is enacted. Down in the eel
lar of the brown house is a box on legs
1t is about four feet long, three feet wide,
and two feet high. 1t has little glass
windows in the ends, and q door at the
top and on the side. a pipe runs into the
box at the back and in the pipe is a stop
cock This box is the death chamber
and in 1t many thousands OF cat lives
have come to an abrupt but painless end,
counting even one life to each cat. The
method is asphyxiation by gas, and ac-
cording to Mr.. Buckley, whose love for
cats would certainly not let him do any
thing TO hurt them, it is absolutely pain
less and instantaneous.
When he goes out to gather up his cats,
he steps down into the little cellar room,
takes his basket and turns on the gas
cOcl, which lets the gas into the death
chamber When he comes back with the
basket filled the box is properly filled
with gas and the deed can be done quick
" and surely. He lifts the top Of his
basket and takes out a cat, lifts the door
in the top of the box and drops the cat
in. The animal so he says, as he goes
through the motions dummy fashion, to
make his explanation more vivid. died in
stanter, ana does not even make kick.
When he has dropped into the death box
all the cats he happens TO have on hand,
he hangs up his basket and leaves. al
lowing the bodies Of the feline victims to
stay in the gas, so that there can be no
rossible chance for the animal. After a
while he clears out the bodies and the
chamber is ready for another batch.
The figures of the slaughter are as
founding. for all together about 1,600 eats
are killed in that chamber in a year and
the number is increasing every month.
The record for March shows ffty-odd
cats killed last month. and nearly twice
as many kittens. Only one or two kit
tens are kept and those are reserved spe-
cially on the order OF certain people. For
these strays, Mr.. Buckley keeps a foster
mother. an old white and yellow cat that
seems to be a genius at taking care of
other cats offspring.
OF course. every now and then among
the homeless cats that the humane agent
is asked to dispose Of is found one of fine
blood and it usually obtains special care.
Anyone who wants cat can get one
on application. There is no charge, the
main object being to get comfortable
homes for the cats, if possible, otherwise
to painleSSly dispose or them. Another
branch of the Humane agents charity
work is his cat doctoring. Many people
with sick cats come to him for advice and
for medicine, and he is usually very sue
cessful with his patients, because Of mis-
experience. and because he seems to know
cat language and to be able to find out
what is the matter with those that are
brought TO him.
1T is chiefly fur on the stomach that
they suffer from, ne said. They lick
their paws and wash their coat when they
are shedding and the fur gets down into
their stomach and makes a ball. When
you know what is the matter with them