Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-10
THE PED|cREED CATS
English Fanciers Dazzled by
the Prices Offered.
WOMEN LOVE CATS
FINEST BATTERIES IN THE
WORLD IN THIS COUNTRY.
Long Haired Felines Have the Front
Rank and What They
Cost.

Written for The Evening Star
The latest American invasion Is that Of
the American woman who snaps up prizes
in the cat world of England For several
years she has dazzled staid old England
by paying any price asked, and. as a re-
suit, she has a regular corner in the best
English cats. She thinks nothing at all
Of paying $500 or $500 apiece for Persian
pussies Of lang pedigree"
The breeding of the iong-haired cat has
been a pastime of wealthy women III Eng
land for years. The pedigrees of the pets
are kept with much care as those Of
the owners, while the death of a famous
cat, or the joyous advent of a happy fam
lily, is chronicIed with respectful solemnity
In the cat page of the society journals.
These titled cats are now being brought
In great numbers to America. Queen VIC
torfa had pet Persian named Duschar.
Duschar had q son named Amesh, whom
the queen gave to her daughter, Princess
Victoria Of Schleswig- Holsten. Amesh was
a great pet in the royal household. and has
often strolled over the ample person Of
King Edward Today, however, he be-
longs to Mrs. ]. v. Gotwalts of Pottstown,
Pa, and presides over the Bagdad cattery
and a harem of Persian beauties.
Americas Most Celebrated Cat.
In the Mohawk valley at the very house
where doughty old Sir William Johnson
once ruled the six nations, lives the most
celebrated stud cat in America, King of the
Silvers, who has sired more winning kit
tens than any other tom in this country,
just as his father, Lord Southampton, sired
more winners than any other cat in Eng
land. Kings owner, Mrs. H. A. Mix, has
refused $500 for him, and William c. Whit
ney unsuccessfully offered $3.50 for one Of
his sons, Jack Frost.
At one side Of Sir Williams stately cd
stone mansion, which has been In the pos
session Of Mrs. Mix's family ever since the
revolution, is the Old Fort cattery. 1t is
a neat, white cottage, In the midst or
spreading lawns, with kitchen and sitting
room, hospital and wide verandas, all kept
in immaculate order for the tribe of pedt-
greed cats which occupies it.
At her pleasant country home in Eliza
beth, N. J., Miss Ava Pollard has another
of these model batteries, the Omar, where.
in the midst of vines and roses dwell Omar
and a whole family of famous queens.
Omar is the lightest chinchlla in America.
and was bred by Mrs. E. Fl. Edmondson OF
Springfield Hall. Knowle, Warwickshires
England. Lorraine Of the Gables is called
the finest silver queen In America, and Pur-
ity the finest white, her parents, White
Friar and Crystal, having been the best
whites in England. In the same cattery
Is a tortoise shee queen who was bred by
Hon. Philip Wodehouse, son OF the Earl OF
Kimberly.
Society Women Are Cat Fanciers.
One of Omars sons Honeyboy, went to
Mrs Clarence Mackay for a pet last fall.
He journeyed to his country home on Long
Island in an automobile, his wicker cage
making a pretty picture in its hamper OF
fresh cut flowers.
Mrs Francis Burton Harrison is another
New York society woman who dotes on
Pers;ans
Mrs. Sar1niento and Mrs. Cutler, two
wealthy sisters of Detroit. among the
heaviest importers Of English cats. Mrs.
Frank L. Norton Of Cazenovia, N. Y, has
lust brought in five six for which she
paid from 500 to $500 each. Her Imperial
Blue Is a famous cat Mrs. Champion OF
Hart Park Staten Island. has a large cat-
terry notable for its beautiful silvers. Mrs.
q. III. Bond Of Washington, Mrs. William
Brandreth Of Ossining, N. Y; Mrs George
6. Brown Of East Cleveland, and Mrs b. NJ.
Gladding OF Memphis are among tho
wealthy enthusiasts.
/ Mrs w. S. Hofstra of Garden City, l.. l..
president of the recently organized Atlantic
Cat Club, which will probably become the
national club, devotes herself to the breed.
ing of the Siamese species. This Is called
the royal cat, because it has been bred for
centuries in the royal family of Siam one
of Mrs. Hofstra's cats was present from
the Crown Prince of Siam, and its little
brother went to the Queen of Portugal, who
is an enthusiastic cat fancier.
Mrs Nicholson of Kansas City recently
paid $50 in New York for a seven-monthss
old kitten, Argent Sparks, a member of the
famous Argent family of silver Persians.
Sparks little brothers and sisters sell for
$50 or $40 at the age Of four or five weeks
Miss Lillian c. Moeran, a wealthy New
York woman, devotes herself to the breeds
ing of the Manx tailless cats at her country
place at Southampton, L. 1.
Miss Katherine l.. Gage keeps at he3
country home in Brewster, N. T., a cele-
brated cat named Whychwood, who was
bred on the estate of Lady Florence Dillon
in England. and named after one OF it9
beautiful forests His pedigree is calculateo
to strike awe to the plebeian heart. and he
has lent it the glory Of traditional prizes.
Seven Of his descendants gather about tina
patriarch at meal time. and special meats
and fishes are sent out from New York for
the Persian pets every day
Uncle Russell Sage's Cats.
Milo and MelIto. strictly American cats Of
the Maltese vaNety. have the run Of the
9Th avenue mansion which shelters Uncle
RUSSELL and Mrs Russell Sage, and one Of
the few relaxations which the hardworkin4
multi millionaire allows himself is a PLAY
with the pets after dinner.
Mrs. Clinton Locke OF Chicago was the
first woman to import Persian cats. and the
Beresford Cat Club of that city was the
first cat club in America. It was named
after Lady Marcus Beresford, the most
enthusiastic Of the aristocratic women cat
fancers Of England.
These batteries are run upon the strictest
of scientific principles. The care, the food.
the grooming, the cleanliness and thu
hygiene are up to the standard OF that acs
corded carefully reared children.
The latest wrinkle in the cat world is the
breeding Of the short-haired cat for points,
az the Persian has been bred. Poor pussy
is to be rescued from the humble hearths
stone or. the alley fence, transformed into
a thing Of beauty and then introduced ~
cat shows, blue ribbons and silver challenge
cups