On this page we have gathered together a collection of old postcards featuring cats, and added some simple sentences for English practice.

There are six young cats in this picture. Do you know what we call young cats? Yes, kittens. Three of the kittens are white. The cats are waiting to be fed, but they will probably not get cakes to eat. Perhaps they will have fish. Some of the cats are sitting on a stand. It is an antique wicker cake stand. There are also some plants in the picture. They are in pots. This card was posted in Harrogate, Yorkshire in December 1907.

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This is a very beautiful cat. It has lovely green eyes and a soft white coat. Do you recognize the flowers in the basket? We call them primroses. They bloom in Spring. In Britain the first Spring flowers we see are snowdrops and daffodils. The text on the postcard says ' I feel quite clever'  I wonder why? Did he collect the flowers from the garden?

These cats are bringing birthday greetings. 

' All Good Wishes.

Once again your birthday's here.

So these pussies greet you.

With a wish that joy be yours.

And naught but gladness greet you.'

'Pussies' is a slang expression for cats. They are sometimes called 'pussy-cats'.

The verse says 'naught but gladness greet you.'

Naught is an old word meaning 'nothing', and 'gladness' has a similar meaning to 'happiness'.

So here the cats hope that 'only happiness comes to you.'

These three kittens are playing with a drum and drumsticks.

Are you musical? Can you play an instrument?

How many musical instruments can you name in English?

In Britain many parents like their children to learn to play an instrument.

The most popular instruments are the piano and violin.

Drums and guitars are popular choices with children but sometimes not with parents.

If you sing badly they say you sound like ' a cats' chorus' because the noise you make is like a group of cats howling.

This card was posted in Barnstaple, Devon in December 1905.

These kittens are waiting for their owner to come home.

Two of them are sitting in a basket. The basket is on a table.

The table is made of wood. There is a pattern carved in the wood.

You can wait for a bus or a train.

If you are a waiter or waitress you wait on tables.

If you are keen for something to happen you may say ' I can't wait for my Birthday to arrive'.

How many kittens are there in this picture? Yes, there are five. They are sitting on a cart. Normally a cart would be pulled by a horse. I don't know what sort of animal would pull a cart this size. 'Merry' is an old word that means happy. We say 'Merry Christmas'. If you say that 'Fred is getting a bit merry' you mean he is getting slightly drunk. So be careful how you use this word!

These two kittens are enjoying themselves reading a book.  The postcard is entitled 'the reading lesson' so probably one of the kittens is teaching the other to read. They are reading by candlelight. The candlestick beside them is quite ornate.  It holds a yellow candle. Nowadays most people use electricity to light their homes. They only use candles occasionally, to create an attractive effect.

Kittens don't usually grow in flower pots.  

Plants grow in pots. 

 The kittens will grow into cats.

Often cards like this were made from black and white photographs that were then coloured by hand. 

That is why the flowers are rather unnatural colours.

In particular, the greenish flower on the right looks rather strange!

This kitten is enjoying himself playing in this bowl of flowers.

Kittens love to play and often make a mess.

Can you understand the verse?

'Wishing you a Happy Birthday.

May life's sweet pleasures crowd on you, 

And grief ne'er cast a cloud on you;

And may the joys that Heaven sends

Extend to where the Rainbow ends.'

'ne'er' is a shortened form of  'never'.

There is a superstition that if you can reach the end of the rainbow you will find something wonderful.

Some believe that you will find a pot of gold coins buried where the rainbow touches the ground.

With all the rain we get in Britain we sometimes see rainbows.

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