Within twenty-four hours after Bedelia, an old maid, has lost her green cat, she is begging Boggs, of the National Detective Agency, to find her lost pet and offering him $1,000 reward as an added inducement. Billy, Boggs' assistant, goes out on the case, with all the detective paraphernalia and the proper mysterious atmosphere. With the aid of a telescope, a waste paper basket and a bunch of catnip, Billy finally tracks down a kitten which had received an accidental bath from a can of green paint. Boggs decides he will earn the reward a little easier, and tells his daughter Constance to get him a stray cat, which he intends to paint green, then claim the reward. Constance tells a small boy of her wishes, and he passes the word on to a bunch of other youngsters. When it is learned that Constance has promised a dollar to the first one who brings in a stray cat, the boys are soon gathering in every member of the feline species within that district. The result is that when Boggs comes back from the paint store he finds his office filled with a squalling, mewing crowd of cats of all descriptions, sizes, shapes and ages, some dilapidated and others of high degree. After much trouble, he clears out the place, gives one of them a dollar, and paints his cat green. Boggs starts for Bedelia's home, and there runs into Billy coming with a basket containing a green cat on his arm. A riot is imminent, when turning, they see Constance handing Bedelia the real green kitty which the old maid had lost and receiving the $1,000 reward. She spies the two men, notes their sheepish looks and the suspicious-looking baskets, and, laughing heartily, waves them a merry ta-ta. With a look of hearty disgust, the two disgruntled detectives sneak off in different directions. Billy drops his kitty into an empty barrel, while Boggs allows his cat to escape in an open lot.