[1] Cathrine was an active member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), chaired local meetings and wrote to the press.

Blair established her farm as a clandestine refuge for Scottish suffragettes who had been released from prison under licence as a result of the Cat and Mouse Act.

[5] Her husband, Thomas Blair, was supportive, resigning his vice-presidency of the local Liberal party because of the government's treatment of the suffrage question.

[12] Instead, she envisaged that the organisation would provide countrywomen with an opportunity to voice their concerns over life in rural areas, with housing being a ‘prominent talking point’.

[12] Although the SWRI claimed to maintain a non-political stance, Blair channelled her belief in female equality into the organisation, agitating members to challenge the status quo regarding the poor rural housing conditions.

The Board encouraged ordinary members of the Scottish Women's Rural Institute to work out and express what their housing requirements and priorities were.

[12] She was also appointed by Secretary of State for Scotland Robert Munro to the Local Government Board's 1918 Women's Committee on planning houses for the working classes chaired by Helen Kerr.