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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Cat, by Philip M. Rule
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Title: The Cat
-       Its Natural History; Domestic Varieties; Management and Treatment
-
-Author: Philip M. Rule
-
-Release Date: October 11, 2013 [EBook #43930]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CAT ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
-http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images
-generously made available by The Internet Archive/American
-Libraries.)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-THE CAT
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration: WHITE CAT AND KITTENS.]
-
-
-
-
-  THE CAT:
-
-  _ITS NATURAL HISTORY; DOMESTIC
-  VARIETIES; MANAGEMENT AND
-  TREATMENT._
-
-  (_WITH ILLUSTRATIONS._)
-
-
-  BY PHILIP M. RULE.
-
-
-  _WITH AN ESSAY ON FELINE INSTINCT,
-  BY BERNARD PEREZ._
-
-
-  London:
-  SWAN SONNENSCHEIN, LOWREY & CO.,
-  PATERNOSTER SQUARE.
-  1887.
-
-
-
-
-  Butler & Tanner,
-  The Selwood Printing Works,
-  Frome, and London.
-
-
-
-
-  TO JOHN COLAM, ESQ.,
-
-  SECRETARY TO THE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE
-  PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS,
-
-  THIS BOOK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,
-  IN RECOGNITION OF THE NOBLE AND UNFAILING
-  DEVOTION DISPLAYED BY HIM IN ADVOCATING
-  THE CAUSE OF HUMANITY;
-  AND IN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE AUTHOR'S
-  APPRECIATION OF HIS REGARD FOR AND INTEREST IN
-  THE SUBJECT OF THE FOLLOWING PAGES.
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS.
-
-
-                                                PAGE
-
-  CHAPTER I.
-
-    GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS                        1
-
-  CHAPTER II.
-
-    GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS (_continued_)         10
-
-  CHAPTER III.
-
-    FOOD                                          31
-
-  CHAPTER IV.
-
-    ON THE MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT OF CATS       45
-
-  CHAPTER V.
-
-    DOMESTIC VARIETIES                            58
-
-  CHAPTER VI.
-
-    ON THE DISEASES OF CATS                       80
-
-  CHAPTER VII.
-
-    ON THE DISEASES OF CATS (_continued_)        102
-
-  ESSAY ON FELINE INSTINCT                       133
-
-
-
-
-PREFACE.
-
-
-Before sending forth this little book, I consider it my duty to request
-the attention of the patient reader to a few introductory and explanatory
-remarks. During some portion of the past year I contributed a series of
-short papers upon the cat to that most admirable monthly _The Animal
-World_. Through the kind and hearty manner in which the Editor brought the
-papers out from month to month, and also by the expressed desire of many
-friends, I have been encouraged to reproduce the papers in the present
-form. Some slight revision has, of course, been found necessary; but very
-little addition has been made, it being my desire to produce a small and
-attractive volume, with the hope that it may reach to many homes where the
-hints it contains can perhaps be of some practical service. Nevertheless,
-I hope there may be found enough interesting or instructive matter to
-excite in the mind and heart of some a deeper interest in or regard for an
-animal that too often is esteemed worthy of but slight attention.
-
-I am indebted to Mr. Harrison Weir for his kindness in supplying me with a
-few particulars connected with the organization of the first Cat Show,
-held at the Crystal Palace, in 1871.
-
-In the last chapter the reader will see that I have made several
-quotations, somewhat at length: I have done so with the very kind and
-ready permission of the writer, MR. HAROLD LEENEY, M.R.C.V.S.
-
-P. M. RULE.
-
-MAIDSTONE.
-
-
-
-
-THE CAT.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER I.
-
-_GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS._
-
-
-The origin of the domestic cat (_Felis domestica_) is a subject about
-which there has been much conjecture and scientific discussion, but
-without any positive issue. Very long before the cat was kept in this
-country as a domesticated animal it was possessed by the ancient Egyptians
-in a tame state, and was, moreover, held in reverence by that remarkable
-and superstitious people, being regarded sacred to the goddess Pasht. At
-death the body was embalmed with devout care, and specimens of cat mummies
-may be seen in the British Museum. The Egyptian cat (_Felis maniculata_)
-may, however, be regarded as probably the original source of our familiar
-puss. This wild cat is of a sandy-grey or tawny colour, and with more or
-less indistinct markings of the tabby character. It is of about ordinary
-size; the tail is in form somewhat like that of most of our cats, and the
-ears are largish and pointed in a slightly lynx-like fashion. It is
-supposed that domesticated animals spread from Egypt with the tide of
-civilization westward. I may here notice that, unlike the dog, the cat
-has never been tamed by the savage races of mankind. But by the
-civilized, or even the semi-civilized, peoples of the world the cat is at
-the present day more or less valued as a useful mouser or as a cherished
-household pet. It is remarkable that at a time when the wild cat (_Felis
-catus_) was very abundant in England, the house-cat was unknown. It was
-evidently an animal of foreign importation, and so highly valued as a
-mouser as to have been protected by royal statute. The earliest record of
-the tame cat in this country is as remote as A.D. 948. Prince Howel Dda,
-or Howel the Good, enforced the very just but primitive fine of a milch
-ewe, its fleece and lamb, or as much wheat from the destroyer or robber
-of a cat at the Royal granary as would cover it to the tip of the tail,
-the animal being suspended by that member, with the head only touching the
-ground.
-
-As the domestic cat in different parts of the world will breed
-occasionally with the wild races of the locality, and as cats are conveyed
-from country to country, it is probable that our cats are of somewhat
-compound pedigree. It is considered probable that our fine English tabbies
-have a trace of the British wild-cat blood in their veins, although it may
-be obscure. The domestic cat is not regarded in zoology as the typical
-form to represent the beautiful group known as the _Felidæ_, or the cat
-family, as might naturally be supposed; and it might have justly been so.
-But the animal chosen as the generic example is the common wild cat, and
-therefore known in science as _Felis catus_, _felis_ being the generic
-title and _catus_ the specific name, which every reader will understand to
-signify cat. It will be beyond the scope and aim of this chapter to
-describe all the known distinct species of wild cat. In describing the
-true cats, such as the Pampas cat, or the Colocolo of America, the Chaus,
-or the Serval of Africa, the Viverrine, or the Leopard cat of India, our
-subject would lead us on from these and other "tiger cats," as the Ocelot,
-and the Riman-Dahan, without power to define a clear line of distinction,
-up to the leopards, and finally to the "King of Beasts" himself. Of all
-these _Felidæ_ there are upwards of half a hundred distinct species known,
-to say nothing of the permanent varieties--which, with regard to domestic
-animals, are termed "breeds"--and the casual "sports," and variations of
-colour, etc. But the true wild cat (_Felis catus_) is deserving of notice,
-being the only form that is a native of this country, and often termed by
-us the British wild cat, although now almost totally extinct on our
-island. Its last haunt here is in the remote parts of Scotland; and so
-scarce has it become, that its existence, even there, is now somewhat
-doubtful. But it is still now to be found, with but slight local
-variations, on the continent of Europe and Northern Asia, and is,
-therefore, also known as the European wild cat. It is not found very far
-north, and neither in Norway nor Sweden; there the lynx reigns supreme.
-The wild cat is a fine animal, of larger growth than the cat of our
-familiar acquaintance, and stands tall. It is a strong, muscular,
-well-built cat,--a perfect tabby,--and so fierce an animal as to have been
-justly termed the "British Tiger." An adult male measures about
-twenty-eight inches in length from the nose to the root of the tail, and
-the tail is about thirteen inches, which is proportionately short, and it
-does not taper at the end, as does that of our domestic cats, but is about
-the same thickness throughout, resembling somewhat that of the Serval.
-When the animal is excited, and the tail enlarges, after the manner of all
-cats, it presents a splendid brush.
-
-[Illustration: WILD CAT.]
-
-In country places, where rabbits are abundant,--and, we may add, the
-smaller, but not less destructive, rodents, and a variety of feathered
-game,--the barn-door cat is sometimes tempted to abscond and take to a
-romantic and semi-wild life in the woods. Kittens born of such parents
-have no desire for the domestic hearth, and are wild and suspicions to a
-degree. Were it not for the vigilance and unremitting persecution of
-gamekeepers and others, which has robbed our land of the noble _Felis
-catus_, in common with many other rare and interesting creatures, it is
-probable that but very few consecutive generations would suffice to
-produce a truly wild race.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER II.
-
-_GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS._
-
-(_Continued._)
-
-
-A short time ago I had two kittens which were born in the Zoological
-Gardens, Regent's Park, and bred between the domestic tortoiseshell and
-the British wild cat, that have for several years occupied together a cage
-in the winter aviary. This crescent-shaped row of cages, although
-originally an aviary, has for some years been occupied by animals of a
-decidedly bird-fancying character. There the animals in question may have
-been seen, and in an adjoining cage a specimen of the Viverrine cat--so
-named from the somewhat civet-like form of the muzzle. But it is a true
-cat, every inch, and bears every cat in countenance by its love of fish.
-Being most unusually adroit at capturing fish from shallow water, it is
-commonly named the Fishing Cat. The specimen I allude to was brought from
-India by the Prince of Wales, and graciously presented to the Zoological
-Society. These cages contain also other animals of interest, such as the
-Civet, Poradoxure, etc.[1] But to return to the kittens. When only able
-to crawl, as I examined the litter, the little things spat most
-vigorously, for probably they had not before seen anybody in the cage
-except their keeper. The two I selected were a red tabby and a
-tortoiseshell. The red tabby was a male, as red tabby cats generally are,
-and he decidedly resembled his father, if not in colour, in disposition
-and temperament. I took them from the litter at the early age of nearly
-seven weeks. The contrast between their behaviour and that of tame kittens
-was most remarkable. At the slightest surprise or displeasure they would
-spit with wide-open mouth and a display of ivory fangs in a most
-threatening manner. When I gave them milk, they would in a very unpolite
-fashion growl together. They never ate near each other, but pouncing upon
-their meat and carrying it to a far corner apart, would growl in a most
-warning tone, and answer back again and again till the last morsel should
-be consumed. On one occasion they had quite a desperate tug of war over
-the same piece of meat, and it was with some difficulty that I could part
-them, for fear of using too much force and hurting their young teeth. But
-when not feeding, the tortoiseshell became not only docile, but most
-affectionate and pleasing, in her little ways. She would fondle and purr
-in a manner that won the affection of my heart. On the other hand, the
-tabby was, at the best, passively composed, but always watchful, and never
-certain in mood. I can hardly say which of the two I prized most. In the
-one I admired the manifestations of its inborn nature, and would on no
-account check or discourage such signs of high blood. Towards the other I
-felt there was a mutual and spiritual bond of affection, which I can
-better conceive than describe. Dryden's lines upon a tame leopard express
-very nearly my feelings respecting these two little beasts (see page 21).
-Unfortunately, the kittens died very suddenly, and at the same hour, after
-a short career of three months. There is reason to suspect that poison was
-the cause of their untimely end. Nothing now remains but the stuffed
-skins, mounted in admirable style, under a glass case.
-
-Probably the veneration with which the Egyptians regarded the cat was in
-no way diminished by the probable utility of their revered favourites in
-keeping under the increase of such remarkably prolific and fast-growing
-rodents as are mice and rats; and it is reasonable to suppose these little
-animals must have been harmful in the vast stores of grain which are
-recorded in ancient history. Pussy's valuable qualities as a mouser are to
-the present day too well known to need much comment. A friend of mine told
-me the other day that once, when he removed to another house, and had
-also deposited his favourite cat, with the usual precaution of buttering
-paws, and consolation of a more solid nature in addition, the servant, on
-entering the kitchen in the morning, found fourteen mice lying dead on the
-hearth-rug, most of them decapitated. The usual preference which cats have
-for the heads of their prey is remarkable, and has been noticed in both
-tame and wild animals. One of the most noticeable characteristics of the
-cat kind is the silent tread. Even the footfall of the huge tigers, as
-they pace to and fro in their roomy cages or in their open-air enclosures
-at the Zoological Gardens is hardly to be heard. For not only is the cat a
-digitigrade animal, walking absolutely "tiptoe" in the most perfect
-manner, but the toes are furnished with a most elastic membrane,
-constituting what are commonly called pussy's "pads." She is thus enabled
-to skulk stealthily in search of her desired prey, and can on all
-occasions move with that unobtrusive grace and silent ease peculiarly
-characteristic of her race. The retractile construction of the peculiarity
-sharp claws is also a beautiful adaptation to the requirements of these
-Nimrods of creation. Generally these useful weapons are held back, nicely
-sheathed and safe from harm. They are readily, however, protruded at will
-when required for offensive or defensive service, in holding secure an
-unfortunate victim, or as hooks to assist in climbing trees, etc. The
-senses of the cat are all highly developed. That of hearing is most acute.
-The sense of smell is not so acute as in the dog and some other
-animals--at least, it is assumed so; but it is quite evident that the ear
-and the eye are put to the best service by the cat. But dirt and bad
-smells are much disliked, while, on the other hand, there is a remarkable
-partiality for some smells. Cats appear to enjoy the perfume of many
-flowers, and their fondness for the odour of cat-mint or valerian is
-remarkable. As may be noticed by the prompt, unerring manner in which a
-cat will dart at a mouse or any small moving object in almost total
-darkness, she has the power to see near objects without the light required
-by ourselves and most animals. Absolutely total darkness is evidently not
-advantageous to pussy's vision, and the assertion that the cat can see
-better in the dark must not be regarded in an abstract, but in a
-comparative, sense. The pupil of the eye has the round shape, as in
-ourselves, only during darkness, when it is dilated so as to receive every
-ray of light available. By day, on the other hand, when there is more
-light than the eye requires, the pupil contracts to an ellipse, or, in the
-strongest light, to a mere line. This peculiarity is absent in the lion
-and tiger and a few others. A peculiarity in the cat and some other
-animals may be noticed in the highly-developed bristles, commonly called
-"whiskers," but more appropriately termed "feelers." These are not, as
-some may suppose, only common hairs of larger growth, but are deeply
-implanted, having large swollen roots, somewhat in the form of young
-onions, and are connected with highly sensitive nerves which communicate
-with the brain. By means of these bristles the cat is enabled to feel its
-way the more stealthily, avoiding the clumsy disturbance of surrounding
-objects that might impede its progress.
-
-It will be seen by the foregoing brief description of its leading physical
-characteristics that the cat is, of all animals, the most perfectly and
-beautifully formed for the fulfilments of the instincts and requirements
-of its nature. The silent, soft tread of the velvet paw, with the finely
-pointed and carefully preserved claws, the terrible fangs, the keen eye,
-and the light, easy, soft, yet powerful and unerring, action of the whole
-body--all these render the cats, from the great Bengal tiger downwards,
-the most charming and graceful creatures in animated nature.
-
-  The panther, sure the noblest next the hind,
-  And fairest creature of the spotted kind;
-  Oh, could her inborn stains be washed away,
-  She were too good to be a beast of prey!
-  How can I praise or blame, and not offend,
-  Or how divide the frailty from the friend?
-  Her faults and virtues lie so mixed that she
-  Nor wholly stands condemned, nor wholly free.
-
-But there is yet another physical peculiarity worthy of passing notice;
-viz., the remarkably loose skin. This is connected with the flesh by a
-layer of very loose fibres. The cat's loose skin serves her well on many
-occasions as a shield of protection, especially when scuffling with her
-neighbours--an occurrence which will sometimes take place. This
-peculiarity may be occasionally seen well exhibited in the jaguars and
-other great cats at the Zoological Gardens, more especially when they are
-young and sportive. To see the powerful manner in which these animals
-embrace each other with their great hooked claws may cause some
-apprehension that serious consequences are about to result. If the skin
-were tightly fitted to the body, as with the horse, hog, ox, and other
-herbivorous animals, the result of such violent scufflings would be very
-serious. But, as may be seen, the animals do not get good hold of each
-other, as the skin is dragged round with the claws, and the hold is lost.
-
-The following account of the sagacity of a young black-and-white tom-cat,
-which occurred about twenty years ago, is, I think, worth relating as
-illustrative of the retentive memory and the remarkable prescience which
-many cats appear to possess as a peculiar mental endowment.
-
-The house being covered with corrugated iron, and the spaces formed by the
-corrugations where the roof met the walls not being stopped, but left open
-to admit air into the roof, the whole space of the unused interior of the
-roof was a favourite breeding-place for countless broods of sparrows and
-starlings. The roof was accessible to human and other intruders by a small
-trap-door above the lobby at the top of the staircase. It was a square
-house, of good dimensions, but of only two stories. I have described these
-particulars in order to be better understood in narrating the
-circumstances.
-
-It so happened that we wanted some small boards which had been stored away
-in the roof, and we entered by the aid of a light ladder; and it also
-happened that puss, unobserved, followed the example of the man-servant
-and myself, but from quite another motive, prompted, doubtless, by the
-chirping of the birds, it being early summer. As soon, however, as we
-could get Tom down, we closed the trap, and returned the ladder to its
-proper place. About a month afterwards, I had to resort to the roof again,
-and accordingly went for the ladder, which was kept against a fence at
-another part of the premises. As soon as I brought the ladder into the
-back yard, and laid it on the ground, in order to unfasten a door leading
-straight into the hall, Tom became suddenly most excited with delight. He
-must have seen the ladder often since he entered the roof by it, as it was
-used for various purposes, such as lighting the outdoor lamps,
-window-cleaning, etc. But now he at once conceived, by a most sagacious
-inference, my intention. He paced about the yard, close to the ladder,
-tail erect, and talking as only an earnest and happy cat can talk.
-Immediately I took the ladder in and hoisted it through the well of the
-staircase, he scaled it like a squirrel, and was waiting for me to follow
-upstairs. As soon then as I drew the ladder up, and raised the trap with
-the end of it, and while it was in my hands, he clambered up and out of
-sight. Before going up myself I thought it best to await Tom's return, and
-there was but little time lost before he came down, stile by stile, with a
-sparrow in his mouth. Then I at once brought down what I wanted, closed
-the trap, returned the ladder to its place, and the birds afterwards
-enjoyed undisturbed safety and peace.
-
-There was, about the same time, a tortoiseshell cat at the house of a
-relative which became much attached to me. Her affection was so strong
-that she even knew my knock at the front door from that of anybody else.
-On hearing my knock, she would speak in her loving and expressive tone,
-and meet me in the hall. She was an adult cat, the mother of many kittens,
-and yet, notwithstanding the cares of life, she delighted in a most
-remarkable little eccentricity of her own. It was the peculiar habit of
-taking the pendent lobe of my ear into her mouth and sucking it with
-charming avidity. The peculiar sensation felt under the operation, though
-not unpleasant to me, was not enjoyed or tolerated by other persons, and
-she was sometimes rather rudely repulsed when trying to practise upon
-strangers.
-
-Those who admire and observe the habits of cats may have noticed that when
-two are snugly engaged together in dressing their fur, they are often
-mutually pleased in paying particular attention to the face and ears of
-each other. A short time ago I was pleased and amused with two charming
-kittens upon my knee. They were each equally resolved to lick the face and
-ears of the other, and tried hard to prevail. Eventually, one became
-resolute, and placing her left arm round her brother's shoulder and her
-right paw upon his cheek, she licked and nibbled into his short, round
-velvet ear (for they were little over two months old at the time), to her
-utmost satisfaction and his evident enjoyment.
-
-As is well known, the cat often evinces to a remarkable degree an
-instinctive power, if such it may be called, of finding its way back to a
-home from which it has been removed. Some years ago, an officer of the
-Royal Marines, upon promotion, removed from his private quarters at
-Stonehouse, Plymouth, to Portsmouth. Having a favourite cat,--a black male
-of about twelve months old,--he resolved to send it to Portsmouth by rail
-in a hamper. It arrived at its destination safely enough, but on the
-afternoon of the day following, which was Sunday, it was missing, but was
-actually found in the garden of its beloved home at Stonehouse on the
-evening of Wednesday in the ensuing week. It was at once recognised and
-taken charge of by a kind neighbour, who knew the cat well. Considering it
-went by train, secured in a hamper, it is difficult even to conjecture by
-what means it was guided homewards, a distance of about a hundred and
-thirty miles as the crow flies, and within ten or eleven days. I was
-living at Stonehouse at the time this strange occurrence took
-place,--about nineteen years ago,--and narrate the particulars from
-memory.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER III.
-
-_FOOD._
-
-
-Although the cat is in many respects so hardy an animal as to have the
-popular reputation of possessing nine lives, we must bear in mind that
-puss is not of such an iron constitution as to be entirely independent of
-all care. No animal better repays its owner for the attention rightly
-bestowed upon it than does the cat. Pussy's wants are not many, and are
-very simple indeed. It is the duty of every owner of pet animals first to
-ascertain the nature and requirements of his charge, and then to use that
-knowledge with thought and right feeling. Subsequent experience also
-proves a good teacher, and especially so when it is supported by previous
-knowledge.
-
-Being normally a purely carnivorous creature, the cat requires to subsist
-principally upon animal food. But, nevertheless, owing to its long
-established association with mankind, the domestic cat has acquired a
-constitutional capacity for subsisting upon a somewhat miscellaneous bill
-of fare. Consequently, the intestines of the tame cat are said to be
-slightly longer and somewhat wider than in the wild races--the latter
-requiring a rather less lengthened process in digesting the simple and
-highly nutritious diet which instinct teaches them to select. But still
-our puss is, as God created her, a perfect beast of prey. There is no
-complicated stomach, as in the ox, antelope, sheep, and other
-ruminants--no perfect grinders, like mill-stones, as in the mouth of the
-horse, elephant, hog, etc. The dentition of the cat, as also that of the
-lion, leopard, ocelot, lynx, and other _Felidæ_, is beautifully adapted by
-the all-wise Creator for holding, tearing, or devouring their living prey.
-On inspecting the teeth of a cat, the four large, powerful, and sharply
-pointed canine teeth, or fangs, will naturally attract attention. With
-these the prey is seized, and is usually carried, or the piercing and
-fatal bite is effected. It will be noticed, by the way, that a cat, if
-possible, always carries a mouse or a bird, quite away from the spot where
-it may have been captured. The attack is, however, made with the claws
-first, and the cat does not seize with teeth only, as does the dog. At the
-front, between the tusks, will be seen six small incisors, and back,
-behind the tusks, on fangs, are the molar and premolar, or crushing teeth.
-The dentition of the cat is as follows (the letters _i_, _c_, _p_, _m_
-signifying incisor, canine, premolar, and molar):--
-
-  _i_{3--3 _c_{1--1  _p_{3--3 _m_{1--1}  30.
-     {3--3    {1--1     {2--2    {1--1}
-
-The milk dentition in the kitten is the same as to number, with the
-exception of the molars, which are absent, and appear only as permanent
-teeth. The incisors appear between two and three weeks after birth, and
-are followed by the canines and molars, which are all cut by the time the
-kitten has attained the age of six weeks. They are shed, and replaced by
-the permanent teeth, after the seventh month. Therefore the teeth in a
-kitten are twenty-six in number. It may be easily noticed that the teeth
-of the lower jaw bite within those of the upper. The jaws are so
-articulated as to allow of up-and-down motion only, and accordingly the
-cats and other carnivora are unable to grind their food by a sideway
-motion, as we do ourselves, and as is most noticeable in a horse when
-feeding, but crush and chop the flesh and bones upon which they feed by a
-jerking motion of the head.
-
-We are all familiar with the rough nature of the tongue--a peculiarity in
-the cat and all her kind. It is in dressing the exceedingly beautiful and
-sleek fur that the tongue is of important service, as comb, brush, and
-sponge in combination.
-
-The domestic cat being almost a purely carnivorous animal, to say the
-least, requires food of a character congenial to the instincts of her
-nature. It is difficult to state in measured terms the needful quantity of
-a cat's daily allowance. The amount may be regulated by observation, right
-judgment, and experience. It is not so needful with cats that live in the
-country, especially at a farm, where mice of different kinds and other
-small game are plentiful, and a liberal supply of milk, to feed them
-largely upon meat; but under less favourable circumstances the common
-house cat often suffers much privation. Where there is a large family, and
-but one cat or so, there may generally, with a little thought, be odd
-pieces of various kinds gathered together sufficient to meet pussy's
-wants. But in a small household, where limited and strict economy is
-rightly observed, the poor cat may fare but badly. Under such
-circumstances, in order to maintain a vigorous, happy, and respectable
-cat, it will be found needful to buy cats'-meat of some sort. For this
-purpose boiled horseflesh is commonly supplied, the peculiar call of the
-cats'-meat man being a well-known sound in our large towns. There is,
-however, but slight risk of animals fed upon this meat becoming diseased
-by eating the flesh of unhealthy horses. Horseflesh is to be recommended
-as convenient and cheap, and cats are also very fond of it. When in a
-state of putrefaction it is most unwholesome, and if those who buy
-horseflesh will be a little careful in the selection of it, the
-horse-slaughterer, or "knacker," will be accordingly regardful of the
-condition of the meat he supplies.
-
-Bullocks' or sheep's lights are excellent, especially the latter. These
-are usually boiled, as they will then keep longer, and when given largely,
-are better so prepared. But they are good raw, occasionally. Too constant
-and abundant feeding upon raw lights, or even raw flesh of a more solid
-kind, especially if not quite fresh and healthy, is liable sometimes to
-scour the cat. The poor animal, however clean and regular in its habits,
-may then become offensive in the house. Boiled lights are very
-unsubstantial, and can be given liberally. Raw meat, however, in
-moderation, is often good for a cat, especially where there are no mice or
-other game, and it tends to improve the spirit of the animal.
-
-Cats generally prefer mutton to beef, but they will not touch fat meat,
-unless they are famished, and it is most unsuitable, and should never be
-offered. Fish is exceedingly good for a change, and the cat's love for
-such light and cooling diet is well known; and as to rabbit or hare, there
-can be no greater treat. We may also say the same of feathered game.
-
-An adult cat will thrive well with one feed per day, in addition to a
-little good, pure milk in the morning. To this a little sweet, stale white
-bread may be added. The rest can be left to chance.
-
-But I may here warn the owner of a pet cat against over-feeding. It is
-well to be regular as to the time of feeding, for this reason: an animal
-that is fed at all hours of the day will be always expecting, and always
-asking and looking in a very expressive manner, and it, of course,
-receives the attention of its affectionate guardians; whereas, an animal
-that is regularly fed will enjoy its food with hungry relish, and will not
-at other times be over-troublesome. Two errors have to be guarded against
-in the feeding of animals generally, and the cat in particular: careless
-neglect or grudged attention on the one hand, and, on the other,
-thoughtless tampering and weak-minded indulgence.
-
-A supply of pure water should be kept within the cat's reach. Although of
-by no means a thirsty nature, there are times when water will be sought
-after, as during very dry and hot weather, or after food of a
-thirst-producing character; and we never know what a cat may pick up.
-
-Notwithstanding that the generality of cats are very badly attended to, I
-may here remark that large, strong, high conditioned animals are much
-benefited by an occasional fast. This remark I make, however, with
-caution, and rely upon the good sense of the reader.
-
-Be careful never to feed in a stale dish, and always give milk in a well
-washed saucer or other vessel. Never let what the cat may leave stand
-about, but dispose of it otherwise. The savour of onion is very
-distasteful to all cats, and they will often loathe good meat that is
-strongly seasoned with it.
-
-It may here be observed that the cat is even sometimes of a slightly
-insectivorous propensity. Young, sportive cats, more especially, have much
-amusement in playing with cockroaches, and sometimes eat them. But they
-appear to eat them more from accident or idleness than from desire; much
-the same as a schoolboy will eat acorns. Occasionally, pussy will be
-fortunate in catching such rare game as a cricket. Flies are not easily
-caught, except in a window; and they are said to make cats thin. Beetles,
-I think, do a cat no harm. Lions and other beasts of prey are known to
-feed largely upon locusts, which occur in such vast swarms in the great
-African continent.
-
-It should be observed, respecting milk, that for animals generally, as
-for ourselves, it is decidedly improved by boiling. Pussy will, therefore,
-readily partake of bread and milk prepared for the family breakfast or
-supper. And she will not often refuse a little plain baked rice-pudding,
-or other simple preparation containing milk as the principal ingredient.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IV.
-
-_ON THE MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT OF CATS._
-
-
-Having briefly considered the general feeding of our fireside favourite,
-we may proceed to discuss the consideration of its proper care and
-treatment during the different stages, conditions, and circumstances of a
-life that can be made happy or wretched at the mercy of those who
-undertake, or may pretend to undertake, to be its possessors and
-guardians.
-
-To begin towards the beginning, we may suppose that a charming little
-kitten, of about ten or twelve weeks, has been deposited in its new home.
-Being an innocent, simple, happy tempered little creature, it will make
-itself at home in so pleasing a manner as to gain the approval, if not the
-affection, of every kind-hearted person in the house. Supposing it to be a
-well conditioned little animal, of good parentage, and from a comfortable
-home, it will probably be found to prove itself a clean and nicely behaved
-little innocent, if rightly managed with care and quiet attention. No
-animal is instinctively cleaner in its habits, in every way, than is the
-cat. It is this natural virtue which renders pussy so generally a favoured
-inmate of the household. As is well known, cats are guided by a peculiar
-instinct to scratch up earth for the purpose of hiding their excrements.
-Where there is no access to a garden, they will resort to cinders or
-coal-dust, and although not, perhaps, desirable, will meet with better
-approval than the carpet. For the accommodation of a kitten indoors, it is
-a good plan to have a large flower-pot saucer--the larger the better, but
-not less than fifteen inches in diameter--kept in some suitable corner,
-with a little clean garden-earth or sand in it. It need not contain much
-earth, and it can be changed at will; but should not be allowed to become
-so foul as to offend the cat. This plan, once tried, will be found to
-answer well.
-
-Week by week the kitten increases in strength and vivacity. Do not
-discourage or check the young cat in its sportiveness, although it may be
-a little too rough in its vivacious evolutions. The most skittish kittens
-usually make the best cats. They are generally the delight of young
-children, and make charming playmates when treated gently, and not simply
-made toys of. Although cats differ in disposition very considerably, they
-are alike as regards a common dislike for noise and confusion, and the
-little folks will sometimes require guidance and instruction in their
-treatment of most pet animals. The cat is an animal of naturally a very
-strong will, being most impatient of control, and the kitten that is
-allowed quietly to enjoy unmolested freedom of purpose in its queer
-little ways and freaks will develop, under good treatment, into a noble
-spirited and well behaved cat.
-
-The kitten will, of course, be kept indoors at night, and as it grows,
-continue the good practice. It is a common custom--but, for many reasons,
-a very bad and cruel one--to habitually shut the cat out of the house at
-night. If you wish pussy to have a good, sleek, unsoiled coat,--to be a
-nice pet, not to be dull or asleep all the day,--and, especially, if you
-wish the house kept clear of mice, keep her in at night, and let her have,
-as much as may be convenient, the range of the premises. Persons who are
-quite ready to complain about the nightly disturbance caused by cats in
-the back-gardens of their neighbours' houses are apt to forget that their
-own gentle pet may possibly be a leading performer in the nocturnal
-concert. A cat will play truant occasionally, but this will not often
-happen with a well cared for animal, which will prefer human society and
-the comforts of a good home on most occasions. It is well, however, to let
-the cat out of doors the very first thing in the morning.
-
-There is seldom any thought or attention given to the breeding of the cat.
-This is left to nature, and with very natural result. But,
-notwithstanding, those who possess a cat of a choice sort, and wish to
-continue or improve the strain, or to effect a cross, can do so with less
-trouble than may be supposed to be needful. Watch the cat well, if a
-female, and upon the first indication of the well-known sign be very
-careful to prevent her from straying in the least. Then introduce the
-approved "tom," and allow them to remain together--say for a night--in
-some outbuilding or spare room. He can afterwards be returned with thanks;
-but be careful to keep "kitty" quite safe for more than a week afterwards,
-or as long as may be considered needful. All will then be right, and there
-need be no more thought or care upon the subject. At the completion of a
-term of fifty-six days, the litter may be expected. As is well known,
-kittens are born blind, and remain so till about the ninth day. The
-domestic cat is more prolific than the wild species, having often three
-litters in the year. A cat of mine, some time ago, gave birth to
-twenty-two within twelve months. The age of sterility commences about the
-ninth year. The wild cat reproduces about twice a year, and the period of
-gestation is said to be as long as sixty-eight days, which may be correct,
-and if so, is remarkable.
-
-It is usually expedient to destroy some of the new-born kittens--of
-course, the least handsome and promising of the litter. But it is
-exceedingly cruel to rob the fond mother of all her little ones. When thus
-deprived, a cat often suffers exceedingly, as may be evident by the
-symptoms which ensue; and her lamentations are painful to hear--much too
-expressive to be misunderstood. Always retain one, if not two or more, of
-your selection--the whole litter, if you really wish it. If there be a
-numerous litter,--say, five,--it is better not to remove all at once, but
-two the first day and two the next day; or, better still, a third kitten
-the second day, and afterwards the fourth. Take them as much unobserved by
-the mother as possible. Drowning is the usual and probably the simplest
-and best method of ending the brief existence of the little creatures; but
-it must be properly and completely done. Have ample depth of water in a
-pail or other vessel, with the addition of just enough hot water to take
-off the chill--not more. They must be put completely under, and on no
-account allowed to rise for one second. If you have nerve and patience,
-simply keep them down with your hand till they cease to move, or else
-place some article above them in such a way as to serve effectually. They
-must remain under water for some time, even though life may appear to be
-extinct. Many years ago, I learned by sad experience the danger of being
-too expeditious in executing this duty. In drowning a large, powerful
-animal, care and tact are especially required. Be quiet, cool, prompt, and
-firm.
-
-The loving and devoted attachment to her offspring is remarkable in the
-cat. She will face any danger in defending them, and will, above any other
-animal, often delight to foster kittens not her own, and has been known to
-cherish and rear the young of animals of quite a distinct kind, such as
-puppies, the young of the squirrel, rat, hedgehog, etc. The following
-touching incident took place at the destructive fire that burned down
-Lusby's Music Hall, London, on the 20th January, 1884. I give the account
-as related in _The Animal World_ for March, 1884:--
-
-"Mr. Crowder, one of the proprietors of the hall, possessed a favourite
-tabby and tortoiseshell cat, which was well known to the frequenters of
-the hall. The cat had a family of four kittens, which she was allowed to
-keep in a basket at the rear of the stage. Soon after the fire was
-discovered, the cat was seen rushing about frantically. She several times
-attempted to make her way down the corridor in the direction of the stage,
-but each time was beaten back by the smoke. Presently she reappeared with
-one of the kittens in her mouth. This she laid carefully down at her
-master's feet in the small hall which the fire had not touched. Again she
-rushed through the smoke, and again reappeared with a kitten, and this
-manoeuvre she repeated the third time. She was now apparently half-blinded
-and choked by the smoke she had passed through, and it was thought that
-she would be content; but she seemed unable to rest while she knew that
-one of her kittens was still in danger; and, giving a look at the little
-struggling group on the floor, the cat, evading some one who tried to stop
-her, once more dashed down the corridor towards the seething mass of
-flames, which by this time had enveloped the stage and the lower end of
-the hall. Her return was anxiously awaited, but she did not come back.
-Afterwards, when examining the ruins, some of the firemen came across the
-charred and blackened remains of the mother and kitten, lying side by side
-where the fire had overtaken them."
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER V.
-
-_DOMESTIC VARIETIES._
-
-
-In the estimation of persons who have no appreciation of the beautiful in
-animal life, a cat is a cat, and nothing but a cat. I have often observed
-some surprise expressed by visitors at a large cat-show on seeing an
-assemblage of so many different sorts of cats. These same persons had
-often seen examples of every class before--in the houses of friends, in
-shops, gardens, etc., etc.; but the beauties had been passed unobserved.
-At a good show, where well-selected specimens of the common house cat are
-arranged in line, and classed according to colour, sex, etc., a novice
-cannot but be surprised at the unexpected sight of so interesting an array
-of feline beauty. At the leading shows the animals are arranged in two
-main divisions; viz., long-haired and short-haired cats. These two
-divisions are again sub-divided into he-cats, she-cats, kittens, and
-gelded cats. The he and she-cats are again divided in classes according to
-colour, as tortoiseshell and tortoiseshell and white, brown, blue or
-silver, and red tabby, tabby and white, and spotted tabby; also cats of
-unusual colour, and Manx, or tailless cats. A brief description of the
-characteristic points of the different classes, as at the Crystal Palace,
-will be given in this chapter.
-
-The 13th of July, 1871, was a memorable day in the cat world, and an
-eventful one at the Crystal Palace, for it was then and there that the
-very first cat-show took place. Mr. Harrison Weir, F.R.H.S., the
-well-known animal painter, has the honour of being the originator of these
-interesting exhibitions; and he has kindly placed at my disposal a few
-particulars respecting the primary arrangements. He suggested the idea to
-Mr. Isaac Wilkinson, manager at that time, drew up the schedule of prizes,
-the way in which the classes were to be judged, the amount of prize-money,
-etc.; and he also acted as judge. The show was put under the management
-of Mr. Wilson, of the Natural History Department, who very ably conducted
-it; and the whole affair proved a gratifying success--so much so, that Mr.
-Weir received the thanks of the Directors, and a very handsome, large
-silver tankard, with suitable inscription. So great a success did the
-exhibition prove, that it was immediately decided to repeat it later in
-the year.[2] The show was also held twice in the year following (1872),
-and has been continued annually ever since. "My idea," Mr. Weir remarks,
-"for holding a show was that the cat was a truly useful domestic animal,
-though a much neglected one, and if I could only induce the multitude to
-take a pride in their cats, and select them more for their beauty and
-ultimate value in the market, I might achieve a good result in the way of
-kindly treatment to an animal much neglected by some."
-
-The great success and the good example of the Crystal Palace show was very
-naturally soon followed up at Edinburgh, Birmingham, Glasgow, and many
-large centres of population, and now even the smaller provincial towns can
-boast an annual exhibition of feline favourites.
-
-The varieties of our short-haired cat will now deserve our attention.
-
-_Tortoiseshell._--Cats of this breed are also sometimes called Spanish
-cats, and display a very marked contrast to the tabby varieties. The
-general colour is a kind of reddish tawny, or sandy, more or less thickly
-covered with blotches or dabs of black. So very irregular are the markings
-in these cats, that some individuals are very handsome creatures, and
-some, on the other hand, are far from prepossessing in appearance.
-Tortoiseshell cats are of somewhat smaller growth. But, in our comparative
-estimate of size, we are apt to be somewhat misguided, from the fact that
-all the tortoiseshell cats we meet with are she-cats, and can never attain
-the large size of the tom tabby cats, with which they are often compared.
-The tortoiseshell male cat is a treasure often sought for, but very, very
-seldom found. Ever since the commencement of the shows just alluded to,
-there has been only a single specimen of the pure tortoiseshell male cat
-exhibited. Experiments have been tried in every way to breed to this
-colour, but without the desired result. But tortoiseshell and white
-he-cats are occasionally to be seen. At the last Crystal Palace show there
-were two very fine toms of this description.
-
-Our common favourites, the tabby cats, are, on the whole, the handsomest
-and the best. They are of every shade, but three distinct varieties are
-known as brown, blue or silver, and red.
-
-[Illustration: TABBY CAT.]
-
-_Brown Tabby._--Although there is considerable individual variation in
-these cats, the general characteristics are as follows:--The
-ground-colour should be a deep, rich brown grey, striped with black. These
-markings converge from a central stripe of black, more or less broken,
-which follows the line of the spine, a mark in some degree characteristic
-of the whole feline race. The tail is barred with black, and a line of
-narrow stripes runs from the forehead, passes between the ears, and,
-passing down the neck, it disappears. The face is adorned with little
-swirls and stripes, so disposed as to give the general expression of the
-countenance that air of satisfaction so peculiar to puss. The under parts
-of the body may be of a paler colour, but no pure white is seen in a true
-tabby tom-cat. The tip of the nose, the lips, and the pads of the paws
-are to be desired of a dark colour. One, if not two, bold swirls of black
-across the chest are to be looked for in these cats. They have been
-appropriately termed "the Lord Mayor's chain." These tabby cats are
-generally large, portly animals, if properly reared, very intelligent, and
-often most affectionate. The females are most gentle, and the best of
-mothers.
-
-_Blue or Silver Tabby._--This is a pale variety of tabby, which is
-sometimes beautiful. The ground-colour is a silver grey, with the stripes
-of a darker shade.
-
-_Red Tabby._--In bold contrast with the blue, these fine cats are of a
-bright sandy yellow, with the usual markings of a deeper shade. Some of
-these cats are of very good colour, so much so as to be distinguished by
-their proud owners under the very aspiring title of "Orange Tabby." These
-cats, in the main points, are like the brown tabby. The fur should be
-short, but full and thick, the ears rather short and round. In the tabby
-breeds the female is seldom without white, which generally appears upon
-the muzzle, throat, paws, etc. This is, most remarkably, a characteristic
-in the red tabby cats, a female of that colour without white being almost
-as rare a zoological curiosity as the wonderful tortoiseshell tom.
-
-_Spotted Tabby_ cats are distinguished from the others by having, instead
-of the usual stripes or cloudings, a pattern of quite a distinct type. The
-markings are broken up into small, well-defined spots, being more or less
-elongated upon the sides, transversely to the stripes along the back.
-
-In the class of spotted tabby he-cats at the Crystal Palace there might
-have been seen a specimen named "Coppa," which was justly awarded first
-prize. The owner of this cat, Mr. J. Scott, has kindly favoured me with
-the history of Coppa, which is of some interest when regarded
-zoologically. The father of Coppa was a leopard-cat (_Felis Bengalensis_),
-picked up at an East Indian coffee plantation, and brought to England by a
-gentleman, who handed it over to Mr. Scott. He kept it for two years, and
-bred ten kittens by two mothers. Coppa is one of these kittens. As his
-mother was an English tabby, and as the pedigree of the sire is so
-unmistakably pure, and of the spotted kind, it is not surprising that he
-was the model of a spotted tabby.
-
-It will not be out of place here to give a brief description of the
-leopard-cat, as delineated in "Cassell's Natural History."
-
-"This is another of the numerous Indian cats, and is a very beautiful
-species. Its hide is of a yellowish grey, or bright tawny hue, quite white
-below, and marked with longitudinal stripes on the head, shoulders, and
-back, and with large irregular spots on the sides, which become rounded
-towards the belly. The tail is a spotted colour, indistinctly ringed
-towards the tip. The body, from the end of the snout to the tip of the
-tail, attains a length of from thirty-five to thirty-nine inches, eleven
-or twelve of which are made up by the tail.
-
-"The leopard-cat is found throughout the hilly region of India, from the
-Himalayas to the extreme south, and Ceylon, and in richly wooded
-districts, at a low elevation occasionally, or when heavy jungle grass is
-abundant, mixed with forest and brushwood. It ascends the Himalayas to a
-considerable elevation, and is said by Hodgson even to occur in Tibet, and
-is found at the level of the sea in the Bengal Sunderbunds. It extends
-through Assam, Burmah, the Malayan peninsula to the islands of Java and
-Sumatra, at all events. It is as fierce as any of its savage kin."
-
-Mr. Scott sold his leopard-cat to the Zoological Society, and also
-presented with it the mother of Coppa and one kitten. But they
-unfortunately took a form of distemper, and all died, and other cats by
-the side of them. Coppa, Mr. Scott remarks, is probably the only one left.
-
-Mr. Scott also remarks that he keeps Coppa confined, for fear of losing
-him. He was marked as dangerous at the show, on account of his pedigree,
-but is really "perfectly tame and very fond." I judged so myself from his
-appearance and manner. He did, certainly, spit at a lady who blew in his
-face; but any good cat, with a spark of self-respect, would do so.
-
-_Black._--These fine cats are not so commonly met with, of entire colour,
-as the brown tabbies, but are more plentiful than either the red or the
-blue. This colour is probably never met with in any of the wild cats, and
-would, I am inclined to think, be rare in the domestic races but for a
-prevailing superstitious notion, to be met with even in our enlightened
-age, that in some way good fortune or luck attends the homestead where a
-black cat dwells. And, moreover, that to destroy a black cat, or even a
-black kitten, from the purest motive, is an act likely to be followed by
-some misfortune. May I be allowed to endeavour to dispel this notion from
-the mind of any reader who may cherish a vestige of belief in the old
-charms of witchcraft, by boldly asserting that the black cat is simply a
-tabby. In some black cats, and commonly in black kittens, the tabby
-character of the fur may be distinctly seen. Black leopards and jaguars
-are occasionally, but rarely, to be met with; and this natural melanizm
-has been attributed to a larger proportion of iron in the blood. There is
-more iron in the blood of negroes, it is said, than in that of Europeans.
-Now, in these black leopards the distinctive pardine livery of the species
-is always present, and visible upon minute inspection. "Can the Ethiopian
-change his skin, or the leopard his spots?" (Jer. xiii. 23). Likewise, in
-our black cats, although not visible, the normal tendency of the species
-to maintain and reproduce its characteristic livery is inherent in the
-blood.
-
-The black cat, like the black leopard, if well bred and properly reared,
-is a most perfect specimen of its kind, having all the powers and
-instincts of his nature most strongly developed. When in good health and
-properly managed, and not shut out of doors at night, the black cat is
-generally a splendid creature, with a coat like satin for lustre.
-
-_White._--In bold contrast to the black cat is the white. Albinos, or
-abnormally colourless animals, are generally deficient in strength of
-constitution. It is owing to this fact that white cats are often more or
-less deaf. In selecting a kitten, I would never choose a white one. There
-is something very charming about a snow-white kitten, but, when it becomes
-a cat, expect disappointment, more especially if in or near London, or
-some large town, where its purity is sure to be sullied by fog or smoke.
-It will, moreover, probably become dull and listless, and more liable to
-colds and other ailments than its more robust relatives.
-
-_Manx_ cats, as is well known, are remarkable for having no tail, or
-rather, only a very rudimentary tail. The breed is curious, and it is
-doubtless on that account alone that it is preserved. In other respects
-these cats are like the ordinary animals.
-
-_Siamese._--The handsome royal cat of Siam is at present but rare in this
-country, and is worthy of careful preservation as a breed. It is a curious
-cat, of one colour, a clear tawny or buff, with the exception of the
-muzzle, face, ears, and feet, which are black; and the fur is short, but
-thick and sleek. It is a cat of average size, and of compact build. At
-first glance it almost suggests to the mind the figure of a pug dog.
-
-Cats are occasionally met with, in the unusual variety class at shows, of
-very extraordinary colour, as slate colour, uniform grey, or mouse colour,
-brown, tawny, etc. Such as these may be regarded as simply unfinished
-tabby cats--if I may be allowed to use the convenient expression. And,
-occasionally, cats may be seen with six claws.
-
-[Illustration: LONG HAIRED CAT.]
-
-_Long-haired cats_, as Angola (or Angora) and Persian.--These cats,
-especially the Angola, are sometimes very fine animals. The hair is very
-long and silky, forming a thick mane upon the neck and upon the cheeks,
-and hangs from the sides in a manner which somewhat reminds one of the
-musk ox. The long tail is likewise pendant with long, silken hair, and
-when in good order looks very handsome. A good cat of the kind seems
-almost aware of its own beauty; and we know that puss has the universal
-reputation of being proud. But these cats require care and a good home. If
-neglected, exposed, or ill-treated, no animals sooner degenerate. They
-are, moreover, disposed to become lazy and listless, and, although
-fashionable in a drawing-room, are not such pleasing companions, or of the
-same utility as mousers, as are the sleek, agile, graceful, and
-intelligent animals with which we are more familiar.
-
-_Gelded cats_ often grow very large, and, if properly kept, sometimes live
-to a great age. They make good, sociable pets, are not inclined to play
-truant, and they do not smell. The process is not a painful one if
-properly performed, and an animal thus treated will escape the temptation
-to stray or to combat with his fellows. At the age of six months, or even
-a little earlier, is the time at which a kitten should be sent to the
-veterinary surgeon. But on no account whatever must the operation be
-attempted upon an animal of more advanced growth. As I have just
-intimated, one advantage gained is that it will not secrete and eject that
-characteristic fluid, the pungent odour of which is well known, and is, to
-some persons, very offensive.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VI.
-
-_ON THE DISEASES OF CATS._
-
-
-I must now endeavour to describe a few of the ailments to which pussy is
-liable, and by pointing out the cause, when possible, may hope to assist
-the kind reader in avoiding the evil effect, bearing in mind the
-well-known proverb, Prevention is better than cure.
-
-Considering the careless feeding to which the cat is often subjected, her
-digestive organs must be somewhat enduring; but, on this account, they
-must not be overtaxed or disregarded. There is a very simple medicine to
-which puss will instinctively resort occasionally, which is grass. In an
-old translation of Pliny may be found the following quaint prescription
-for the cure of a sick lion:--
-
-"The lion is never sicke but of the peevishness of his stomache, loathing
-all meat: and then the way to cure him is to ty unto him certaine shee
-apes, which, with their wanton mocking and making mowes at him, may move
-his patience, and drive him, from the very indignitie of their malapert
-saucinesse, into a fit of madnesse, and then, so soon as he hath tasted
-their bloud, he is perfectly wel againe: and this is the only help."
-
-Now, without the aid of a violent remedy such as the above-prescribed,
-Miss Puss can stroll quietly out of doors and help herself to a small
-quantity of selected grass. This simply acts medicinally as either an
-emetic or as a purgative. It has been my practice, when keeping cats
-confined, to have some fresh, healthy grass in a large flower-pot in the
-most sunny spot, and sometimes put out in the open garden, so as to
-receive the benefit of all the light, air, and sunshine available.
-
-_Diarrhoea_ is a complaint to which the cat is sometimes subject in a mild
-form, and may attract but little notice; or it may be so severe or
-protracted as to cause great distress, and even prove fatal. As in
-ourselves, it may be brought on by violent changes of temperature,
-together with unwholesome food or drink, irregular feeding, too much fat
-meat, putrid matter, too much liver, sour milk, etc. But in the cat the
-excrements may occasionally appear slightly loose without the animal
-seeming in the least unwell. This need cause little concern, although
-slight attention to the general diet and requirements of the animal will
-not be unwise. In this respect cats differ somewhat from dogs, which are
-constitutionally of rather constipated habit. When the cat is really ill,
-it will look so. Puss is a comfort-loving creature, and in nursing,
-comfort is to be the main consideration. Be careful to attend to the
-accommodation of clean habits, and allow a fresh supply of earth or sand,
-as alluded to in Chapter IV.
-
-There is a very simple remedy, and which I have proved to be a sufficient
-one, prescribed by the Honourable Lady Cust in her little book upon the
-cat, and I may here quote her own words:--
-
-"In the commencement give new milk, with mutton-suet melted in it; the
-proportion of a piece of nice fresh suet, without skin, the size of a
-large walnut, to a teacupful of milk. Keep the cat warm and quiet in a
-comfortable nest, and if it be too ill to lap, give it, every two hours, a
-teaspoonful of the mixture, only just warm enough to melt the suet. Put it
-gently into the mouth with a small spoon. You need not swathe the cat, as
-after the first spoonful is swallowed it will feel the benefit, and
-swallow another; but do not give much; it is better to give very little
-that will remain and do good, than a large quantity which will return.
-Treat the complaint in other ways as in the human subject. Observe if
-there be no bile; and if there is not, give to a full-grown cat a grain
-and a half of the grey powder (_Album. cum creta_) used in similar cases.
-As I before observed, you must watch the effect of your remedy, as the
-complaint may change at once; if it does not, and there is still no bile,
-give, in about two hours, another dose.
-
-"If the diarrhoea continue, give a teaspoonful of chalk mixture, used for
-the same complaint in human beings, with seven or eight drops of tincture
-of rhubarb, and four or five of laudanum, every few hours, until it
-cures. Cats will continue as ill as possible for a few days, their eyes
-even fixed; but still, with watching and care, can be cured. A teaspoonful
-of pure meat gravy at a time should be given now and then (but not until
-near two hours after medicine), to keep up the strength until appetite
-returns; then be careful what food you give, and in small quantities at a
-time, as the digestion will be weak."
-
-If, however, under fair treatment, the poor cat does not quickly recover,
-or if dysentery ensue, no hope can be entertained of its restoration; and
-the wisest and most merciful act will be to end quickly the life that must
-undoubtedly perish.
-
-In administering medicine to a cat, be careful not to alarm or excite it
-by needless fuss and ado, nor try its patience by delay. Have what you
-require ready to hand, and the assistance of one person. Take a large,
-coarse cloth, such as a round kitchen towel or coarse apron, and seat
-yourself with your face or left side to the window. Then, with the cloth
-across your knees, take the cat from your assistant, and lightly gathering
-up the cloth, wrap it round the cat. The reason of this is twofold: to
-assist in gently holding the cat secure, and also to prevent its fur from
-getting soiled by any of the medicine that may drop, and, moreover, save
-your clothes also. With the cat facing towards your left hand, carefully
-open the mouth. This must be done with the left hand. The mouth will be
-easily opened by finger and thumb, the palm of the hand being under the
-cat's throat. Gently feel with finger and thumb between the loose skin of
-the lips, and then, with very slight pressure just behind the molar teeth,
-the mouth will be opened wide, like magic. So long as you gently but
-steadily retain the hold, the mouth will remain open. But don't allow the
-cat time to become impatient, and mind your fingers. When the mouth is
-opened, your assistant must promptly and carefully administer the
-medicine. If it is a liquid, it must be poured in very little at a time
-from a small spoon. This must not touch the mouth, or the cat will
-instinctively bite at it. The instant the medicine is given, remove your
-hold of the mouth and leave the head at liberty, in order that the cat may
-swallow at ease. A pill should be placed well back, so as to go the right
-way. A simple powder may be placed upon the tongue dry, mixed with butter,
-or, if not unpleasant, can be put in a little milk, to be drank as usual.
-
-_The Yellows._--The cat is liable to a form of distemper known as
-cat-sickness, or the yellows, which is analogous to jaundice in the human
-subject. It occurs more generally in large, high-conditioned animals, and
-I think it is more common in he-cats than in those of the other sex, and
-it more generally occurs in early life, but seldom before the attainment
-of full growth. On the approach of the malady, the cat appears unusually
-dull and sleepy, and disinclined to touch any kind of food, but may
-attract little attention. Soon, however, the complaint will be
-self-evident by the vomiting of a peculiar yellow, frothy fluid. This
-sickness will recur at intervals, and the poor animal will loathe all
-food, and drink nothing but water. Sometimes the malady will run its
-course, and an unexpected recovery may follow; but in many cases the
-unfortunate cat becomes weaker and weaker, and ultimately dies.
-
-Two or three months ago, from the time I am now writing, I nearly lost a
-splendid young cat named Colocolo; and I consider the unexpected recovery
-due to the great strength of his constitution. He is totally black, and
-was, at the time of the attack, just over eight months of age. And as the
-circumstances connected with this individual case may perhaps be
-interesting to any who may have a cat similarly affected, it will not be
-out of place here to narrate the symptoms and the treatment, such as it
-was, from first to last.
-
-Colocolo had been to the Crystal Palace Show, was highly commended, and
-the best behaved cat in his class, often ready for a little skittish sport
-with an attentive visitor. He had been home just a week when he was taken
-ill. Whether he had been made a little too much of after his return from
-the Palace, I cannot say for certain; but I may here remark that I do not
-in the least think the show disagreed with him. He stood a four-day show
-at the Albert Palace well, was very highly commended there, and returned
-in high spirit. At these exhibitions the cats, many of them animals of
-considerable value, have the best and most careful attention on the part
-of the management. But they are sometimes pampered by their fond owners,
-and I may here suggest that after the confinement and restraint of even
-two nights and two days, it will be wise to be a little careful to avoid
-undue feeding for a day or two if the cat be in high condition, as show
-cats often are. [This mistake is equal to the folly, described with
-telling effect by the late Albert Smith, of supplying blankets to a
-beloved son to keep him warm while ascending Mont Blanc!--ED.][3]
-
-But to return to the subject now under consideration. Colocolo was as
-bright as a lark, romping about, at times, with surprising vivacity and
-great bodily force. He was not less lively on the evening of Tuesday,
-October 27th, but the next day, however, he was observed to be listless,
-and disposed only to sleep. He declined to eat throughout the day, and
-about dusk his first sickness came on. For the next two days he continued
-to vomit occasionally, in less quantity, however, and the bowels were
-also disordered. He became weak to a degree most distressing to behold,
-and the whole skin was tinged with yellow. Nature was left to work her own
-cure. For five whole days and nights the poor creature ate absolutely
-nothing, but he frequently manifested a desire for water. A supply was
-kept constantly within his reach, and often completely renewed, for his
-mouth was very foul. On the forenoon of the Monday following, the weather
-being unusually mild, he crept into the garden and basked in the sunshine
-for some hours. It was sad to see a fine, noble, happy-spirited animal so
-altered. He was unable to move without staggering, and his hind limbs
-appeared as if paralyzed. He mounted a step with difficulty, and in
-descending it he tottered and rolled, or rather sank upon his side. When
-he came indoors again, he returned to his bed, and fell into a most
-unusually heavy sleep--in fact, I never knew a cat to sleep so heavily.
-There was not a sign of life, and the eyes even appeared fixed. We thought
-he had at last slept the sleep of death, and felt a pang of regret, but
-not without a feeling of relief to think that the poor cat was thus
-released from its distress. But, strange to say, we shortly afterwards
-found that he had aroused and altered his position from on his left side,
-being coiled in a ball upon the right. After some time, he left his
-cushion and actually partook of a little milk, but only four or five
-laps. Probably the strong air in the garden had overpowered his weak
-frame, and caused that extraordinary sleep, which was the turning-point,
-apparently, in his illness. But scarcely anything would he touch until
-Thursday (November 5th), when I offered him some fresh raw sheep's lights,
-full of blood. To my agreeable surprise, he ate what I gave, and looked
-for more. I allowed him a good sized piece, as much as I considered safe
-to give at first, taking into account his very weak state. On the strength
-of this he picked up as by magic, and forthwith began to recruit strength
-at a marvellous rate, and in a few days he became as well as ever. All his
-former energy had now returned; his coat, which had become dull, dirty,
-dry, and staring, is now as soft, sleek, and pure as it ever was.
-Fortunately he appeared to suffer no acute pain during his illness,
-although, he certainly was very miserable and dejected. But I have seen
-more distressing cases of this malady in cats, and it is often most humane
-to put the wretched animal out of its misery by a speedy destruction.
-Fortunately the yellows is an ailment that occurs but once.
-
-It is, I consider, both unwise and cruel to tamper with strong drugs, and
-certainly it is mistaken kindness to force milk, or any other food, down
-the throat of a cat suffering from sickness. Let the poor animal be as
-quiet as possible, in a comfortable nest, but not so near a fire as to be
-hot. Sick animals require air, but are very sensitive to cold or the
-slightest draught. As the cat is such a remarkably clean animal, it will,
-whether ill or well, often take a dislike to a favourite resting-place, if
-it become in the slightest degree foul or tainted.
-
-At the very commencement of the sickness, however, an emetic may do good
-in clearing the stomach. But it should be administered at the beginning or
-not at all. I have tried it with good result, and have found simple salt
-and water most handy: it is harmless, at any rate. It may be mixed in the
-proportion of about one-fifth part of salt. Sulphate of soda (Glauber's
-salt) is sometimes preferred to salt. It must, however, be diluted in a
-much larger proportion of water, and less than a teaspoonful of the
-mixture will be as much as should be given. To allay an undue continuance
-of sickness, arising from irritation, about half a teaspoonful of melted
-beef-marrow may be found to give relief.
-
-_Fits._--The cat is liable to fits of a distressing nature, and they occur
-in young animals--more generally about the time they attain their full
-growth--and are more common in male than in female cats. When seized with
-a delirious fit, the poor animal suddenly appears to go wild, dashes about
-in a frantic manner, with staring eyes, often darts through a window, open
-or shut, and then hides in some corner. The symptoms of a convulsive fit
-are somewhat different. In such a case it utters a cry, with staring
-eyes, and falls upon its side. The whole body appears stiffened, the limbs
-struggle convulsively, and the mouth foams. The cat is quite harmless,
-however, during the fit, and there need be no fear in handling it. But be
-gentle and quiet with the poor animal. The best way to give relief is to
-cut a very small slit in the thin part of the ear with a sharp pair of
-scissors, or to make slight incisions with a lancet; not enough to hurt or
-disfigure the ear, but just sufficient to draw a few drops of blood. It is
-well to encourage the bleeding by carefully fomenting the spot with warm
-water, but be very careful not to let any water enter the ear. If,
-however, the bleeding is free, there will be no need for the warm-water
-applications. The loss of only a few drops of blood will afford relief.
-After the fit the cat will generally be timid and nervous, and should
-therefore be treated with consideration. Be careful to avoid overfeeding
-it; in fact, for a short time let its feeding be slightly lowered, if in
-high condition. The cat will quickly outgrow these fits. Many young toms
-have one attack, and a she-cat never has a fit after having once
-littered.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VII.
-
-_ON THE DISEASES OF CATS._
-
-(_Continued._)
-
-
-_Pneumonia, or Inflammation of the Lungs_, is not an uncommon malady in
-the cat, and the tendency to pulmonary weakness appears to be transmitted
-from generation to generation, and is certainly more generally met with in
-cats of foreign origin, as Persian, etc., than in our own native kind. In
-fact, all the felines are evidently much more liable to lung disease than
-are the dogs. Nor are the larger forms exempt, for many a majestic lion,
-or a beautiful leopard in our best-managed zoological collections, has
-succumbed to this fatal distemper. Exposure to cold and damp, poor
-feeding, etc., are generally the immediate causes of lung disease in the
-feline, as in the human subject. The symptoms in pneumonia are a dull,
-uneasy restlessness; the poor cat looks miserable, as doubtless it feels,
-and mopes about in a very dejected manner. It is less disposed to lie than
-it is to squat about. Pneumonia is usually accompanied by pleurisy, and if
-this complaint is as distressingly painful as I have experienced it to be,
-I am sure the cat must at times suffer the most acute pain. Inflammation
-of the lungs, although so generally fatal, may nevertheless be overcome by
-good nursing under favourable circumstances. It occurs more generally in
-winter and spring--the most trying time, in our English climate, for both
-man and beast. Keep the cat indoors, and in a room of comfortable
-temperature, but not too warm, at, say, not much over 55° Fahr. A
-troublesome cough distresses the poor cat frequently, and the laborious
-breathing is manifest by the heaving of the flanks. In the treatment of
-the disease, apply, in the first instance, a stimulating liniment composed
-of equal parts of compound camphor liniment of the British Pharmacopoeia
-and soap liniment. Rub it in upon the sides of the chest, and do not
-spread about more than is necessary, as cats are made miserable by the fur
-being soiled or tainted. The operation may be repeated the next day if
-the liniment has not produced tenderness. Administer, internally, the
-following mixture every four hours, in a dose of ten drops:--Syrup of
-chloral, forty drops; syrup of squills, forty drops; ipecacuanha wine, ten
-drops.
-
-As, probably, the cat will not eat, it will be well to keep up its
-strength by administering beef tea or good milk at intervals.
-
-_Bronchitis_, or inflammation of the lining membrane of the bronchial
-tube, arises from much the same causes that produce inflammation of the
-lungs and pleura, and often accompanies these affections. Bronchitis may
-be readily distinguished by the peculiar wheezing and rattling sound which
-is made when the poor cat is coughing. It may be treated the same as
-inflammation of the lungs, but the mixture to be given may contain twenty
-instead of ten drops of ipecacuanha wine, and also, in addition, ten drops
-of antimony wine; and fifteen drops may be given every four hours.
-
-_Mange_ is caused by a minute insect which burrows into the skin and there
-multiplies. The sarcoptic mange is the most common form that attacks the
-cat, and generally appears first upon the head and neck, and will, in
-time, if not destroyed, spread over other parts of the unfortunate animal.
-It is both humane and prudent, therefore, to check it at the outset. The
-disease is, moreover, contagious, and if a mangy cat is allowed to wander
-at large, it will communicate its trouble, to the ultimate distress of
-its fellows, and the annoyance of their owners. Sarcoptic mange may be at
-first detected by an irritating itching, but it soon breaks out into
-painful sores, which are aggravated by the repeated efforts of the poor
-cat to ease itself by rubbing and scratching. Fortunately, however, this
-disease is not difficult to cure in the cat, and with but little trouble.
-The principal agent employed, both externally and internally, should be
-sulphur. On no account use the strong dressings that are prepared for the
-skin diseases of animals of a different nature. An ointment composed of
-flowers of sulphur and fresh lard, rubbed upon the spot with the finger,
-is a very simple remedy, and I have proved it to be a very effectual one.
-It is well, however, before applying this simple compound, to foment the
-spot with tepid water, and dry it with a soft, clean rag. Apply the
-flowers of sulphur and lard once or twice a day until it has taken effect.
-As it is not in the least unpleasant to the taste, the cat is sure to
-swallow more or less of it in dressing the fur, and more readily so if
-within direct reach of the tongue. The sulphur swallowed acts upon the
-system from within, most effectually poisoning the offending intruders in
-course of time. Mr. Harold Leeney, M.R.C.V.S., remarks that "a proof of
-this eccentric behaviour of sulphur may be found in the blackened watches
-and silver coins carried in the pockets of persons taking the drug." In
-the _Animal World_ for October, 1882, Mr. Leeney alludes to the
-application of sulphur as follows:--"Sulphur in almost any form will
-destroy the parasites, but used as an ointment, much difficulty is
-experienced in washing it off again, and sulphur pure and simple being
-insoluble, and more active remedies dangerous, there is nothing better
-than a solution of sulphuretted potash, which should be applied warm, in
-the proportion of half an ounce dissolved in a quart of water. In using
-any skin dressing, whether for mange or fleas, or any other parasite, it
-is always advisable to begin at the head, as the opposite course leaves
-open a retreat to the ears and eyes, where the application is less likely
-to reach the enemy. That fleas take refuge round the animal's ears when
-in the water was, no doubt, early observed, and gave rise to the story,
-current in sporting circles, that foxes rid themselves of fleas by
-swimming with a piece of wool in their mouths, to which the insects betake
-themselves for safety, and find out their mistake when it is too late.
-
-"The sulphuretted potash lotion need only remain on the cat an hour or
-two, when it should be washed off with more tepid water, to which some
-glycerine has been added, to about the proportion of one ounce to each
-quart of water used. The animal should be carefully dried, giving special
-attention to the face and ears."
-
-_Follicular Mange_, so named from its being caused by the presence of a
-parasite distinguished as _Demodex folliculorum_, is of a different nature
-to the sarcoptic mange, and is less readily expelled.
-
-"Unlike sarcoptic mange, which oftenest affects the hairless parts of the
-body, the follicular mange is found upon the back from the neck, down the
-course of the spine, to the tail. I think the reason of the selection on
-the part of the demodex is that the hair follicles, or little bags from
-which the hairs grow, and in which the parasite lives, are much larger,
-and afford better accommodation. The first symptom of anger in a dog or
-cat is usually the elevation of these hairs, showing them to be stronger,
-and consequently having a larger base, than at other parts of the body.
-
-"The unfortunate cat affected with this malady soon begins to arch her
-back and rub it against the staves of the chairs or the under part of a
-low couch or other convenient furniture; then the hairs are observed to be
-broken, and their condition attributed to this habit of rubbing, so that
-the real cause is often not suspected till great mischief is done and the
-parasites thoroughly established, the back becoming sore all the way down,
-and the animal rapidly losing condition.
-
-"_Treatment._--Since the cause is parasitic, destruction of the offenders
-is the object to be attained, and the best method is by laying bare their
-stronghold, by removing the scurf, etc., with soft soap, before applying
-any remedy. The reason for using soft soap is that the potash it contains
-causes the outer cuticle to swell up and become detached, and thereby
-permits the remedies to come in close contact with the insects, who are
-tenacious of life, like most low forms of animal life. Having thoroughly
-washed the sore skin, apply gently, but with a good deal of persistence, a
-lotion composed of one part of oil of tar to four parts of olive oil,
-taking care to cover the infected area, but not using any more than is
-necessary, as it is most easy to excite nausea in the cat, but not easy to
-allay it. This should be repeated alternate days, washing it off in the
-intervals with plain curd soap, until the skin begins to look dry and
-scaly, and loses its redness. The administration of small doses of sulphur
-(milk of sulphur, two to three grains) daily will facilitate the cure,
-because it is found to make its way through the skin from within,
-rendering the cat a less desirable host."
-
-_Eczema_ (from the Greek, _ekzeo_, I boil out) is another form of skin
-disease to which the cat is sometimes subject, and is the effect of an
-unhealthy condition of the blood. Unlike mange, eczema is not caused by
-the intrusion of an insect parasite. The disease, being of quite a
-different nature, requires treatment of another character altogether.
-Again I use Mr. Leeney's words:--
-
-"Those parts of the skin which have upon them the least hair, as the
-belly and thighs, and under the elbows, are the most frequently attacked.
-It commences with a simple reddening of the skin, and a few days
-afterwards little watery bladders or vesicles are observed. These
-breaking, and their contents drying upon the skin, form an offensive,
-unctuous matter, which becomes mixed with dirt and the _débris_ of broken
-hair, etc., and reacts upon the already inflamed skin. It is caused by an
-arid condition of the blood, or perhaps it would be more correct to say an
-insufficiently alkaline condition of it, since in health that fluid should
-have an alkaline reaction. Whatever doubt may be cast upon this theory as
-to the origin of the malady, there is no doubt but that alkaline
-bicarbonates produce a speedy cure, and the recovery is much facilitated
-by soothing applications to the abraded parts.
-
-"I would advise as a mixture, bicarbonate of potash, two grains; water,
-thirty drops; mix for one draught; to be taken twice a day. If the nurse
-cannot give the medicine as a fluid, the same quantity of potash may be
-mixed with a little butter or honey, and smeared upon the cat's toes or
-shoulders, for she will soon lick it off there. Many cats will not detect
-it dissolved in a saucer of milk, as it has only the slightest saline
-taste. If neither of these methods is successful, two grains of exsiccated
-carbonate of soda may be made into a tiny pill and given in a piece of
-fish.
-
-"The skin should be well fomented with warm water and a sponge, with a
-little curd soap and glycerine added to the water. After carefully drying
-with a piece of lint or old, soft calico, an ointment of zinc (benzoated
-zinc ointment of the British Pharmacopoeia) should be carefully applied
-for several minutes, careful manipulation being of more service than a
-large amount of ointment. We have spoken of the condition of the blood
-which gives rise to eczema, and of remedies likely to cure it; but
-prevention is, of course, better still.
-
-"I have been able to trace the disease in some cats to access to a
-neighbouring fishmonger's dust-hole, where offal has been thrown and
-allowed to decompose; in others it is traceable to milk. It is difficult
-enough to keep dogs from eating filth in the streets after refusing good
-food at home; but who shall restrain the cat? The removal of the offending
-material, rather than any additional restraint upon pussy, will be, if
-permissible, the best remedy.
-
-"I have known many cats quite cured without any other remedy than an
-abundant supply of horse-flesh, as retailed by the cats'-meat men.
-
-"While the subject of food is under consideration, I may mention that a
-very unfounded prejudice exists against horse-flesh; and while our French
-neighbours are making it an article of human food, we retain our insular
-prejudices to such an extent that many people do not even like their dogs
-and cats to eat it. As a general rule, horses are slaughtered because lame
-or incapable, and their flesh is in a healthy state, and affords good,
-sound muscular fibre, while those who die generally do so from acute
-diseases, as colic, inflammation of the lungs, hernia, etc., etc., the
-flesh or muscular parts being in no way injured or rendered deleterious. A
-noticeable example of flesh-fed cats is to be seen in the many large and
-handsome cats at the Royal Veterinary College, who feed themselves on the
-donkeys and horses in the dissecting-room."
-
-Before concluding this chapter I may suggest that, with fair attention, a
-good cat may be expected to live out a fair term of years, and perhaps
-without any special ailment. Certainly the causes of disease and death are
-not a few, sometimes obscure, or of a complicated character; yet the cat
-is not singular in its liability to pain and death, for such is the
-portion which falls to all creatures, man not excepted. But when we
-consider that the cat is a rather fast-breeding animal, and has fewer
-natural enemies than many other creatures--the rodents, for example--it is
-evident that the feline race, both in its wild and domesticated state,
-must be subject to such a constant check upon its undue increase as is
-justly required to maintain the right balance in creation. Few cats live
-to old age, which may be estimated at fourteen years. I have heard,
-however, of two cases at least in which the extraordinary age of
-twenty-two years has been attained. But what a vast proportion are not
-permitted to survive as many hours! The irrefutable assertion in the Book
-of Ecclesiastes, that there is "a time to be born, and a time to die,"
-having reference to the limited duration of human life, may with equal
-truth and propriety be considered respecting the whole animal creation.
-Death is one of the essential laws in nature. Disease and violence may be
-regarded as but instruments of destruction in the hand of the Almighty. No
-thoughtful student of nature can fail, however, to be deeply impressed by
-the evidence that the great God that made all things is not only infinite
-in power and wisdom, but a God of love. To use the words of Isaac Walton:
-"The study of the works of nature is the most effectual way to open and
-excite in us the affections of reverence and gratitude towards that Being
-whose wisdom and goodness are discernible in the structure of the meanest
-reptile."
-
-_Worms._--It may be difficult, however, to comprehend, or to regard
-without disgust, such loathsome forms of life as are the different worms,
-in some form peculiar to, perhaps, every species of mammal, bird, or fish.
-
-As Mr. Leeney observes:--"Cats are subject to wandering parasites, which
-pierce the tissues and cause much pain and illness in seeking 'fresh
-fields and pastures new.' Pussy is not exempt from the _Trichina
-spiralis_, which, as my readers are probably aware, is the cause in man,
-in swine, and other animals, of the dreadful malady known as trichinosis.
-
-"It is during the wandering of these minute worms that the fever and pain
-is produced in the subject, be he human or any other animal.
-
-"That cats should be more liable to this parasite than man is readily
-understood when we take into account the liking they have for raw meat,
-while cooking generally obviates the danger from man. The prevalence of
-trichina, and the disease produced by it, in Germany, is to be accounted
-for by the custom of eating uncooked ham and other things. I have myself
-eaten this 'schinken' in Germany. I am afraid if trichinosis could be
-detected in a cat no remedy could be suggested; but in speaking of worms,
-it ought to be taken into consideration, and may, perhaps, account for
-some of the obscure causes of death in our domestic pet.
-
-"There are, again, worms whose habitat is the blood-vessels, and whose
-choice for a nest is the junction or branch of some artery--a favourite
-one being that vessel which is given off from the great trunk (_posterior
-aorta_) to the liver (_hepatic_). The presence of such a nest occludes the
-vessel, and produces changes in the structure of its coat, which,
-together with the diminished calibre of the vessel, seriously affects the
-liver, by depriving it in a great measure of its nourishment, its
-substance, like all other parts of the body, depending for its maintenance
-and repair on the constant circulation of fresh blood, charged with
-material for supplying the daily waste.
-
-"The ducts or passages from the liver through which the bile should pass
-are the favourite haunt of another kind of parasite--the fluke; here 'they
-do most breed and haunt,' producing dropsy, a condition well known in
-sheep, and called the 'rot.'
-
-"These, like the strongylus occasionally found in the kidneys, are most
-fatal to their bearers, and unfortunately beyond the reach of remedies.
-
-"A great many remedies have been suggested for sheep suffering from their
-presence, but the chief difficulty consists in the fact that any remedy,
-in order to affect the parasite, must enter first into the circulation of
-the bearer, and the turpentine which would kill the fluke would first kill
-the cat; and again, the salt, which ruminants enjoy, could not be given to
-the cat, because vomition is so easily excited, and so much would be
-required.
-
-"Fortunately for cats and dogs, the kind of worms to which they are most
-subject are generally situated in the stomach and bowels, and are to be
-dislodged without much difficulty. It may be taken as a general rule that
-round worms can be expelled by santonin, and flat worms by areca-nut; but
-some care should be exercised in the administration of these drugs.
-
-"If a cat is found to be very thin, and her coat is stiff and harsh,
-accompanied with vomiting of round worms, or they are observed in the
-excrement, a pill should be made of half a grain of santonin, and ten
-grains of extract of gentian, and two or three grains of saccharated
-carbonate of iron, and given fasting, at intervals of two or three days.
-The best way of giving a pill to a cat is to stick it on the end of a
-penholder, and, having opened her mouth, push it back on the tongue
-without any fear of its going the wrong way, and withdraw the penholder
-suddenly. The pill will almost certainly be swallowed, as the rough,
-papillæ on the cat's tongue will have prevented the pill being withdrawn
-with the holder, and it should have been placed too far back for the
-patient to do anything with it but swallow it.
-
-"If tape-worm has been observed, from one to three grains of areca-nut
-(freshly grated) should be given in the form of a pill, mixed with five
-grains of extract of gentian, and two grains of extract of hyoscyamus.
-Areca-nut will probably produce the desired effect given alone, but it too
-often produces acute colic, and even fits, if not mixed with some
-sedative."
-
-There is a worm peculiar to the feline race only, and known as _Ascaris
-mystax_, or the moustached worm, so called from the four projections at
-the head. This worm more generally infests the intestines, but often
-lodges in the stomach, and grows to a considerable length, and is then
-usually vomited up, to the relief of the poor cat.
-
-"The presence of this or other guests within the stomach is often a cause
-of gastric derangement, and the cat will be at times voracious, and at
-others 'very dainty,' no doubt feeling faint and nauseated by the
-irritating presence of the worms, and desperately hungry sometimes from
-being robbed of its nourishment; for it must be remembered that worms do
-not simply eat the food as it reaches the stomach from time to time, but
-they live on the all but completely digested food, or chyle, which is
-just ready to enter the circulation, and contains all the most nutritive
-part of the food in a condition fit for building up the animal structures,
-and replacing the waste which is always taking place. It is only by the
-consideration of this fact that we can understand how a few small worms
-can so rapidly cause the bearer to waste away."
-
-And now, in concluding, may I suggest that there is "a time to kill, and a
-time to heal," and that when a favourite cat is really ill, in pain, or
-has met with a serious accident, it is often both wise and merciful to
-drown or shoot the poor animal effectually, and without delay. Drowning,
-as I have before observed, is, perhaps, the simplest and the least painful
-of the ordinary methods of destruction. Shooting must be resorted to with
-care and forethought, and no possibility allowed of the cat escaping but
-only wounded. Poison is at all times to be avoided.
-
-
-
-
-FELINE INSTINCT.
-
-
-I.
-
-Mitis and Riquet are two tom-cats saved from a litter of five; their
-mother is an Angora, slate-coloured, with the neck, breast, and tips of
-the paws white. Mitis has a large head and limbs, and a coat which
-promises to be Angora and the same colour as his mother's, a white muzzle,
-and white underneath his eyes, while his lips and the tip of his nose are
-bright pink. Riquet's body and tail are black, with grey marks; his head,
-which is smaller than his brother's, is grey, with zebra-like bands of
-black crossing longitudinally and laterally; two white streaks branch out
-from the upper end of the nose, and on the forehead two curved lines,
-starting from the corners of his eyes, surround a disc of black and grey.
-
-No sooner has their mother licked them over than they set off whining and
-seeking for her teats. I made some observations of their movements on the
-first and second days; but as I am afraid of not recording them with
-sufficient accuracy from memory, I will begin with the third day, when I
-took to writing down my observations.
-
-_12th May._--They are perpetually moving about, even when sucking and
-sleeping. Sleep overtakes them in the act of sucking, and then, according
-to what position they were in at the moment, they either remain ensconced
-in their mother's silky breast, or fall over with open mouths into some
-graceful attitude. The little gluttons, Riquet especially, who seems to be
-delicately organised, are often troubled with hiccoughs, reminding one of
-young children who have sucked too copiously. It is curious to watch them
-when searching for a teat, turning their heads abruptly from right to
-left, and left to right, pushing now with their foreheads, now with their
-muzzles; tumbling and jumping one over the other, sliding between their
-mother's legs, trying to suck no matter what part of her body; and
-finally, when they have settled down to their meal, resembling leeches,
-whose whole activity is concentrated on the work of suction, and who, as
-soon as they have thoroughly gorged themselves, let go their hold and fall
-back into _inertia_.
-
-Whenever their sensibility is unpleasantly excited, as, for instance, if
-their mother leans on them too heavily, or leaves them alone, or performs
-their toilet too roughly, they give vent to monotonous--I had almost said
-monosyllabic--plaints; sounds which can scarcely be called _mias_, still
-less _miaows_; they are best described as trembling _mi-i-is_. They also
-emit these plaintive sounds when they have been searching long for a teat
-without finding one, or if they annoy each other during the laborious
-search; or if I take them up too quickly, or turn them over in the palm of
-my hand to examine them. If I set them up in my hand in a standing
-position, they will remain motionless for a few seconds, as if enjoying
-the warmth of my hand; but very soon again they begin clamouring with loud
-whines for their home in the mother's warm, soft stomach, which is at once
-their shelter and their dining-room, the familiar, and perhaps the loved,
-theatre of their nascent activity.
-
-_13th May._--This morning Mitis appeared to be ill. He was languid, did
-not whine when I took him up, and made no attempt at sucking; he had an
-attack of hiccoughs, accompanied by shiverings all over his body, which
-made me anxious. It only lasted an hour, however: there may have been some
-temporary cause of indisposition; or perhaps excessive sucking, or a very
-great need of sleep, had reduced him to a semi-inert mass.
-
-Riquet's head is prettier than it was yesterday; the white spot has
-increased in size, the grey marks have spread and grown lighter, and the
-head and neck are rather larger; but Mitis has still by far the finest
-carriage.
-
-_Twelve o'clock._--The two leeches have been operating for twenty minutes
-without desisting. They are now brimful of milk, and settling themselves
-down, no matter where--one on the mother's stomach, the other on her paws;
-no sooner have they placed themselves than they fall asleep.
-
-_Two o'clock._--They have no fixed position for sucking; any does that
-comes first.
-
-When the mother leaves them alone for a moment they turn in rapid
-gyrations round and round, over and under each other, delighting in the
-mutual contact of their bodies and the warmth which it engenders. If the
-mother remains absent for some minutes, they end by falling asleep one
-over the other in the shape of a cross. If I lift up the top one, the
-other soon begins to whine: they are not accustomed to solitude, and it
-produces a painful impression of cold. Very young animals are easily
-chilled, and sometimes die of cold in a temperature which is not very low.
-This is owing to the smallness of their bodies and the feebleness of their
-respiratory organs.
-
-Between four and five o'clock Riquet seemed to me very lively. He was
-searching for a teat which he could not find, and for ten minutes he
-crossed backwards and forwards over his brother's body, giving him
-frequent slaps with his paws.
-
-Riquet's nose is a pink-brown, but tending to red-brown.
-
-This evening (ten o'clock) I showed the mother a saucer full of milk; she
-left her kittens to go and drink it, and afterwards she took a turn at a
-plate of porridge; her absence lasted barely five minutes. The kittens,
-during this time, went through their usual manoeuvres: Riquet turned three
-times running round his brother; the latter, who is more indolent, or
-perhaps has more need of sleep, stretched himself out full length on his
-side. Riquet, however, cannot rest till he has found what he is searching
-for--viz., the body of his mother. He is still in a state of agitation
-when the cat comes back, raises herself with her front-paws on the edge of
-the box, and drops quietly down by the side of her little ones without
-touching them. Instantly they start up, raising their little waggling
-heads; they know that their mother is there--the slight noise she made in
-getting into the box, and the movement she imparted to it, are associated
-in their memory with the idea of her presence.
-
-The mother's first care is to see to their toilet, and she proceeds to
-turn them over with two or three strokes of her tongue, and then operates
-on them with the same natural instrument. Both have their turn; and at the
-end of the operation, which seems to worry them, they whine considerably,
-though not at all loud. A few minutes after, the melodious snoring of the
-mother informs me that the whole family is at rest. I take a peep at them:
-the mother is laid on her left side, describing a large and elegant curve;
-Mitis, half on his hind-paws, half on his stomach, is stretched across
-Riquet, and both are sleeping, or sucking--perhaps doing both at the same
-time.
-
-_14th May._--My kittens seem to grow as I watch them, especially Mitis'
-head, neck, and back; he is a massive heavy kitten, but his forehead is
-broad and high: he will probably be an intelligent cat; his leonine chin,
-large and well developed, indicates energy and goodness. He begins to show
-more vivacity than during the earlier days; when he encounters his brother
-in searching for a teat, or if the latter disputes with him the one he has
-got hold of, he deals out at him rapid strokes with his paw, which remind
-one of a dog swimming. His mother has just been performing his toilet in
-the manner aforesaid, and has no doubt kept him longer at it than he
-liked; he shows his displeasure by striking out his hind paws, one of
-which knocks against his ear, and uttering two or three impatient _mis_.
-
-These very occasional and but slightly emphasised cries are the only ones
-which Riquet--even the brisk and lively Riquet--gives out, even when I
-take him in my hand. I have seen other cats that were more unhappy
-complain more: one, for instance, which was the only one I had kept out of
-a litter, and which died at ten days old, just as it was beginning to open
-its eyes; in her grief at having lost all her other kittens, the mother
-used to carry this one about from place to place, and even leave it alone
-for hours at a time; I believe it died from bad treatment and insufficient
-feeding; the poor little thing frequently uttered loud moanings. I cannot
-feel the slightest doubt as to the causes of its death when I see the
-mother so happy with the two that I have left her this time; she has not
-once called or searched for the other three which I drowned. Does this
-proceed from a want of arithmetical aptitude? _Two_, for her, are _many_
-as well as _five_. However this may be, she is very happy, very _repue_,
-very attentive, and her little ones are habituated to comfort, ease,
-satisfied desires, and tranquil sleep and digestion. If they do not know
-how to complain I think it is because they have had no reason to learn to
-do so.
-
-The colour of Riquet's hair is changing sensibly: the grey-white now
-preponderates on his face. The velvety black of his neck, back, and sides
-is silvered with whitish tints, which have spread since the morning.
-
-Often when they are alone, or even if their mother is with them, they will
-mistake no matter what part of their bodies for teats and begin to suck
-it, as a child of six months will suck its finger or even the tip of its
-foot.
-
-_15th May._--To-day I held Riquet on my hand for three minutes. I was
-smoking a cigar; the little creature stretched out its neck, poked its
-nose up in the air, and sniffed with a persistent little noise. A sparrow,
-whose cage was hung up over us, frightened at my smoking-cap, began to fly
-round the cage and beat at it with its wings. At the sound of this noise
-Riquet was seized with a sudden fit of trembling, which made him squat
-down precipitately in my hand. Movements of this kind are reflex ones, the
-production of which is associated in the organism with certain auditory
-impressions; but the animal is necessarily more or less conscious of them,
-or will soon be so. From five minutes' observation I have thus learnt that
-Riquet is sensible to strong smells, and that he already goes through the
-consecutive movements of sentiment and fear.
-
-Riquet's head is visibly changing to silver-grey; the marks on his back
-are also assuming this shade.
-
-I took Mitis in my hands, stretched them out and drew them up again. He
-does not seem to know quite what to make of it; he attempts a few steps,
-feels about uncertainly with his head, and comes in contact with my coat
-smelling of the cigar; he appears to be scenting my coat, but not with so
-much noise and vivacity as Riquet does. He waggles his head about, feels
-about with his paws, and tries to suck my coat and my hands; he is
-evidently out of his element and unhappy. The mother calls to him from the
-bottom of the box; this causes him to turn his head quickly in the
-direction from which the sound comes (what a number of movements or ideas
-associated in the intelligence and organism of a little animal four days
-old!); he starts off again, making a step forward, then drawing back,
-turning to the right and to the left, with a waddling movement. I give him
-back to his mother.
-
-I thought I noticed once again this evening that the light of my lamp,
-when held near the kittens' box, caused rather lively excitation of their
-eyelids, although these were closed. The light must pass through these
-thin coverings and startle the retinas. The kittens were agitated during
-a few seconds; they raised and shook their heads, then lowered them and
-hid them in the maternal bosom.
-
-The noise of carriages, the sound of my voice, the twittering of the
-sparrow, the movements imparted to the box by my hand--all throw them into
-the same kind of agitation. These movements may be coupled with the
-movements, unconscious no doubt, but determined by external causes, which
-are observed in the young.
-
-_16th May._--Mitis' tail is thickening at the root; the hair of its head
-and neck is close and silky; he will no doubt turn out a considerable
-fraction of an Angora.
-
-When I place the kittens on the palm of my hand they inhale strongly and
-with a certain amount of persistence; this is because their sense of smell
-operates no doubt with tolerable completeness, in view of the species, and
-in the absence of visual perception, and by reason of the imperfect
-operation of their touch.
-
-This evening Mitis, having escaped from the constraint in which his mother
-holds him to perform his toilet, half _plantigrade_ half _gastéropode_,
-dragged himself slowly, though as fast as he was able, along his mother's
-paws, and at last nestled down in the soft fur of her stomach. While in
-this position his head, rolling like that of a drunken man, knocked
-against the head of Riquet, who was in the act of sucking. Instantly Mitis
-lifts a paw and brings it down on his brother's head. The latter holds on,
-as he is very comfortably spread out on the bottom of the box, and is
-sucking a teat placed low down. A second attempt of Mitis' fails equally.
-He then performs rapid movements with his head, searching vigorously for
-his cup, but not finding it. The mother then places a paw on his back, and
-his centre of gravity being thus better established, he at last
-accomplishes his object. Here we have several actions which are no doubt
-in some degree conscious, but which come chiefly under the head of
-automatism: the scent which helps in the search for the teat, the instinct
-to dispute the ground with another who is discovered to be sucking, the
-movements of intentional repulsion, of struggle, of combativeness. What an
-admirable machine for sensation, sentiment, volition, activity, and
-consciousness, is a young animal only just born!
-
-_17th May._--I have observed--or think I have observed--in Mitis, the more
-indolent of the two brothers, the first symptoms of playfulness: lying on
-his back with his mouth half open, he twiddles his four paws with an air
-of satisfaction, and as if seeking to touch some one or something. It is
-eight o'clock in the evening, the window is open, the sparrow is singing
-with all its might in its cage, we are talking and laughing close to the
-cat's box. Do all these noises in some way excite the sensoriums of the
-two _repus_ kittens? The fact is, that they have been in a state of
-agitation for more than a quarter of an hour, travelling one over the
-other and walking over their mother's stomach, paws, and head. Mitis, the
-heavier of the two and soonest tired out, was the first to return to the
-teat. Riquet's return to the maternal breast has been a long and
-roundabout journey from one corner of the box to the other, and round and
-round his mother.
-
-At nine o'clock I went to look at them with the light. This threw them
-into dreadful consternation. I observe in them both something like
-intentions to bite, while rolling each other over, they keep their mouths
-open, and snap instead of sucking when they come in contact with any part
-of each other's bodies; but it is all mechanical. Here we have an increase
-of activity produced by an accession of powers and temporary
-over-excitement.
-
-_18th May._--They are lying asleep on their sides, facing each other, with
-their fore-paws half stretched out against the hind ones. Riquet's sleep
-is much disturbed; his mouth touches one of his brother's paws, which he
-instantly begins to suck. Is this a mechanical or unconscious action? Is
-he not possibly dreaming? After four or five attempts at sucking he lets
-go the paw, and sleeps on tranquilly for four minutes; but the noise of a
-carriage passing in the street, and perhaps the consequent vibration of
-the floor and the bottom of the box, cause violent trembling in his lips,
-paws, and tail.
-
-The mother gets back in the box; and the kittens, instantly awake and
-erect, utter three or four _mis_ to welcome the joyful return.
-
-In settling herself down the mother leans rather heavily on Riquet; the
-latter, who used formerly to extricate himself mechanically, and who
-already knows from experience the inconvenience of such a position, moves
-off brusquely, goes further away than he would have done formerly, and
-Mitis, on the lookout for a teat, hears close to him the noise of his
-brother's sucking. He pommels his head with his hind-paws, rolls up
-against him, striking out with his fore-paws, and knocks him over with the
-weight of his body; he is now in possession of the teat which his brother
-had first tried, and, finding it as good as the one he was sucking before,
-he sticks to it.
-
-_18th May._--Mitis was trying to worry Riquet who was busy sucking. I hold
-out my hand to make a barrier between the two; Mitis pushes it back with
-his paw, but soon perceives the difference between the two bodies which he
-is pushing against, gives over his excitement, and looks out for another
-teat. No doubt in this case there was no comparative perception of
-difference, but different sensations producing different muscular actions;
-that is all, I imagine, but this is nevertheless the germ of veritable
-comparison.
-
-_19th May._--Both the eyes of both kittens are about to open; the eyelids
-seem slightly slit, and are covered with an oozy film. At the external
-corner of Mitis' right eye there is a little round opening disclosing a
-pale blue speck of eyeball, the size of a pin's head. At the internal
-commissure of the left eye there is also a round opening, but much
-smaller, and showing no eye-ball through it. Riquet's right eye is also
-opening slightly; the edges of the left eyelids are stopped up by a
-yellowish discharge.
-
-I fancied that Mitis was playing in the box; I tumbled him over on his
-back, tickled his stomach, and stroked his head; he struck out his paws
-without attempting to pick himself up; this was evidently a more or less
-conscious attempt at play. His mother came to lick him in this attitude,
-and he performed with his fore-paws as previously. Riquet, too, shows a
-tendency to play, but not of such a pronounced nature.
-
-_21st May._--Riquet's left eye is beginning to open at the inside corner.
-
-I took them both up on my hand, and waved my fingers in front of their
-partially opened eyes; but I did not observe any movement from which I
-could infer the power of distinguishing objects.
-
-Mitis, placed close to his mother's head, nibbles at it and plays with his
-paws on her nose; the mother does not approve of this amusement; she lays
-a paw on her son's neck and teaches him respect; soon he escapes from her
-grasp, and begins searching for a teat.
-
-Some streaks of fawn-colour have mixed with the zebra-like black and grey
-on Riquet's neck: he is now quadri-coloured.
-
-Mitis is seated on my hand. I kiss him on the head, three times running,
-making a slight noise with my lips; he shakes his head twice. This is an
-habitual movement of the mother cat when one kisses her or strokes her
-head and it displeases, or if she is occupied with something else.
-
-When I pass my hand in front of their heads, at about four _centimètres'_
-distance, they make a movement with the head and wink their eyes; I am not
-sure whether this means that they see, though their eyes have been more
-or less open since yesterday evening.
-
-They have not yet begun to purr.
-
-_22nd May._--I went up to the box towards twelve o'clock. Riquet's left
-eye, the light blue colour of which I can see, seems to perceive me, but
-it must be very indistinctly. I wave my hand at ten _centimètres_ from his
-eyes, and it is only the noise I make and the disturbance of the air that
-cause him to make any movement.
-
-Both Mitis' eyes are almost entirely open; I hold my finger near his nose
-without touching it, I wave it from right to left and left to right, and I
-fancy I perceive in the eyes--in the eyes more than in the head--a slight
-tendency to move in the direction of my movements.
-
-_23rd May_, 7 P.M.--Their movements are less trembling, quicker, and
-fierce not only because of increased strength and exercise, but because
-intention, directed by eyesight, is beginning to operate.
-
-The more I observe young animals, the more it seems to me that the
-external circumstances of their development--alimentation, exercise (more
-or less stimulated and controlled), ventilation, light, attention to their
-health and their _affective_ sensibilities, care in breeding and
-training,--are perhaps only secondary factors in their development.
-Actual sensations, it seems to me, serve only to bring to the service one
-set of virtualities rather than another; a sentient, intelligent, active
-being is a tangled skein of innumerable threads, some of which, and not
-others, will be drawn out by the events of life. This it is that marks out
-the precise work, limits the power, but at the same time encourages all
-the pretensions of educators. If all is not present in all, as Jacolot
-asserted, who can say what is and what is not present in a young animal or
-a young child?
-
-I placed Mitis on a foot-warmer, the contact with which produced two or
-three nervous tremblings, somewhat similar to slight shiverings; he seemed
-pleased, however, and stretched himself out on the warm surface, with his
-eyes half-closed, as if going to sleep. Afterwards I placed Riquet there;
-he went through the same trembling movements, but then proceeded with an
-inspection with his muzzle--scenting or feeling, I do not know which, the
-article on which he had been deposited. He then gently stretched out a paw
-and laid himself down flat, the contact with the warm surface inducing
-sleep, by reason of the familiar associations between the like sensation
-of warmth experienced on his mother's breast and the instinctive need of
-sleep.
-
-When they trot about in their box, some of their movements appear to be
-directed by sight.
-
-Their ears have lengthened perceptibly during the last two days, and so
-have their tails.
-
-When any one walks about the room, if they are not asleep or sucking, they
-begin frisking about immediately.
-
-The mother, whom I sent to take a little exercise in the courtyard, has
-been absent for half an hour. Mitis is asleep; Riquet, lying with his head
-on his brother's neck, was awakened by the sound of my footsteps, all the
-more easily roused no doubt because he was hungry, and because his mother
-had been absent so long. I stroke his head with my finger, and he puts on
-a smiling look. I make a little noise with my lips to rouse the sparrow,
-and this noise pleases Riquet, who listens with the same smiling
-countenance.
-
-They now attempt to climb higher; they do not knock their noses so
-frequently against the partitions of the box, they certainly direct their
-paws at certain points determined by their vision; eyes, noses, and paws
-now operate in concert on the teats or any other objects that come across
-their way; for they do not go much in search of objects as yet. Their
-field of vision does not stretch very far; what they see is matter of
-chance and accident rather than of real intention. If I wish to attract
-their attention by waving my hand, I must not hold it further than fifteen
-_centimètres_ from their eyes. I must go very close to them before they
-appear to distinguish my person. I am not sure that they see the whole of
-it; I rather think that only certain portions are visible to
-them,--amongst others my nose, because it stands out in relief, and my
-eyes, because they reflect the light vividly.
-
-_24th May_, 9 P.M.--The orbits of their eyes seem to me rather more
-expanded than this morning, possibly because the light makes their pupils
-contract. I placed a candle on a chair by the side of their box; the light
-evidently annoyed them, but it stimulated them to exercise their limbs.
-Mitis, after having promenaded and struggled about in a corner of the box,
-and grown accustomed to the lively sensations on his retina, directs his
-steps towards the most brightly-lighted point of the box. A band of light
-falls full on the upper part of the partition on the side facing me.
-Mitis, and Riquet after him,--more from imitation than personal
-excitement,--tries to climb up this luminous board; he does not succeed,
-but the attraction continues undiminished. I thought involuntarily of the
-plants which struggle up walls to reach the light.
-
-Mitis, still somewhat disconcerted--though much less so than at
-first--when he looks directly at light, retires into a corner, and tired,
-no doubt, with the exercise he has just been taking, places himself, or
-rather falls back, on his mother's tail. I take him up gently, and set him
-in front of his mother's stomach, and by the side of Riquet, who had just
-finished his gambols also, and was sucking. Then began a scuffle, the
-front paws working away perceptibly like the _battoirs_ of a washerwoman.
-I come to the rescue, placing my hand between them, and this calms them
-down; they favour me, however, with a few ridiculous little taps. Mitis,
-meanwhile, has taken possession of the contested teat, and celebrates his
-victory by the first _purr_ that to my knowledge he has produced.
-
-Riquet is now in a great state of agitation; he is lying in the dark,
-behind his mother's back, and close to the side of the box facing me. I
-hold my finger to him; he lifts himself up and leans his head slowly
-forward to touch or scent my finger. He can now distinguish people, but
-more by touch, scent, or hearing than by sight, the latter sense being
-very imperfectly developed and little exercised. When I make a slight
-noise with my lips the little creature starts and jumps about, but does
-not lift up his eyes to my face, which he has seen close to him, has
-looked at with attention, but which he is very imperfectly acquainted
-with, and does not accurately localise with respect to my hand and my
-body.
-
-Riquet is close to his mother's head. He has stretched a paw over her
-neck, and is looking at some part or other of her head, I don't know
-which, while playing gently with his little paw. Here we see an
-intelligent development of affection; he now loves his mother in a more
-conscious way; his visual and tactile perceptions are becoming
-co-ordinated, are amplifying his knowledge, and giving strength and
-precision to his sentiments.
-
-I stretch out my finger to Mitis, who is still lying on the spot where I
-found him at first. In return, either from curiosity, or from instinctive
-impulse and movement, he holds out his little paw, which seems to enjoy
-the grasp of my finger, and sticks to it.
-
-_25th May._--I place my kittens, one after the other, in the hollow of my
-hand. Mitis squealed when I lifted him out of the box, and during the
-three minutes that I kept them in my hand they both seemed almost
-indifferent. The instant, however, that I put them back in the box they
-seemed quite delighted to get back again, or else they were stimulated to
-play by the various sensations--muscular, visual, tactile, and
-thermal--which I had occasioned them. Standing and walking about on my
-hand had stimulated Mitis to an extraordinary display of strength. In his
-desire for prolonged exercise, and no doubt also wishing to renew the
-vivid sensations of light he had just experienced, he set to work to climb
-up the perpendicular wall of his dwelling, making all the time a great
-noise of scratching. All movement produces sensations; and all sensations
-produce movements.
-
-_26th May._--They both play with their paws and their muzzles, but
-frequently, as if by chance, only without very marked intention, and with
-very uncertain movements.
-
-I seem already to distinguish in them two different characters. If one can
-go by appearances, Mitis will be gentle, patient, rather indolent and
-lazy, prudent and good-natured; Riquet, on the contrary, lively, petulant,
-irritable, playful, and audacious. Noise and contact seem to excite him
-more than his brother. But both of them are very affectionate towards
-their mother, or perhaps I should say very appreciative of the pleasure of
-being with her, of seeing, hearing, and touching her, and not only of
-sucking from her.
-
-I hold Mitis up to the edge of the box; he evinces a desire to get back to
-his mother, but does not know how to manage it. His muscles have not yet
-acquired the habit of responding to this particular psycho-motive
-stimulus; he crawls up to where my hand ends, advances first one paw, then
-another, and finds only empty space; he then stretches out his neck, and
-two or three times running makes an attempt with his paws at the movements
-which are the precursors of the act of jumping. He would like to jump
-down, but cannot do so; instinctive intention is here in advance of the
-adaptiveness or the strength of the muscular apparatus fitted to execute
-it. He retreats frightened and discouraged, and whines for help.
-
-Riquet placed in the same position, goes through almost the same
-movements, but he is able to do more; he has managed to seize hold (chance
-perhaps assisting him) of the edge of the box, he sticks to it, leans over
-without letting go, and would have got down, or rather tumbled down, into
-the box, if I had let him.
-
-_27th May._ Every day they get to know me better. Now, after I have taken
-them in my hands, or stroked their head, neck, or lips, they go back to
-their box quite excited; they walk about in it faster than before, snap at
-each other and strike out their paws with much more spirit. Play has now
-become a matter of experience with them, and grows day by day a little
-more complicated; they seem to be aware of their growth in strength and
-skill, and to derive pleasure from it. To-day, for the first time, Riquet
-scratched the piece of stuff on the bottom of the box, and he did it with
-playful gestures and an expression of delight; first he stretched out one
-paw, then the other, with his claws turned out, and, being pleased with
-the noise produced by drawing back his claws, he renewed the operation
-twice, but no more. It will be necessary to go through the same experience
-two or three times more, in order to fix the idea of this game in his
-little head.
-
-They have already tried several times running (either by accident or with
-a vague idea of ascending) to hold on to, or climb up, the sides of the
-box; if they were not slippery, or were covered with a cloth, I think they
-would have strength enough to lift themselves up to the edge.
-
-They lift their head and paws as high as they can, in order to see better.
-All the inside of the box seems to be sufficiently well known to them, but
-all the same they are constantly making experiments in it, either by
-touch, sight, hearing, scent, and even taste; for they frequently lick the
-board, and try to suck the cloth at the bottom. They would no doubt gladly
-extend the area of their experiences, but I shall leave them habitually
-in the box until they are able to get out of it by themselves; they can
-get quite enough exercise in it, and they have enough air and light, and I
-think the prolongation of this calm, happy, retired existence makes them
-more gentle. The mother prefers their being in the box, and I am of the
-same opinion, though not perhaps for the same reasons. They would become
-too independent if allowed to follow their caprices, and exposed to the
-dangers of adventure, instead of being accustomed to the restraint of the
-hand which they love and which _humanises_[4] them. I want them to become
-so thoroughly accustomed to my hand, that, when they receive their
-freedom, they will still recognise it from a distance, and come to it at
-my will. My hand is a very precious instrument of preservation and
-education for them.
-
-_28th May._ When, standing close to the box, I take Mitis in my hands, he
-looks at the box, bends his head, stretches out his paws, and shows a
-considerable desire to get down, but without making any effort towards
-this end. I hold him a little lower down, at a few _centimètres_ from his
-mother, and he no longer hesitates but lets himself glide down to her,
-his movements, however, only turning out a success thanks to my
-assistance. Can it be that he had (what Tiedemann does not even allow his
-fourteen-months-old child to have possessed) a vague perception of
-distance, of empty and inhabited space, anterior to personal experience?
-"He had not yet any idea of the falling of bodies from a height, or of the
-difference between empty and inhabited space. On the 14th October he still
-wanted to precipitate himself from heights, and several times he let his
-biscuit fall to the ground when intending to dip it in his cup."
-
-The kittens endeavour to climb along the sides of the box, but their idea
-of height (perhaps an instinctive idea) is not sufficiently determined;
-they seem quite astounded at not reaching the goal with the first stroke.
-At the same time I may be mistaken in my observations; perhaps they went
-up these four or five _centimètres_ mechanically, because in walking along
-horizontally they found under their paws the surface of the partition
-which may have seemed a natural continuation of their road. Perhaps they
-have no wish to get up to the edge of the box.
-
-_28th May._--The grey spots on Riquet's back are now almost as large as
-the black ones.
-
-The eyes of both kittens are getting less and less blue; they are assuming
-an indistinct colour, between dirty grey and light brown. Their
-expression is frank and sympathetic; they seem to direct their looks
-consciously and voluntarily.
-
-Riquet is looking at me with an expression of pleasure, seated upright,
-with his paws lifted languidly. I hold my finger near him, and he extends
-his left paw. I stroke the left side of his head, and he leans the part
-which I caress on my finger, as a full-grown cat would do, and rubs
-himself two or three times running against my finger. These are _invented_
-movements--I mean movements furnished all of a sudden by the stimulus of
-hereditary virtualities, and which seem to astonish the young animal as
-well as to please him; it is thus that we see automatic movements at one
-moment coming under the control of consciousness, and the next escaping
-from it, refined, simplified, adapted, and perfected. Life invents but few
-new movements; but there are many, no doubt, ready to appear if the
-influences of surroundings permitted it.
-
-_29th May._--They are learning more and more to exercise their muscles and
-perfect their movements; they are daily acquiring fresh powers and
-_adaptations_, and in their games with each other and their mother they
-show intention and pleasure; they are learning more and more to
-distinguish people; if any one presents a finger to them, they always
-hold out their nose, or else a paw; this seems to have become a reflex
-action with them. They also appear to localise certain sensations which
-are in some sort artificial. I touch the tip of Mitis' left paw, (he has
-been sucking for the last ten minutes); he stops sucking, and instantly
-turns his head in the direction of his paw; but this is perhaps because he
-has seen my hand, and the muscular sensation associated with this visual
-sensation may have determined his movement alone and almost automatically.
-I vary the experiment, however, and pass my finger two or three times
-running across his neck; he raises his head and looks behind him, as if
-understanding where I had touched him. However this may be, I should not
-like to affirm in him the faculty of localising pleasure or pain, except
-as a sort of automatic localisation of sensations, which would be the
-result of certain anterior _adaptations_.
-
-The mother is engaged on the toilet of Mitis, who neither looks pleased
-nor displeased; he makes a sound which is neither a cry of pain, nor the
-whining of complaint or anger; if he is giving expression to a mental
-condition well defined to himself, I cannot guess at it. It is a tremulous
-noise which might be represented by the following letters: _mrrrimr_....
-
-_2nd June._--Riquet's ears grow more than those of Mitis. The hair of the
-latter has ceased to grow, and his tail is scarcely more bushy than his
-brother's. He will not be more of an Angora than Riquet, in spite of the
-long silky hair, which during the first days grew so abundantly on his
-neck, stomach, and thighs.
-
-Riquet has become more patient, and Mitis more lively during the last few
-days. It would be very presumptuous to pretend to found precise inductions
-as to the future on observations taken during the first days; hypothesis
-itself must maintain the most scrupulous reserve, especially as regards
-predictions concerning intelligence and character. A cat which appears
-very intelligent at the age of one or two months, often shows very
-mediocre intelligence when a year or two old, and _vice versâ_. As to the
-colour and nature of the hair, six weeks must have elapsed before one can
-give any certain opinion as to the real shade that it will be, and as to
-its flexibility, abundance, brilliancy, and waviness. As for the ears I
-have often erred in my predictions ... which are scarcely perceptible at
-birth, and during the first eight or ten days, will sometimes grow to a
-disproportionate length afterwards. With regard to the paws and the tail,
-half a _decimètre's_ length at the moment of birth indicates undoubtedly
-an appreciable length later on. One can also determine on the first day
-the future firmness of the muscles and bones by the relative resistance of
-these little velvety lumps when held in the hand. A strong voice, which is
-more especially the appendage of male kittens, indicates at any rate good
-lungs.
-
-Mitis, who is so gentle, has more flattened ears than Riquet; the latter's
-stand up more like those of foxes and wolves. The little complementary
-_pavillion_ ... which is attached to both edges of the ear, slightly
-towards the bottom, and which in man is designated by a slight rudimentary
-excrescence, is beginning to appear in both my kittens.
-
-They are now well advanced in the art of play; they fence well with their
-paws, lick each other, and tumble and roll each other over. Riquet, who
-has some difficulty in standing upright on his legs, has attempted a jump.
-They try to bite each other at play, specially aiming at each other's
-paws. Often by mistake they seize their own paws with their teeth and gnaw
-at them; but they are not long in finding out their error.
-
-I place them on the ground. They tremble, seem frightened, or rather
-astonished, or undecided, and make a few uncertain movements. One of them
-perceives the mother at a distance of about a _mètre_, looking at them
-from under a chair. He goes straight up to her, but very slowly, and with
-a great deal of waddling; all of a sudden he stops. He has heard his
-brother's voice, the latter having whined on my touching him to rouse him
-out of his persistent immovability; he turns his head in our direction,
-distinguishes me, turns straight round, and comes up to me with much
-greater rapidity and assurance than he had shown in going to his mother.
-The reason of this is, that the road to me was shorter and surer, and the
-stimulus to traverse it greater, owing to the larger proportions of my
-body. I place them back in the box, and they begin playing again with
-zest. The one who had only moved feebly on the floor, walks, and even
-jumps, much better this morning. This little outing seems to have
-stimulated him to an effort which he had not made before. In like manner
-we sometimes note progress in young children from day to day.
-
-They can now climb up to the middle of the box.
-
-A board, a few _centimètres_ wide, is nailed to the top of the box, and
-covers about a fourth part of it. Mitis looks at it with longing eyes; he
-makes up his mind, draws himself up as erect as he can, stretches up his
-paws to the partition and within five _centimètres_ of the upper plank;
-he is longing to make an upward leap, and finally he ventures on it; but
-his heavy abdomen and his weak legs play him false, and he rolls over
-ignominiously. In like manner a young child, not yet firm on his legs,
-leaving the support of the chair to venture a step alone, falls in a soft
-heap on the floor.
-
-_4th June._--They play more and more with my finger, bite at it and lick
-it. They seem to look at all objects more attentively, and more
-sympathetically at their mother and me.
-
-When they are playing about under their mother, one sees only a confusion
-of white paws, pink noses, shining eyes, and whisking tails. I have put
-them on my bed. They walk much better there than in the box, and
-infinitely better than on the floor; they studied everything in this new
-locality, walking, climbing up and down, sliding and rolling about.
-Riquet, having reached the edge of the bed, would have fallen over if I
-had not held him back. His more circumspect brother, finding himself in
-the same situation, leant his head over for a moment, and then, as if
-defying a danger more or less realised; turned round and precipitated
-himself at the other side of the bed.
-
-_11th June._--They frisk and bound about, and catch at all objects
-indiscriminately with their claws to try and climb. They look into each
-other's eyes as if trying to discover the expression of sentiments and
-ideas. This may proceed from astonishment and curiosity, and the delight
-of the ever new impressions which the movement of the eyes cannot fail to
-produce in them. But must it not also be partly the result of an
-hereditary predisposition of their organisation, which leads them to seek
-in the eyes for the meaning which they express? We know that adult
-animals, as well as man, are endowed with this tendency which proceeds
-from instinct rather than individual experience.
-
-Partly from imitation of their mother and sister, partly from the teaching
-of their instinct, they went off one day to a certain out-of-the-way spot,
-where was placed a pan full of ashes, the object of which does not require
-to be explained. Observing this, I carried them from time to time to this
-pan. The smell proceeding from it was in itself sufficient to excite them
-to satisfy their needs. Three or four such experiences sufficed to
-associate with the idea of this smell the idea of the pan, of the place
-where it was, and of the need to be satisfied. I do not say that this
-habit of cleanliness, so quickly acquired, may not as quickly be lost, by
-means of new associations taking the place of the first. There is no
-doubt, however, that if the people would make it a rule to watch over the
-formation of habits in cats during the first weeks (and probably also in
-other animals and in children), it would not afterwards be necessary to
-have recourse to a system of barbarous, and often useless measures, in
-order to obtain from them by violence that which nature will manage alone
-with but very slight assistance.
-
-The shutters are closed on account of the extreme heat, so that the room
-is in semi-darkness, and all the objects in it steeped in mysterious
-shadow. Riquet, frisking about at a little distance from the box, sees a
-footstool at about a _mètre's_ distance. This object, with its four feet
-and their shadows would easily produce in my mind the illusion of some
-mysterious animal. This, however, cannot be the case with the kitten,
-unless we suppose in it a mental confusion of the inanimate with the
-animate, that is to say, the animalisation of the inanimate. My opinion is
-that the surprise, and presently, too, the terror which Riquet manifests,
-and which keeps him transfixed to the spot, have their origin rather in a
-certain indeterminate tendency to fear in the presence of all sudden and
-unusual impressions. Such an apparition would have had no effect whatever
-on him a few days ago; but to-day it is so much out of harmony with his
-now numerous experiences, that it contradicts and jars against all his
-familiar habits. This is, in my mind, the sole cause of his terror.
-However it may be, he draws himself up on his small paws, bristles his
-tail, humps up his back, and without either retreating or advancing, sways
-right and left in the same attitude. I make a movement; this noise brings
-his paroxysm of fear to a crisis, and he gives expression to it by a
-fretful _fû_; he then turns round and goes off as fast as his legs will
-carry him, the first way that comes, which happens to be to the side of
-the bed.
-
-_12th June._--They are attracted by the noise which I make in crumpling
-paper, in scratching the wall, or tapping a piece of furniture; but
-metallic sounds, if soft, do not have the same effect on them; the noise
-of objects being knocked, dull heavy sounds, or the noise of sharp voices,
-astonish them and make them prick up their ears, but not lift their paws.
-They take pleasure, however, in all the noises which they make themselves,
-provided they are not too reverberating, or caused by the displacement or
-fall of some large object. The loudest voice that I can put on pleases
-them almost as much as the little playful tones I generally address them
-in; they also delight in the strings of articulated consonants, which I
-repeat to them; but they do not like whistling, although they are not so
-much annoyed by it as is their mother, who comes up to me and rubs her
-head under my chin and over my mouth, and gives me little taps on my lips
-with her paw directly she hears me whistling. What specially delights them
-are the dry sounds which their claws make on wood, linen, paper, the straw
-seats of chairs, and the covering of the bed.
-
-Mitis has drunk some milk this morning for the first time. I put the tip
-of my finger, moistened with this fluid, under his nose, and he licked it
-several times running. Enticed by the smell, he dipped his nose into a cup
-of milk, but did not know how to set about drinking; up came the mother
-and took his place, as if the milk was her rightful property. She
-generally tries to take away from her little ones anything fresh, when it
-is first given to them, perhaps out of maternal precaution, not thinking
-them strong enough to digest anything but her milk. As she laps in a great
-hurry, she always spills a certain quantity of milk round the saucer. I
-placed Mitis in front of what had been spilled, and whether by chance, or
-because he was incited by the smell, he fell to licking and cleaned it all
-up. A quarter of an hour later he drank out of the cup, very awkwardly
-however, and very little, plunging his nose so far into the milk as to
-make him sneeze.
-
-Riquet, to whom the same advances were made, licked the tip of my finger,
-but did not touch the milk in the cup. He is less strong than Mitis, and
-possibly less precocious in this respect.
-
-When I come back into the room after an absence of even half an hour, the
-mother raises herself on her paws, as if moved by a spring, and her two
-satellites with her,--all at the same instant and with the same movement.
-
-They still continue to be very fond of us, and not to be startled by
-strangers.
-
-I have tried to make Riquet drink: I put his nose into the milk, and he
-then dipped his paw in himself and licked it, but would not lap. He went
-so far as to approach the cup with his nose and just touch it with his
-lips, but he then started off again.
-
-He is now under the chimney, sniffing and then scratching the ashes,
-which, as his movements indicate, remind him of his ash-pan. If I once or
-twice tolerated an infraction of my rule, the habit of cleanliness so
-easily formed in him would perhaps be hopelessly lost; this is why I
-hasten to carry him to his pan.
-
-At 3 o'clock we repeated with Riquet the experiment which had failed in
-the morning; we smeared his nose with milk. He then licked it, and
-afterwards put his nose in the cup, and drank a good teaspoonful.
-
-This morning they are more vigorous and nimble than yesterday, and they
-have been disporting themselves on my bed for more than an hour, whilst
-their mother and elder sister were engaged, by way of recreation, in
-snatching tufts of hair from each other's coats, in scratching and
-throttling each other. The mother gives a cry to indicate that this sport
-has reached its limits. Mitis has tumbled off the bed with affright,
-uttering a plaintive cry.
-
-A ludicrous incident very nearly parted me from my two little pets. An old
-laundress, whose sight is very feeble, as well as her mind, shut them up
-in her bundle of linen, on which they had been playing whilst she was
-counting it. I gave them up for lost, having searched for them everywhere,
-even in my boots. Three hours later they were brought back to me safe and
-sound. This is what had happened: on opening the bundle, out walked a
-kitten (Mitis) who seemed very much surprised, he was put in a basket with
-a cup of milk beside him; the other was only found an hour later, to the
-great astonishment of the laundress, squatting under a cupboard and
-showing nothing but the tip of his nose. He refused all manner of
-consolation, and would not touch the milk, in spite of the example of
-Mitis who did not wait to be pressed.
-
-As soon as they were safe back with me they both ate some bread soaked in
-milk.
-
-The mother was very much dejected by their absence. When, after calling
-them in vain with her most caressing voice, and making pretence to play to
-entice them to come to her, she became convinced of their absence, she
-filled my rooms with agonised screams. She then begged to be let out to
-look for them in the court-yard, but soon came in again and began
-screaming and hunting about as before. She came up to me and got up on my
-knees, looked me fixedly in the eyes, and then curled herself up on the
-bed where the kittens often sleep with her. Her eyes went beyond the
-expression of profound despair; her eyelids quivered, a slight moisture
-covered the eyeballs, and at the inside corners there was the appearance
-of tears. There is no doubt that cats cry.
-
-I have several times noticed, but in a specially distinct manner to-day,
-on lifting them away from any place where they are comfortable, an
-instinctive, or perhaps intentional, tendency to lean either with the
-stomach or the paws, in order to remain fixed to the spot. An analogous
-movement may be noticed in young children, when one tries to take them out
-of the arms of some one they are fond of. I might no doubt have observed
-this fact in my kittens long ago.
-
-I was holding Mitis in my hands, and I lifted him near to his mother and
-Riquet; he made a precipitate movement to get down to them, instinct
-urging him to spring--and that all the more since he is now stronger;--but
-his experience and his strength not sufficing to enable him to adapt his
-efforts to the distance he had to cross. Thus it is that falling from the
-bed often means in his case a bad attempt at jumping down. It is also
-possible that it is the example of his mother and big sister, as much as
-his increased strength, which suggests these somewhat impulsive bounds,
-which moreover belong to the organic habits of the species. The little
-unfledged bird also falls from its nest, when attempting a premature
-flight.
-
-Nothing in the shape of food comes amiss to Riquet: soup, meat, potatoes,
-pease, lard--he snaps at, and devours whatever he comes across and
-whatever is offered him; but one must beware of the little glutton's sharp
-claws. Mitis takes his food more gently.
-
-_18th June._--Riquet is playing with me on the sofa. A sole is placed on
-the table. The smell of the fish excites and puzzles him, for he does not
-know whence it comes; he travels over me in all directions, trying to
-follow the scent, and is soon perched up on my left shoulder, which is
-tolerably close to the table; he works towards the table, and I stoop my
-shoulder to let him slide on to it. He rubs his nose first against a spoon
-and then against a glass; the plate containing the sole is only a
-_decimètre_ from the glass, but as he does not know that a plate contains
-food, and that it is from there that the savoury smell proceeds, he does
-not direct his steps towards it. Finally, however, he finds himself in
-front of the plate, puts his four paws on it, and instantly disposes
-himself to eat the whole fish. I instantly carry him off. What a small
-number of experiences he will need (two or three only I have determined)
-in order to adapt to actual practice these judgments and movements which
-unite instinctively with certain sensations! We call this _reasoning_ in
-man, and, nevertheless, it closely resembles a piece of subjective
-mechanism, which is blind at starting, and which adapts itself to
-objective representations with such promptitude, that consciousness seems
-to follow, not to precede, its operations.
-
-Whilst I was at my breakfast they climbed up my legs, and I had the
-weakness to let them stay for a moment on the table. They invaded my
-plate, Mitis going so far as to bite into the fish, and Riquet licking and
-gnawing the edge of the plate; the smell of the fish is so penetrating
-that he confuses it with the plate. Moreover, he has no idea of
-_containing_ and being _contained_. Soon he comes across a mouthful of
-fish which I have prepared for him: he flattens himself out on the plate,
-and eats with courageous and deliberate precipitation, inclining his head
-now to the left, now to the right, sometimes closing his eyes from
-delight, but oftenest keeping them open and fixed attentively on the
-plate,--one would say he was afraid of losing his precious morsel; and
-here we see a result of the preservative instinct which he has received
-from his ancestors.
-
-Mitis has got into a round earthen pan, and from association of
-impressions tries to satisfy a need which he would not otherwise have
-felt. The vessel, however, being small, and his movements causing it to
-totter, he jumped out and ran off to his own pan.
-
-_20th June._--Mitis suddenly springs from the table to the floor, first
-feeling his mother with the end of his paw, and then passing over her
-without touching her: is it a personal or a social motive which makes him
-act thus? Does he wish to avoid walking on ground that is not firm, or is
-he trying not to hurt his mother? In like manner will a horse, on the
-point of trampling a live body, hastily withdraw his foot.
-
-They have been playing for a long time on my bed; before I go to sleep I
-shall carry them to their own bedroom, to their mother who awaits them
-somewhat sadly. They came back into my room as soon as I did myself. I sit
-down in front of my table, they climb up along my legs, and I determine to
-place them back on my bed. Twenty minutes later I reinstate them a second
-time in their domicile, but they do not stay there two minutes. I had just
-got into bed again when back they come, spring at the bed-cover, the
-chairs, the wall, with a noise of scratching and rustling which excites
-them to continue their difficult ascent; at the end of two minutes the
-siege is accomplished, and I am seized upon, trodden over, scratched and
-gnawed. I cannot be master in my own room except by shutting the door, at
-which, however, they come and scratch, but without much persistence.
-
-So there they are, now pretty well masters of their movements, taking
-headers to get down from the bed to the chair, from the chair to the
-floor, climbing up along the curtains and the tapestry, and even
-attempting to climb the furniture and polished objects. A few more days
-and their mode of descending will be less like tumbling, their ascents
-less like scrambling: they will spring and they will bound, and will be
-real individual cats.
-
-
-Butler & Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Frome and London.
-
-
-
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[1] The Zoological Society has now fitted up the building, which was
-formerly the Reptile House, with new cages, and to this "Cat House" the
-specimens above alluded to have been removed, together with other forms
-which were kept within the "Small Mammals' House," such as the Pampas Cat,
-the Ocelot, the Geoffroy's Cat, Serval, etc.
-
-[2] The number of visitors admitted on the occasion of this one-day show
-amounted to the grand total of 19,310.
-
-[3] The above editorial note was added when the chapter appeared in _The
-Animal World_.
-
-[4] The Latins had the happy expression _mansuetus_ to express this idea.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Cat, by Philip M. Rule
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