THE MANX AND ANGOLA CATS. 



163 





She is generally contrasted with the dog, much to her disfavor. His docility, affectionate 

 disposition, and forgiveness of injuries ; his reliability of character, and his wonderful 

 intellectual powers are spoken of, as truly they deserve, with great enthusiasm and respect. 

 But these amiable traits of character are brought into violent contrast with sundry ill- 

 conditioned qualities which are attributed to the Cat, and wrongly so. The Cat is held up to 

 reprobation as a selfish animal, seeking her own comfort and disregardful of others ; attached 

 only to localities, and bearing no real affection for her owners. She is said to be sly and 

 treacherous, hiding her talons in her velvety paws as long as she is in a good temper, but ready 

 to use them upon her best friends 

 ; f she is crossed in her humors. 



Whatever may have been the 

 experience of those who gave so 

 slanderous a character to the Cat, 

 oiy own rather wide acquaintance 

 with this animal has led me to 

 pery different conclusions. The 

 Cats with which I have been most 

 familiar have been as docile, tract- 

 able, and good-tempered as any 

 dog could be, and displayed an 

 amount of intellectual power which 

 would be equalled by very few 

 dogs, and surpassed by none. 



With regard to the compara- 

 tively good and bad temper of the 

 Cat and dog, there is as much to 

 be said in favor of the former as 

 of the latter animal, while, as to 

 their mental capacities, the scale 

 certainly does not preponderate so 

 decidedly on the side of the dog 

 as is generally imagined. Nor is 

 my own experience a solitary one, 

 for in almost every instance where 

 my friends have possessed favorite 

 Cats the result has been the same. 



THERE are many varieties of M^X CAT. ANGOLA OAT. 



the Domestic Cat, of which the 



most conspicuous are the MANX CAT and the ANGOLA. In the accompanying engraving, 

 .the upper figure represents the former animal, and the lower the latter. These two Cats 

 present the strongest contrast to each other that can be imagined, the Angola Cat being 

 gorgeous in its superb clothing of long silky hair and bushy tail, and the Manx Cat being 

 covered with close-set fur, and possessing hardly a vestige of a tail. 



A fine Angola Cat is as handsome an animal as can be imagined, and seems quite con- 

 scious of its own magnificence. It is a very dignified animal, and moves about with a grave 

 solemnity that bears a great resemblance to the stately march of a full-plumed peacock 

 conscious of admiring spectators. It is one of the largest of domestic Cats, and in its own 

 superb manner will consume a considerable amount of food. One of these animals, nearly the 

 finest that I ever saw, made friends with me in a cafe at Paris, and used to sit on the table and 

 eat my biscuits. In order to test the creature's appetite, I once ordered two successive plates 

 of almond biscuits, every crumb of which "Minette" consumed with a deliberate and refined 

 air, and would probably have eaten as much more if it had been offered to her. It must 

 be considered, that she had plenty of friends who visited the same cafe, and that she was 



