482 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the box again lie ought to remember what he had done before, and 

 at once attack the button, and so ever after. It might very well be 

 that he would not, when in the box for the first time, be able to rea- 

 son out the way to escape. But suppose that, in clawing, biting, 

 trying to crawl through holes, etc., he happened to turn the button 

 and so escape. He ought, then, if at once put in again, this time to 

 perform deliberately the act which he had in the first trial hit upon 

 accidentally. This one would expect to see if the animal did rea- 

 son. What do we really see? 



To save time we may confine ourselves to a description of the 

 twelve cats experimented with, adding now that the dogs presented 

 no difi"erence in behavior which would modify our conclusions. The 

 behavior of all but No. 11 and No. 13 was practically the same. 

 When put into the box the cat would show evident signs of discom- 

 fort and of an impulse to escape from confinement. It tries to 

 squeeze through any opening; it claws and bites at the bars; it 

 thrusts its paws out through any opening, and claws at everything 

 it reaches; it continues its efforts when it strikes anything loose 

 and shaky; it may claw at things in the box. The vigor with which 

 it struggles is extraordinary. For eight or ten minutes it will claw 

 and bite and squeeze incessantly. With No. 13, an old cat, and 

 No. 11, an uncommonly sluggish cat, the behavior was different. 

 They did not struggle vigorously or continually. (In the experi- 

 ments it was found that these two would stay quietly in the box 

 for hours, and I therefore let them out myself a few times, so that 

 they might associate the fact of being outside with the fact of eat- 

 ing, and so desire to escape. When this was done, they tried to get 

 out like the rest.) In all cases the instinctive struggle is likely to 

 succeed in leading the cat accidentally to turn the button and so 

 escape, for the cat claws and bites all over the box. These general 

 clawings, bitings, and squeezings are of course instinctive, not pre- 

 meditated. The cats will do the same if in a box with absolutely 

 no chance for escape, or in a basket without even an opening — will 

 do them, that is, when they are the foolishest things to do. The 

 cats do these acts for just the same reason that they suck when 

 young, propagate when older, or eat meat when they smell it. 



Each of the twelve cats was tried in a number of different boxes, 

 and in no case did I see anything that even looked like thoughtful 

 contemplation of the situation or deliberation over possible ways of 

 winning freedom. Furthermore, in every case any cat who had 

 thus accidentally hit upon the proper act was, after he had eaten 

 the bit of fish outside, immediately put back into the box. Did he 

 then think of how he had got out before, and at once or after 

 a time of thinking repeat the act? By no means. He bursts out 



