352 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



(ORRESPONDENCE 



^ -T^ AND Information 



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£ 



The Cat Question Discussed by an 

 Authority. 



New York City. 

 To the Editor : 



I am, as yon know, a lover of cats, 

 dogs, horses and all other animals, but 

 I am also a believer in the responsibil- 

 ity assumed by those who take posses- 

 sion of any animal whatsoever for a 

 pet. Owners of cats seem to be par- 

 ticularly devoid of any sense of respon- 

 sibility, and there lies the main cause 

 of the "cat nuisance." For there cer- 

 tainly is a cat nuisance. People keep 

 cats for all sorts of reasons — some as a 

 source of amusement for the children or 

 for themselves — because cats are the 

 cheapest pets and require the least care, 

 or are so supposed. Some keep them 

 to kill or to frighten rats and mice. 

 Some like them because they are pleas- 

 ed to see the playful kittens, but only 

 while they are kittens. After that, any- 

 thing may happen to them, although 

 some of us are too "humane" to put 

 to sleep painlessly at birth those we 

 are sure that no one will provide for 

 when they are grown. We abandon 

 them, for instance, because it is "cruel" 

 to keep them indoors in the city ; be- 

 cause we desire to avoid the trouble of 

 caring for them ; because it is "unlir ky\ 

 to move a cat ; and because (one of the 

 greatest of all fallacies) cats have no 

 affection for human beings, they like 

 only the place zvlicre they feel at home! 

 Most people will laugh at you and call 

 you a "nature faker," if you suggest 

 that cats have any sense of affection 

 for human beings or attachment to 

 them. They will tell you that the cat 

 is self-sufficient and, above all, treach- 

 erous, all of .which is absolutely false. 

 The cat can be and is most affectionate, 

 provided it/senses' affection and sym- 

 pathy in the a-ftiftide of its master or 

 mistress. But sympathy is as neces- 

 sary as affection, and humans give puss 

 even less sympathy than affection. 



Cats are gentle, timid and nervous. 

 They misunderstand and dislike teas- 

 ing and the game of "rough house," 

 and they resent a blow. You cannot 

 abuse them as you would your dog, 

 Init love them and treat them according 

 to the peculiarities of the nature and 

 the physique that the Creator has given 

 them, and you will find them as devot- 

 ed in their way and as responsive as 

 any pet need be. 



With regard to a license, I see no 

 reason why it should not be. Cats can 

 with perfect safety wear properly ad- 

 justed collars, and since apartment 

 house cats are successfully confined 

 and do not come under this ban, there 

 is no reason why country cats, at least 

 the pets, cannot also be confined, es- 

 pecially since a small, wired-in run- 

 way can easily and cheaply be con- 

 structed in the rear of any coimtry 

 house. This would give them ample 

 opportunity to air themselves on pleas- 

 ant days like cattery cats. When I 

 spoke of "at least the pets," I was 

 thinking of the farmer's cats which are 

 expected to hunt field mice, grasshop- 

 pers and other vermin out of doors, and 

 rats and mice in the barns. Possibly 

 they should enjoy a special dispensa- 

 tion ! Personally, I would also, tempor- 

 arily at least, exact a kennel license 

 from breeders and make it unlawful for 

 any other persons to own breeding 

 cats. Such, it seems to me, is the onl}- 

 way in which the matter can be proper- 

 ly handled. A campaign of extermi- 

 nation such as certain people are try- 

 ing to put on foot is cruel and unjust, 

 l)oth to the cats and their owners. 

 When we exterminate the cat, we shall 

 find a void that would hardly be filled 

 1)}' toads and salamanders — or perhaps 

 it was lizzards and chameleons — which 

 some learned gentleman a short, time 

 ago suggested as substitutes. 

 Sincerely yours, 

 (Miss) J.\NE R. Catiicart. _ 



