108 



THE OOIXKMST 



many a heretofore peaceful neighbor- 

 hood. Bird lovers who have attempt- 

 ed to establish sanctuaries for their 

 feathered friends have been compelled 

 to revise their visiting lists according 

 to where her Royal Highness, Tabby- 

 kins, holds sway. 



The bird man who has found to his 

 sorrow that any bird and cat combina- 

 tion means cat-astrophe, even while 

 he is taking the mangled body of the 

 little feathered tenant, that he has 

 worked for months to attract, from the 

 clutches of the innocent-looking, fluffy, 

 four-footed murderer, will be assailed 

 by the cat-owner, who indignantly de- 

 clares that while other low-bred crea- 

 tures may catch birds, she knows her 

 own blueblooded darling Fluffykins is 

 too well bred and too well fed to do 

 such a deed! 



Naturalists statistically rank the 

 felis domesticus as third in the bird 

 destroying agents, holding every 

 roaming cat responsible for the lives 

 of at least fifty birds a year. A game 

 v/arden who reports 200 quail killed 

 by a mother cat in less than a year 

 on the game preserve, advocates the 

 wholesale extermination of cats under 

 the supervision of a game warden. 



The value of the cat to catch mice 

 or rats is disputed by a bird enthusi- 

 ast, who maintains that this Nero of 

 the animal world will hush forever 

 the joyous song of any little feathered 

 chorister, simply for his own amuse- 

 ment when not in need of food. When 

 he dines he goes after a cold bird in 

 preference to any other delicacy, and 

 will catch mice or rats only as a last 

 resort to keep from starving. 



The most serious arraignment 

 against both the domestic and stray 

 cat is made by the Boards of Health, 

 who have found these animals to be 

 carriers of scarlet fever, diphtheria 

 and other diseases most fatal to their 

 human associates. 



A successful business man says that 

 if a cat kills a little chicken in the 

 yard of the average farmer, the cat 

 is made away with. If the four-footed 

 hunter comes home with a quail, he is 

 petted; yet the quail is of greater 

 economic value to the farmer than is 

 either the cat or the chicken. He 

 thinks, for humane reasons, the wild 

 or stray cat left on abandoned farms 

 should be put out of the way. 



A cat-a-comb, where feline prowlers 

 may be laid permanently to rest, is 

 considered a necessary adjunct to 

 every bird sanctuary by a bird conser- 

 vationist, who tried, without success, 

 various methods to prevent cats from 

 killing helpless song and insectivorous 

 birds so valuable to man. Another 

 long sufferer from cat depredations 

 considers a near-by deeper bath,, in 

 which to immerse and leave the sav- 

 age depredators, is the only way in 

 which a bird bath may be maintained. 

 Some friends of the birds think to 

 license the cat and hold the owner re- 

 sponsible for his pet's destructiveness 

 will solve not only the vexing cat, but 

 also the kitten question. They con- 

 clude that if a person pays for a 

 license he will not be so apt to desert 

 his cat, leaving it dependent upon 

 hunting for a living. 



Optimists who still believe that cat 

 nature may be educated or restrained, 

 suggest that bells and bright ribbon 

 be placed on Pussy so that a warning 

 will precede her fatal spring. Others 

 advocate that the poles or trees on 

 which bird-houses are placed should 

 be sheathed in tin or wrapped in barb 

 wire to prevent the cat from climbing 

 up and destroying the half-grown nest- 

 lings before they can fly to safety. A 

 thorny rose-bush is advised by another 

 humane person; but the ever-present 

 cynic thinks it much better to plant 

 the cat at the roots of the rose-bush 

 where he is sure in time to evolve into 

 harmless fertilizer. 



