THE HOSPITABLE CAT. 207 
used to scratch and bite his mother shamefully, wresting from her by force the food which 
was intended for herself. He was sucha savage animal, and so determined a robber, that as a 
last resource a death warrant was issued, and would have been carried into execution but for 
one preventing cause—the animal would not die. He was several times shot—I have 
seen him knocked off a wall by a charge of shot, and laid apparently lifeless on the 
ground ; yet, when he was approached, he jumped up, spat, snarled, and escaped. He 
had an arrow through him once, he was poisoned two or three times, and was once fairly 
panes to the ground in his place of refuge among some hampers, by a long, sharp, 
steel spike, at the end of a pole. But he w ould not die, and did not die; but continued 
to haunt the place with such cool pertinacity that we yielded the point. 
A Cat of whom I lately heard chose a very curious spot in which to rear her little 
family. She made a nest on the summit of a pollard oak, and there brought up her 
kittens. Her spot of refuge was betrayed by the little animals in the tree, who were 
desirous to crawl down the stem, and, not daring to adventure on so perilous an under- 
taking, set up a loud and pitiful mewing. 
Cats really seem to vary in their temperament as much as human beings. There are 
refined Cats, who find their proper sphere in the drawing-room ; there are boorish Cats, 
who are out of their element when removed from the kitchen or cellar; there are robber 
Cats—of which the vagabond animal was an example—carrying on an open system 
of marauding ; and there are trickish Cats, who cheat their companions of their dinners. 
In fine, there is hardly a trait of human character which does not find its representation 
in one of these animals. 
Some Cats appear to have a strong sense of honour, and will resist almost every 
temptation when they are placed in trust. Still, some temptations appear to be so 
powerful that the honourable feelings cannot resist them. For example, “Minnie” will 
resist every lure except a piece of fried sole; and “Pret” could never withstand the 
allurements of a little jug of milk or bottled stout, She would have boldly averted her 
head from the very same liquids if they were placed in a basin or saucer ; but the little 
jug, into which she could just dip her paw and lick it, possessed irresistible fascinations 
for her. 
That the palate of a Cat should be pleased with milk is natural enough, be the milk 
in jug or saucer; but that bottled stout should delight the animal appears passing 
strange. Yet I have known several Cats who possessed a strong taste for fermented 
liquids, and I have seen one of these creatures eat a piece of bread soaked in pure 
brandy, and beg earnestly for a further supply. I conclude these remarks upon the 
Domestic Cat with an authorized account of some Normandy Cats. 
In a chateau of Normandy lived a favourite Cat, which was plentifully supplied with 
food, and had grown fat and sleek on her luxurious fare. Indeed, so bounteously was her 
plate supplied, that she was unable to consume the entire amount of provision that was 
set before her. This superabundance of food seemed to weigh upon her mind; and one 
day, before her dinner-time, she set off across the fields, and paid a visit to a little cottage 
near the roadside, where lived a very lean Cat. The two animals returned to the chateau 
in company, and after the feline hostess had eaten as much dinner as she desired, she 
relinquished the remainder in favour of her friend. 
The kind-hearted proprietor of the chateau, seeing this curious act of ee ea 
increased the daily allowance of meat, and afforded an “ample meal for both Cats. The 
improved diet soon exerted its beneficial effects on the lean stranger, who speedily became 
nearly as comfortably sleek as her hostess. 
In this improved state of matters, she could not eat as much as when she was half- 
starved and ravenous with hunger, and so after the two Cats had dined there was still 
an overplus. In order to avoid waste, and urged by the generosity of her feelings, the 
hospitable Cat set off on another journey, and fetched another lean Cat from a village at 
a league’s distance. The owner of the chateau, being desirous to see how the matter 
would end, continued to increase the daily allowance, and had at last, as pensioners of 
his bounty, nearly twenty Cats, which had been brought from various houses in the 
surrounding country. Yet, however ravenous were these daily visitors, none of them 
