THE PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT OF YOUNG ANIMALS 231 



feral congeners, and reverts to a wild state more readily 

 than the dog in fact, that such reversion is far from 

 uncommon. 



In my first paper on the dog, I have called attention 

 to suggestive actions. In the true sense of the word, 

 the cat is perhaps less imitative than the dog, but so 

 great is her tendency to be excited by any kind of 

 motion, that she can, as is well known, be set into 

 activity, with the greatest ease, by a ball, or almost 

 any moving object when a kitten of a certain age. 



In this susceptibility the cat is in advance of the 

 dog in fact, her motor energy is more intense, and 

 her power of correlated movement much greater, but I 

 am inclined to consider that in all this the cat is less 

 imitative than the dog. The behaviour of one kitten 

 has less influence on the others than of one puppy on 

 his fellows. 



The individuality of the cat is intense, though it 

 is the individuality of a strong nature manifesting 

 itself by independence rather than great difference in 

 conduct. 



As an admirable example of associated reflexes, to 

 which reference has been made in treating of the 

 dog, the history of the sand-pan furnishes excellent 

 examples. 



The whole history of the kitten is an illustration 

 that, however strong instincts may be in an intelligent 

 animal, its psychic life is determined by experience, i.e. 

 there comes to be almost no pure instincts instincts un- 

 modified by experience, if such a thing is conceivable, as 

 the language of some writers would seem to imply. Each 

 day of this kitten's life showed me a progress dependent 

 on experience, and the same applies to the dog; but I must 

 add that for the first eight or ten weeks the kitten 

 seemed to get the most out of its experience, though in 

 the case of the mongrel, whose nature, as I have pointed 



