CAT CAT-BIRD. 



invention of such cases, and for the ambiguity and 

 singularity of their solutions. It is impossible, with- 

 out reading the works of some of the casiustical 

 writers, to form an idea of the ingenious and fine-spun 

 sophistry which they contain. 



CAT (felis catus, L.) a well-known domesticated, 

 carnivorous quadruped, whose attachment appears to 

 be rather to the dwellings tlian the persons of her 

 protectors ; in which respect her conduct is very op- 

 posite to that of the dog, whose alliance with man is 

 founded upon disinterested, personal attachment, not 

 to be affected by changes of place or fortune. Her 

 youthful sportiveness, beautiful fur, and gentle de- 

 mureness of manner in after life, dispose mankind to 

 regard the animal with kindness; but the most per- 

 severing attempts to cultivate her good dispositions 

 are followed with such slight success, and met with 

 so much of deceit and ingratitude, as to weary the 

 patience of the most benevolent. The cat is capable 

 of showing considerable fondness for an individual, 

 but never appears to confide fully, even in the wann- 

 est demonstrations of kindness. Her treacherous 

 calmness of disposition needs but slight provocation 

 to be changed to vengeful malignity. When hurt, or 

 much alarmed, she is ready to attack her best bene- 

 factor with as much fury as a stranger. Being highly 

 sensitive, and fond of ease, the cat evinces little anx- 

 iety, except for the continuance of her enjoyment, 

 and is ever prepared to seek more comfortable quar- 

 ters, whenever the condition of her patrons may ren- 

 der a movement politic. At what period cats became 

 inmates of human habitations, it is scarcely possible, 

 at this period, to determine. Beyond doubt, their 

 usefulness in destroying rats, mice, and other small 

 animals, first introduced them to notice. The first 

 mention we find made of them, in profane history, is 

 by Herodotus, the father of historians, in his account 

 of Egypt. (Euterpe, vel lib. ii.) He speaks of them 

 as diminishing the vermin infesting human dwellings ; 

 states some oT the Egyptian superstitions relative to 

 them, as well as some observations upon their breed- 

 ing, dispositions, &c. The celebrated naturalist 

 Temminck, in his excellent monography of the genus 

 felis, adduces strong reasons for believing tliat the 

 cat was originally domesticated in Egypt, and that 

 the gloved cat, F. maniculata (chat gante of South- 

 ern Africa) is, in all probability, the original stock of 

 the domestic cat. Its strong resemblance in size, pro- 

 portions, &c., renders this opinion more acceptable 

 than that which attributes the origin to the common 

 European wild cat, which is smaller, has a shorter, 

 thicker tail, and, indeed, would seem rather to be the 

 domestic cat returned to the savage state, than its 

 original stock. 



The subtlety and circumspection of the common 

 cat are evinced by all its habits and movements ; and 

 the observation of this disposition has obtained for it 

 the name it bears in most of the living languages of 

 Europe. In Greek it is called a,\\au^(, for which we 

 have found no derivation. In Latin, it was called 

 catus, from the adjective signifying cunning, wary, 

 subtle, &c. According to V arro, this adjective is a 

 Sabine, and not a Roman word ; but, as we find it 

 used by Horace, in his ode Ad Mercurium* its ad- 

 mission into the classic vocabulary can scarcely be 

 denied. From this name, catus, we have the English 

 cat, the German katz, the French chat, &c. The do- 

 mestic cat belongs to a genus (felis) better armed for 

 the destruction of animal life than all other quadru- 

 peds. The short and powerful jaws, moved by vigor-- 



* Mercuri, facunde nepos Atlantis 

 Qui feros cultus homioum recentum 

 Voce formaati catus et decora 

 More palaestrae. Lib. i. Carm. 



ous muscles, are supplied with most formidably tren- 

 chant teeth: a cunning disposition, combined with 

 nocturnal habits and much patience in pursuit, gives 

 them great advantages over their prey; and their, 

 keen, lacerating claws, which are always preserved 

 in the most acute state by the peculiar arrangement 

 that keeps them concealed when not in use, enables 

 them to inflict a death-blow on their victims with as 

 much certainty as ease. The cat, hi a degree, par- 

 takes of all the attributes of her race lies in ambush 

 for her prey, and seizes it by a sudden leap ; plays 

 with her captives before putting them to death ; and 

 does not limit her destruction to the mere gratification 

 of appetite. Cold and wet are disagreeable to the 

 cat, and electricity is especially feared by her : ad- 

 vantage may be taken of the latter circumstance to 

 avert the troublesome visits of the animal. After 

 having once received a shock from a Leyden vial, 

 but little apprehension need be entertained of the 

 cat's return to the same place. Of various aromatic 

 substances, as catnep or catmint, &c., puss is remark- 

 ably fond ; and the odour of valerian appears to 

 throw her into an ecstacy of pleasure. The food of 

 the cat, in a state of domestication, is necessarily very 

 various, but always of flesh or fish, if it can be ob- 

 tained. A desire to possess herself of the latter 

 article of diet, proves one of the strongest temptations 

 to theft that the cat is exposed to : in fact, it takes a 

 very severe education to make her any better than a 

 thief under any circumstances. The cat is remark- 

 able for the fetor of its eructations, as well as the 

 powerfully offensive and phosphorus-like odour of its 

 urine, Sec. But, personally, it is a very cleanly ani- 

 mal, avoiding to step in any sort of filth, and preserv- 

 ing its fur in a very neat condition. Of its habits, 

 when well taken care of and much petted, it cannot 

 be necessary to speak here, as they are universally 

 known. Equally notorious is their clamorous mode 

 of making love, which is designated by the term cater- 

 wauling, and, once heard, can never be forgotten. 

 The cat goes with young for sixty-three days, and 

 brings forth from three to six at a litter, which re- 

 main blind for nine days. 



CAT-BIRD (turdus felivox, Viell; T. lividus, 

 Wils.) ; a numerous and well-known species of 

 American thrush, which annually advances from the 

 south with the progress of agriculture, and, duiiiig 

 the summer, is found throughout the Middle and 

 New England States, frequenting thickets of bram- 

 bles, or the shrubberies of gardens. The note from 

 which the bird obtains its name is strikingly similar 

 to the plaint of a kitten in distress, and would almost 

 certainly deceive the ear of any one unacquainted 

 with the cry of thus species. The cat-bird is ex- 

 ceedingly familiar and unsuspicious, allowing itself 

 to be closely approached, and saluting every one 

 passing near its abode by its cat-like note. It is 

 lively and active in its movements, and, but for the 

 unfortunate resemblance of its ordinary cry to the 

 voice of an animal by no means a favourite, would 

 be considered an agreeable bird, notwithstanding its 

 plain, lead-coloured plumage. Wilson informs us, 

 that the cat-bird arrives in the lower parts of Georgia 

 about the end of February, whence he infers that its 

 winter residence is not far distant from Florida. It 

 reaches Pennsylvania by the second week in April, 

 and has its nest built by the beginning of May. For 

 this purpose, a brier or bramble thicket, a thorn- 

 bush, thick vine, or fork of a sapling, is selected. 

 Little attention is paid to concealment, though few 

 birds are more solicitous for the safety of their young. 

 The nest is constructed of dry leaves, weeds, small 

 twigs, and fine, dry grass, the inside being lineu with 

 fine, black, fibrous roots. The female lays four or 

 five eggs, of a uniform greenish -blue colour, free 



