USEFUL CATS 



243 



petted cats, mainly confine their desires to possessing an abundance 

 of flesh or fish, their winsomeness and good manners representing 

 the measure of their utility. Some urban and suburban cats, 

 however, are excellent mousers and ratters, displaying considerable 

 intelligent power, as well as great fondness for various aromatic 

 substances, such as musk plants, valerian and catmint (Nepeta), 

 and a bed of Nemophila will cause them to come in numbers, roll 

 over it, and scratch up the plants until there is not a vestige left. 

 So fond are town cats of such things that they throw themselves 

 into an ecstasy of pleasure, and are utterly regardless of the con- 

 fusion they make among seeds. Indeed, so great a nuisance are 

 ladies' cats in some places that their neighbours have to protect 

 their gardens by wire netting affixed to the top of boundary walls 

 or fences (Fig. 134), and also the ground against scratching cats. 



FIG. 135. CAT IN AMBUSH AND HOUSE MICE. 



USEFUL CATS. The common English breeds display great 

 partiality for haylofts, barns, outbuildings and surroundings, and 

 possess all the attributes of the race, namely, cunning disposition, 

 nocturnal habits, much patience in pursuit and in lying in ambush 

 for prey (Fig. 135), seizing it by a sudden leap, then playing with 

 the captive before putting it to death, and not limiting destruction 

 to the mere gratification of appetite. 



The subtlety and circumspection of the common cat are seen 

 in all its habits and movements, and humane, not pampered, treat- 

 ment renders it invaluable to the householder, farmer and gardener. 



