CAT 



1221 



CAT 



moon-goddess Pasht, it is believed, has come 

 the expression pussy. 



Peculiarities of the Cat. There are a number 

 of things about the cat family, not seen in 

 other animals, which are of especial interest. 

 The most conspicuous of these are the claws. 

 The forefeet of cats have five toes each, the 

 hind feet four, and every toe is fitted with a 

 sharp, hooked claw so joined to the tip bone of 

 the toe that it can be pulled in or thrown out 

 at will. This makes it possible for the cat 

 to walk softly on the fleshy part of its feet, 

 or to scratch and tear when the need arises. 



The eyes of cats hold peculiar interest. The 

 color varies in different kinds from yellow to 

 orange, from blue to emerald green. The 

 pupils can be wonderfully expanded or con- 

 tracted, sometimes being just a vertical slit 

 with a pin hole at each end through which 

 the light enters. Because of this power cats 

 see well in the dark. 



To show their emotions, when pleased and 

 contented, cats cause a vibration deep in the 

 throat, which from the sound is called a "purr." 

 When angry they hump their backs high in 

 the middle, raise their hair and tails and glare 

 and spit and howl. 



To drink, cats lap up milk or water with 

 the tongue. When they catch mice or other 

 animals they seem to delight in playing with 

 the victim, holding it a short time, then let- 

 ting it free, and again with a quick movement 

 catching the creature and shaking it; this 

 routine continues until they finally put an 

 end to the life of the unfortunate subject 

 of their playfulness. 



Objections to Cats in Families. In spite of 

 the usefulness of cats, some people will not 

 keep them as pets, for it is true they have 

 treacherous instincts. One minute a cat may 

 be purring happily; the next, its claws may 

 be out, scratching and tearing. So a cat is 

 not always a good pet for a child. Then, too, 

 cats delight in killing birds. It is charged that 

 cats are unclean animals and carriers of dis- 

 ease; the truth, however, is that if a cat is 

 given a fair chance in life it keeps itself one 

 of the cleanest of pets. 



Cat Aristocrats. Among the various breeds 

 or races of cats now carefully bred for the 

 cat shows, two of the most curious are the 

 tailless Manx cat, or rabbit-cat, and the Persian 

 cat, with its long silky fur. The tortoise shell, 

 the color a mixture of black, white and brown- 

 ish or fawn color; the large Angora, and the 

 blue, or Carthusian and Maltese cats, with 



Outline for Essays on the 

 Cat 



Why I Love My Cat 



(1) Its beauties 



(a) Soft fur 



(b) Markings 



(c) Bright eyes 



(d) Graceful tail 



(e) Long "whiskers" 



(2) Its cleverness 



(a) How it found its way home 

 when stolen 



(b) Its ability to catch mice 



(c) How it drove away the dogs 

 that would have harmed its 

 kittens 



(3) Its affectionate ways 



(a) Likes to rub against people 



(b) Its satisfied purr 



(c) Its fondness for curling up in 

 my lap 



A Cat's Story 



(1) Where I was born 



(2) My brothers and sisters 



(a) Number 



(b) Description 



(3) Why I was given away 



(4) My new home 



(a) The place 



(b) The people 



(5) Why I like girls better than boys 



(a) They feed me 



(b) They are not rough with me 



(6) My little mistress 



(a) Description 



(b) Her treatment of me 



(7) What I like best 



(a) The warm corner 



(b) My favorite food 



long, soft, grayish-blue fur, are the species 

 most admired by the loveis of cats. The name 

 tabby is derived from a street in Bagdad-Attab 

 celebrated for its manufacture of watered or 

 moire silks, in England called taffeta. The 

 word tabby-cat does not refer to the sex of 

 the cat, but to the fur, which is usually yellow, 

 marked with orange, red, brown or black. 

 The wild members of the cat family, danger- 



