XXIII 



THE CARE OF THE CAT 



THERE are among civilized people two 

 strange but almost universally prevalent er- 

 rors about the cat : first, that if he is fed he 

 will not catch mice, and second, that he at- 

 taches himself to places and not to people. 



In consequence of the first notion thousands 

 of the unfortunate creatures are kept almost 

 at the point of starvation, and as a natural re- 

 sult are too spiritless and miserable to be 

 good mousers. This mistake, for it surely is 

 one, should be combated on every occasion 

 by the cat-lover, who must never tire of re- 

 peating that a half-starved cat is not a suc- 

 cessful hunter, while to a well-fed beast the 

 pursuit of his legitimate prey is " sport " for 

 which he is always ready. 



Whoever wishes to have the family cat in 

 good condition, to keep the house clear of 

 mice, to play with the children, to be a credit 



