112 CAT AND KITTENS, 



years old, and is a handsome, light tortoiseshell, with a 

 pretty face and coaxing ways. A month ago she had three 

 kittens, one of which was kept ; they were born in the 

 drawing-room, by the side of the piano. When the two 

 were taken away, pussy carried the one remaining to the 

 fireplace, and made it a bed under the grate with 

 shavings. When a fortnight old, both were removed down- 

 stairs to the room behind the shop. One day last week 

 an enormous rat appeared ; pussy spied him, and set up 

 her back ; but her motherly instinct prevailed. She looked 

 round the shop, and, finding a drawer high up a httle 

 way open, she jumped with her kitten in her mouth, and 

 dropped it into the drawer, after which she descended 

 and fought a battle royal with the rat, which she soon 

 despatched and carried to her mistress, then went back to 

 the drawer and brought out her kitten." 



Here is another fact as regards the observation of cats,, 

 which possibly, in this respect, is not far different from some 

 other domestic animals. " A gray and white cat, ' Jenny '' 

 (a house cat), had three kittens in the hollow stump of an 

 old ash-tree, some distance from the house. There, from 

 time to time, she took them food, and there nursed them. 

 One day, looking from the window, I saw that a very- 

 heavy storm was approaching, and also, what should I 

 see but Mistress ' Jenny ' running across the meadow 

 as fast as she could, and, on her drawing nearer, I saw that 

 she had one of her kittens in her mouth. She ran past the 

 window and put the kitten into a small outhouse, when she 

 immediately hastened back, and returned bringing another 

 of her kittens, which she put in the same place. Again 

 she started for the wood, and then shortly appeared 

 bringing her third and last kitten, though more slowly, 

 seemingly very tired. I was just thinking of going to help 

 her, when she suddenly quickened her pace and ran for 

 the outhouse ; just then a few drops of rain began to fall. 

 In a few moments a deluge of water was falling, the light- 

 ning was flashing, the thunder crashed overhead and 

 rumbled in the distance, but ' Jenny ' did not mind, for 



