g6 The Book of Cats. 



home for the holidays who played an old lady 

 this trick : — He put some valerian root under the 

 hearth-rug, which set the Cat scratching, rubbing 

 her back on it, and performing a hundred antics, 

 till the old lady, getting frightened, thought Puss 

 had gone mad. The boy then quietly took away 

 the valerian. The Cat grew calm again, and the 

 old lady was much astonished. 



It is a cruel custom in some parts of the country 

 to cut off the ears of Cats and remove the hairs all 

 round the exposed aperture of the ear, to prevent 

 the animal from poaching in the woods. It is 

 thought that by so doing, the wet off the bushes 

 and grass may get into the internal cavity of the 

 ear, and by the pain cause the Cat to desist from 

 the chase. Cats so mutilated, however, often 

 choose fine days for their poaching expeditions. 



A Cat caught in a trap is a dangerous customer 

 to let loose again. If the door be opened incau- 

 tiously, the Cat will probably fly at the catcher's 

 face the moment she sees the light. The only safe 

 way of getting the Cat out of the trap is to place a 

 sack over the door end of the trap, and then rattle 

 the other end with a stick. The animal runs at 

 once into the sack. 



Wild Cats not only eat birds, but seek eagerly 



