The Book of Cats. 247 



rats, which class of vermin he despatched in a 

 manner that at once secured the death of the rat, 

 and himself immunity from the rat's teeth. Seizing 

 the animal by the back of the neck, the Cat, by a 

 sudden wriggle, threw himself on his back, and 

 at once transferred the custody of the rat from 

 his mouth to his fore-paws, holding it neatly behind 

 the shoulders, while with his hind talons he cruelly 

 assailed the unlucky animal's loins and ribs till it 

 ceased to struggle. I have stated that the Cat in 

 question was attached to our house, and that 

 certainly was the extent of his intimacy, for he was 

 attached to nobody residing there. Myself, he 

 particularly disliked, and although he never con- 

 sidered it beneath his dignity to steal any article 

 of food from me, would never accept my overtures 

 of friendship. I have reason to believe that his 

 special dislike to me arose out of a pair of boots 

 possessed by me at that period. They were creak- 

 ing boots, and fastened with laces. Whether it 

 was that their loud creaking as I moved about 

 the room in them, reminded him of the squeak 

 of rats, or whether, not being a particularly 

 tidy boy, the before-mentioned laces were some- 

 times allowed to trail rats'-tail-wise, aggravatingly 

 heightened the illusion, I can't say; I only know 



