TJie Book of Cats. 267 



With respect to Pussy's mouse-catching quahties, 

 etc., a writer in a periodical says : — 



" Most persons have heard of the beautiful con- 

 trivance by which the claws of these animals are 

 preserved constantly sharp ; being drawn, when 

 not used, by certain tendons, within a sheath or 

 integument, while only the soft parts of the foot 

 come in contact with the ground, thus enabling the 

 animal to tread noiselessly. The roughness of the 

 Cat's tongue is due to a multitude of horny papillae 

 (much stronger, of course, in lions and tigers), by 

 which it is materially helped to keep itself clean, — 

 a most important point, for cleanliness is a necessity 

 to Cats, inasmuch, as if they had the slightest 

 smell about them, their prey would detect their 

 presence, and never come within their reach. As 

 it is, the Cat is so free from smell that she may 

 sit close to the holes of mice without their being 

 aware of it, although they possess a fine sense of 

 smell. A Cat never eats a morsel of anything, 

 whatever it is, without afterwards sitting down to 

 clean and wipe its face and lips. The caution for 

 which it is so remarkable is likewise evinced in 

 its choice of secluded spots for bringing up its 

 offspring ; very often some hole or corner little 

 thought of by the inmates of the house. If the 



