268 The Book of Cats. 



young be removed and placed elsewhere, the mother 

 will frequently take them again and again to the 

 place chosen by herself. Another characteristic of 

 the domestic Cat is an instinctive knowledge of the 

 presence of danger. Even a chimney on fire, or 

 the presence of strange workmen in the house, will 

 make it very restless and uneasy, and on such 

 occasions it will sometimes not go to rest even 

 during the night. Every animal is endowed with 

 peculiar means of self-defence ; and as the Cat 

 cannot trust, like the hare, to speed, on the 

 approach of danger, it watches its enemy, occa- 

 sionally taking side glances, or looking round for a 

 place of refuge. On these occasions, notwith- 

 standing its natural nervousness, it maintains great 

 coolness. If a hole or shelter be near, it waits for 

 an opportunity, or until its enemy looks away, and 

 then rushes under cover, or runs up a tree or a 

 wall, and immediately sits down and watches its 

 enemy. If driven to an actual encounter, the 

 smallness of its mouth and jaws preclude the use 

 of its teeth to any great extent, but it can inflict 

 considerable injury and acute pain with its sharp 

 claws, which, perhaps, no dog, except a bulldog, 

 can bear ; indeed, few dogs like to attack a Cat 

 at bay, though they all run after them. It is 



