THE DOMESTIC CAT. 143 



high value of the animals proves them not origi- 

 nally to have be-en natives of the British islands*. 



Cats are,, in general, very cleanly animals ; and 

 when awake, they are almost always to be observed 

 in the act of licking, adjusting, and smoothing 

 their hair. In order to wash the parts of their coat 

 which they cannot reach with their tongue, they 

 wet the insides of their paws, and rub them with 

 these. Linnaeus says that an approaching storm is 

 generally indicated by a Cat's washing its face with 

 its fore-foot ! 



From the circumstance of their extreme cleanli- 

 ness, and from the general elegance of their form 

 and manners, some people are passionately fond of 

 Cats. Instances have occurred of persons, in our 

 own country, who have not been contented with 

 merely treating these animals well during their 

 life, but in their wills have left legacies, to secure 

 the same good treatment to favourite Cats after 

 their death. On the contrary, there are others 

 who have a peculiar aversion to them : they will 

 not allow them to remain in the same apartment; 

 and sometimes will even faint, or fall, into fits, at 

 the sight of a Cat that happens to be near them. 

 This strange antipathy to an animal perfectly 

 harmless to mankind, generally arises from some 

 accidental prejudice attained in early youth, height- 



* British Zoology, i. p. 83. 



ened 



