292 THE FIRESIDE SPHINX 



a method of sharpening her claws ; but a necessary- 

 process by which the muscles and tendons of her 

 feet are stretched, so that they may work readily 

 and strongly. "The retraction of the claws for 

 lengthened periods," he says, " must tend to con- 

 tract the tendons ; therefore cats fix the points of 

 their claws in something soft, and bear downwards 

 with the whole weight of the body, simply to 

 stretch, and, by use, to strengthen the ligatures 

 that pull the claws forward." 



So, too, the cruel playing with the injured mouse 

 is not mere sportiveness on Pussy's part. She dis- 

 ables her victim, and then lets it run, that she may 

 leap upon it again and again, thereby keeping her- 

 self in perfect practice. Stiffness of limb, slowness 

 of action, would soon mean for her no mouse and 

 no dinner. She dare not lose the supple spring 

 which secures her prey ; and the merciless game 

 she plays is really a military manoeuvre, taught her 

 by unpitying nature, and absolutely necessary — 

 like other military manoeuvres — if the business of 

 killing is to continue. Mrs. Wallace, in a pretty 

 paper on some cats of Oxford, tells us of a gallant 

 old Tom who did not believe in the arts of war, and 

 whose method of attack upon the alert young rob- 

 ins was purely British in its ingenuousness. " De- 

 spising cover, he galloped slowly down the garden 

 to the spot where the bird was feeding, and never 



