17 



Independence of the Cat. 



Many cat lovers admire the cat because it loves not, because 

 it is fond of the fire but not of the fire maker. Witness the fol- 

 lowing from Chateaubriand to M. de Marcellus: — 



I value in the cat the independent and almost ungrateful spirit wliich 

 prevents her from attaching herself to any one, the indifference with which 

 she passes from the salon to the housetop. When we caress her, she stretches 

 herself and arches her back responsively; but this is because she feels an 

 agreeable sensation, not because she takes a silly satisfaction, like the dog, 

 in faithfully loving a thankless master. The cat hves alone, has no need of 

 society, obej'S only when she pleases, pretends to sleep that she may see the 

 more clearly, and scratches everything on which she can lay her paw.^ 



The attitude of the cat toward man has been clearly stated 

 by so many cat lovers that the facts may be regarded as estab- 

 lished. The following, translated from "Un Peintre de Chats," 

 by Henry Havard, states the case for the cat as he regards it : — 



This is the progress, and these are the admitted triumphs of the cat. She 

 has conquered and domesticated man, reduced him to the role of an obedient 

 servant, and required of him that he shall provide her with the luxuries she 

 loves. In doing this, he but performs his duty, and need expect no gratitude. 

 The loud declarations of naturaUsts count for httle by the side of such a 

 candid confession as that of M. de Cherville, who tells us in one of his charm- 

 ing essays that for two years he has obsequiously served a little cat, bom 

 under his roof, and raised by his careful hands. For two years he has studied 

 her tastes, and shown her every attention in his power; and never in all this 

 time has he won from her the smallest token of regard. Never has she 

 vouchsafed him a caress by way of thanks, nor consented to go to him when 

 called with loving words and tender cajoleries.* 



Affections of the Cat. 



Nevertheless, some psychologists claim to have found some 

 evidences of real affection toward human beings in certain cats. 

 Not all cats are alike. They vary as people vary, and abject 

 slavery to a cat's every whim sometimes seems to win its real 

 regard and affection, or at least its appreciation. Rarely is such 

 service offered except by women, whose superlatively affection- 

 ate and maternal natures lead them to make any sacrifice for 

 those they love, and sometimes to make even greater exertions 

 to please when the object of their attentions manifests only in- 

 difference. Miss Winslow evidently had good reason to believe 

 that her cat loved her. She says: "Do not tell me that cats 

 never love people; that only places have real hold upon their 



> Repplier, Agnes: The Cat, 1912, p. 9. • Ibid., pp. 62, 63. 



