19 



FECUNDITY OF THE CAT. 



Cats are known to have from two to four broods yearly, with 

 from five to nine in each brood. Fostered and protected from 

 their enemies, a single pair might produce an enormous number 

 in a few years. Hence the necessity for checking such increase 

 promptly by killing all superfluous kittens soon after birth. An 

 undue increase of the species must occur otherwise as cats have 

 very few effective natural enemies in the New England States. 



NATURAL ENEMIES OF THE CAT. 



The domestic cat is preyed upon by the larger Felidcs, of which 

 the puma and the two species of lynx are the only New England 

 representatives. They are found rarely now except in remote 

 and wild parts of the region. The CanidcB must be reckoned 

 among the cat's natural enemies, but as the wolf is now practi- 

 cally extinct in New England, and as few dogs are bold and 

 active enough to catch and kill cats, the fox is the only mammal 

 which may endanger the domestic pet. Foxes have been seen to 

 kill cats and carry them away from farmyards, and remains of 

 cats sometimes have been found when fox burrows have been 

 examined. On the other hand, a large, powerful cat has been seen 

 to turn on a young fox and drive it away. Probably foxes make 

 no serious inroads on the numbers of cats. Foxes, raccoons and 

 even weasels may pick up a kitten in the woods occasionally, 

 but it is improbable that any wild mammal appreciably reduces 

 the numbers of cats in Massachusetts. The golden eagle preys on 

 cats, but it is very rare in New England. I have known a great 

 horned owl to attack and kill a full-grown cat at night, but 

 never heard of another instance. The absence of effective natural 

 enemies to check the increase of cats in New England goes far 

 to explain the increase in the numbers of stray or feral cats 

 roaming in field and forest. Man is the cat's best friend and also 

 its greatest enemy, and it is in his power to control its numbers 

 within reasonable bounds. 



NUMBERS OF CATS. 



In setting forth the effect of the feeding habits of the cat, it is 

 essential first to give the reading public an adequate idea of the 

 numbers and prevalence of cats, not only throughout cities, 

 towns and villages of New England, but on farms and in forests 

 as well, as no one who has not investigated the subject has any 



