91 



of an apartment house, in a granary which she is never permitted to leave, 

 or in London's Tower. There were probably many French cats who passed 

 their days meditatively in the Bastile, content to be immured with their 

 masters, and accepting like philosophers the restraints and the indulgences of 

 that ill-omened but singularly comfortable fortress. "Stone walls do not a 

 prison make" for a creature whose independence of character remains un- 

 touched by the sternest and narrowest of environments. Rather perhaps 

 does she feel herself a captive when surrounded too strenuously by the doting 

 and troublesome affection of mortals, who cannot be made to understand or 

 to respect her deep inviolable reserve.* 



Dr. Burt G. Wilder of Brookline, who is fond of both birds 

 and c^ts, proposes the following plan, which he carries out with 

 his own cat in summer at Siasconset, and with modifications else- 

 where at other seasons: (1) Only one adult cat to a family, an 

 additional one if there is a barn or stable, each kept in its own 

 place, and superfluous kittens promptly destroyed. (2) The cat 

 to be fed regularly and before the family meals instead of after, 

 and in the meantime prowling about and getting under the cook's 

 feet or into the food, before or during meals. Feeding to be 

 attended to by or delegated to one person, not left to chance. 

 Scraps from previous family meal may be provided. (3) All cats 

 to be confined during the night and fed before they are released 

 in the morning. If properly trained they will defer attending 

 to the calls of nature until released. If not, provide a pan with 

 sawdust or dry earth resting on a large paper. (He says that his 

 cat loafs or sleeps most of the day outdoors and never has killed 

 a bird. Other well-fed cats have killed birds, but confining nights 

 and feeding early may be helpful.) (4) All cats to be licensed; 

 unlicensed cats to be killed, by shooting, if wild. This opens the 

 much discussed question of cat legislation, which is considered on 

 pages 97-100. 



A cat may be tethered to an overhead wire in pleasant weather 

 by means of a line and a snap hook. This gives outdoor condi- 

 tions, allows the cat to exercise by moving back and forth, and 

 probably will prevent it from catching birds, except possibly 

 such young as may flutter in its way. There should be a stop 

 near each end of the wire so that the cat cannot climb or become 

 entangled. Both these expedients are feasible, and many cats 

 now are kept through the summer in confinement, or on a leash 

 in fine weather. The large cat shown in the photograph, owned 

 by Mr. Bardwell Gladwin of Plainville, Conn., is tethered in this 

 manner because of his fondness for chickens. He has been thus 

 treated every summer for five years, and Mrs. Louise G. Lusk 



> Repplier, Agnee: The Fireside Sphinx, 1901, pp. 99, 100. 



