98 HANDBOOK OF NATURE STUDY 



Both cat and dog, as their teeth show, belong to the order of 

 flesh-eating animals, but in many respects they differ markedly 

 from each other. While the dog becomes so strongly attached 

 to man himself, the cat is merely attached to the farm or 

 dwelling-place of its owner. If a family in town moves, 

 they have to catch their cat and carry it with them or it 

 will stay in the deserted home for a while and then try to 

 find another home. In parts of New England where many 

 farms have been deserted, the cats have remained around 

 the old homesteads, and have become entirely wild. Even 

 in thickly settled districts a cat sometimes returns to the 

 wilderness, at least for the summer months. A number of 

 years ago I observed in southern Minnesota a cat which lived 

 in the woods for several years. Only at the approach of a 

 snowstorm or during very cold weather it sought food and 

 shelter at the neighboring farms and occasionally came into 

 the houses with the other cats. 



If a dog loses his master, he generally follows the first 

 man who speaks a kind word to him. No cases are known 

 where dogs have become entirely wild and have multiplied 

 in the feralized state. 



In intelligence cats are almost the equal of dogs. They 

 easily learn to open a door or to understand other mechani- 

 cal contrivances ; but they will not learn to serve man as 

 the dog does in many ways. The love some people show 

 for their cats is a rather one-sided affection ; as it is, at least, 

 very doubtful if a cat has any real love for its master or 

 mistress. 



Structure of the cat. If we compare the movements of a 

 cat with those of a dog, we must call the dog a clumsy ani- 

 mal, while a cat is one of the most lithe and agile animals 

 on the face of the earth. One must see two cats fight to 



Observations. After the snow has melted, look for shrubs and young 

 trees whose bark has been gnawed off by rabbits aud smaller rodents. 



