The Wit of the Wild 



r 



and reasoning on the part of the animal; for 

 the cat at once discovers that it must, by 

 scratching with its hind feet against the posts, 

 or by throwing its weight against the door, 

 push the door far enough to prevent the latch 

 falling into the guard again, if it expects to 

 accomplish its object. A good many smart cats 

 have " caught on " to the fact that the ringing 

 of a door-bell or the bell-pull in a room will 

 summon a servant, who will understand that 

 they want to be fed. This is quite different 

 from the case where a captive animal is taught 

 to ring a bell arranged for it, as is sometimes 

 done. In the former instance the cat observes 

 that the pulling of that bell-handle makes noise, 

 which is followed by the appearance of a ser- 

 vant, who has the means to gratify its wants. 

 It reasons : " If somebody opens the door I can 

 get in; when men pull that handle somebody 

 does open the door; the same result will follow 

 if I pull the handle; therefore I will do so." 



The most characteristic feature in the feline 

 nature, probably, is the practice of keeping its 

 half -dead victims under its paws and recaptur- 

 ^ 266 o 



