A FEW WORDS ON CATS IN GENERAL 225 



mother before being weaned, evert if they can lap and feed 

 before that time, as they will be all the better for the 

 warmth and care of their mother. All should never be 

 taken away at once ; any which are not wanted should be 

 drowned by being placed in a bucket or pail of water, 

 and another pail put into it to keep them from rising, 

 which will cause a speedy painless death. 



Keep up the mother with good feeding, and rub her 

 teats gently two or three times a day. 



A little fresh butter or vaseline rubbed into the teats 

 will assist in taking away the milk, which otherwise may 

 cause suffering to the cat. 



I have had cats live with me for nineteen or twenty 

 years, and they are not naturally short-lived animals when 

 well cared for. 



I believe that, at anyrate in this country, cats are now 

 more appreciated and of greater value than they have been 

 in the remembrance of anyone living, and I am in hopes 

 that the detailed particulars given in these sketches may 

 be useful to some of my fellow fanciers, and perhaps 

 cause some of my readers to take more interest in an 

 animal with which I have had much to do, and whose few 

 faults many are disposed to be eloquent upon, while 

 ignoring the many fascinating qualities it possesses. 



