232 RABBITS, CATS, AND CAVIES 



latch of the door and came out this practice she 

 continued for years. 



I think I can beat this story with one of my own 

 which applies to two different cats, both short hairs, one 

 a red tabby known at shows as Lord Rufus, but with 

 the private name of Fritz, whose portrait appears in this 

 book, and the other a black female who had the faculty of 

 generally including one pure white kitten in her litters, 

 although she had not a white hair upon her, and had won 

 many prizes in the classes for black females. 



Both these cats had acquired the accomplishment of 

 taking the round door handle in their two paws and 

 turning it to open a door ; many a time when they have 

 been shut in the kitchen of a night have I known them 

 do this, when they wanted to come into the room where I 

 was sitting. 



Lord Rufus, the red tabby, was fond of outdoor 

 life, and spent the days and early part of the nights about 

 the place searching for rats, mice and birds ; he would go 

 after the latter when roosting in the ivy on some of the 

 garden walls, with much success. 



Laurel Tiddles, the black, had a habit which would 

 be trying to nervous persons, but, fortunately, she nearly 

 always selected me for its exercise. If she caught sight 

 of me walking anywhere about the place, she would run 

 at top speed and spring on my shoulder from behind, and 

 usually knocked off my hat with the vigour of her 

 expressions of delight at her feat. I am afraid she was 

 stolen, as she disappeared one day and I could never 

 obtain any tidings about her. One who had seen the 



