14 NATURE STUDY LESSONS FOR PRIMARY GRADES 



over the floor? Why not? How can she move so 

 softly ? Notice closely the cushions on her feet. 

 Which moves the more quietly, the dog or the cat? 

 Why cannot the dog move over the floor as quietly as 

 the cat? (His claws touch the floor.) When a cat 

 has found the hole of a mouse, and knows the mouse 

 is within, what does it do ? How long do you think 

 it will wait? Does it stand or sit? What have you 

 noticed about its tail while it is watching for the 

 mouse? How does it catch the mouse? We saw no 

 claws while looking at kitty's feet. Where were 

 they? What reason can you think for kitty hav- 

 ing claws that she can pull in when she chooses 

 to do so? (She can walk so softly a mouse 

 cannot hear her; her claws are kept from being 

 broken or dulled.) What have you that corresponds 

 to the cat's claws? What care do you have to give 

 your nails? Why cut them? Do kitty's nails grow? 

 What does she do to keep them from becoming too 

 long? (Scratches on trees or other wood.) How 

 does the shape of her claws fit her for catching and 

 holding a mouse? 



Often in hunting mice cats have to go into holes. 

 They have a way of telling whether or not the 

 hole is too small for their bodies ; what is it ? (The 



