USE OF MAN'S INSTRUMENTS. 433 



Door latches or handles are lifted or turned by cats in 

 different ways. In some cases the paws are directly made 

 nse of to turn the handle, the two fore paws being required 

 to do what man does with one hand. In other cases the 

 animal makes a spring at the latch, holds on to it by means 

 of one or both paws, and lifts it by the suspended weight 

 of its body. In such a case it not unfrequently happens 

 that another cat, or more probably a dog, co-operates with 

 it by pushing open the door as soon as the latch is lifted. 

 In other cases, again, of a rarer kind however, the cat holds 

 on with one paw and raises the latch with the other. 



A certain cat ' opened a kitchen door by jumping up and 

 hanging on to the handle of the latch' (Wood). Another 'used 

 to let herself into different rooms by jumping up and hanging 

 on to the latch of the door' ('Animal World '). A third 

 opens a door by springing at and hanging by one foot to 

 the door-handle, raising the latch with the other paw. * The 

 latch being lifted, she descends and pushes open the door ; ' 

 and this was done so frequently that the animal became 

 most troublesome to the servants (Jesse). In a fourth case 

 a dog rapped at a door ; a cat sprang up and struck the 

 latch so as to lift it, while the dog pushed the door open, 

 and so gained the desired entrance (Wood). 



Where it is found impossible to manipulate a latch or 

 door-handle, both the dog and cat sometimes make use of 

 door knockers and bells in order to gain admittance. Thus 

 a certain cat ' used to knock at the door when she wanted to 

 come in, and would endeavour to turn the handle by taking 

 it between her paws ' (Wood). The cat in such cases gets 

 at the knocker just as she gets at the latch, but more easily, 

 making a spring at the knocker so as to lift it suddenly and 

 forcibly with one of her paws. The use of door knockers by 

 the dog is mentioned by Watson. But cats and dogs are 

 not the only animals that use door knockers, nor are paws 

 the only organs or instruments used in lifting or striking 

 them. Wood tells us of a horse that lifted a knocker with 

 its nose in order to get its morning meal. 



Nor are cats the only animals that can open doors or 

 gates. Certain of the Quadrumana for instance the 



