FEItlflE IflTELItlGEflCE. 



PROBABLY no creature has been more calumniated by 

 J- man than the Domestic Cat. While wonderful intel- 

 lectual powers, as well as the most amiable traits of character, 

 have been accredited to the dog, and rightly so, it seems 

 rather strange that so little of good has been found to exist 

 in the subject of our sketch. She has been held up to repro- 

 bation as a thoroughly selfish animal, seeking her own com- 

 fort rather than that of others, and manifesting a stronger 

 attachment to places than to owners. Sly and treacherous as 

 her untamed kindred of the forests and jungles are known to 

 be, she receives no higher commendation, and is even accused 

 of concealing her talons in her velvety paws when matters 

 go pleasantly with her, and ready to use them even upon 

 her best friends when crossed in her purposes. 



Whatever may have been the experience of those who have 

 so grossly libelled the Cat, my own large acquaintance with 

 the animal has led to different conclusions. Nearly all the 

 Cats with which I have been most familiar have been as 

 docile, tractable and affectionate as any dog could be, and 

 have exhibited an amount of intellectual ability unsurpassed 

 by few dogs. There is as much to be said about the good 

 and bad temper of the Cat as of the dog, while, as to her 

 mental capacities, the advantage is not so decidedly upon the 

 side of the dog as is generally supposed. Nor is my own 

 experience exceptional, for in all instances where friends have 

 possessed favorite Cats their experiences have been similar 

 to my own. 



Self is not always paramount to everything else with Cats. 

 Some are generous to a fault. Mothers have been known, 



