CONCERNING CATS 49 



Pussy consents to be semi-domesticated in the West 

 because she is cute enough to know that she is a gainer 

 thereby. She is petted and pampered, so in return 

 "blinks amiably" at, and purrs to, her benefactor. 

 There is no denying the fact that the cat is a very 

 intelligent animal. Feline toleration of the human 

 race is, then, comprehensible; but why do so many 

 human beings love the cat ? 



One can of course easily understand why the whole 

 race of domestic servants in Europe look with kindly 

 eyes upon the miniature tiger. It is the scapegoat of 

 the genus servitor. It bears the burden of many break- 

 ages of crockery, not all of course ; to ascribe to pussy 

 all the damage sustained by the household china would 

 be tantamount to killing the goose that lays the golden 

 eggs, for it would lead inevitably to the rapid expulsion 

 of the cat hence it happens that articles of crockery 

 have a foolish and disagreeable habit of coming to 

 pieces in the hands. Oh! fragile cups and saucers, 

 why come asunder at the gentle touch of Mary Ann ? 



Then, again, cats keep down the population of mice, 

 hence the affection with which servants regard poor 

 pussy. But this does not explain the love which the 

 elderly spinster of all classes entertains towards a most 

 objectionable quadruped. Victor Hugo has, I think, 

 discovered the reason. According to him, " Dieu a 

 fait le chat pour donner a Vhomme le plaisir de caresser le 

 tigre? 



People keep cats just because cats are felidce. The 

 cat is obviously a tiger in miniature, hence the fascina- 

 tion which it exercises over the human mind. 



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