CAEE OF THE CAT 81 



the foregoing articles, if care is only taken to 

 insure the absolute cleanliness of the pans from 

 which the animal is fed, the good condition of 

 the food itself, and that the diet shall be varied. 

 Often when a cat has been kept on one diet 

 steadily for some time it loses its appetite, and 

 appears dumpish, or even ill, when a simple 

 change of food will bring it back to itself at 

 once. Boiled liver is useful once in a week or 

 ten days, or when the cat is a little off its feed, 

 as it acts as a laxative. It is not, however, 

 good diet for regular use. 



BREEDING. 



The period of gestation in the cat varies 

 from fifty-six to sixty-three days. The cat 

 will breed some three or four times in the 

 year, and has a variable number in each litter 

 of its kittens sometimes two or three only, 

 and sometimes five or six. A young cat is apt 

 to have but two or three at its first pregnan- 

 cies, and when it reaches the age of four or five 

 years it has a larger number, which diminishes 

 again as the mother becomes older. Long- 



