22 



THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



cat possesses, enabling her to find her way 

 home although miles and miles of untraversed 

 country lay between her and the place from 

 which she has been taken. It is contended 

 that a cat which is conveyed in a bag or blind- 

 folded will have its sense of smell in full exer- 

 cise, and will, by this means take note of the 

 successive odours encountered on the way, 

 and that these will leave in its mind sufficient 

 information of the route so as to make it an 

 easy matter for the animal to find its way back 

 again. Be this as it may, many of us can state 

 facts which are 

 even stranger 

 than fiction of 

 mysterious reap- 

 pearances of cats 

 who, with a hom- 

 ing instinct as 

 true as any car- 

 rier - pigeon, re- 

 turn to the haven 

 where they would 

 be. 



The instinct 

 of maternity is, 

 perhaps, more 

 largely developed 

 in the cat than in 

 any other animal. 

 No creature 

 shows such anx- 

 iety for the safety and welfare of her offspring 

 as she does, and often her natural timidness will 

 give place to bold and fearless courage when 

 her little ones have been in any difficulty or 

 danger. Mivart tells us of a cat that plunged 

 into a swiftly running stream and rescued her 

 three drowning kittens, bringing them one by 

 one in safety to the shore. During a fire in a 

 London theatre, which took place a few years 

 ago, a poor cat with her family was left for- 

 gotten at the back of the stage. Three times 

 the faithful mother rushed into the flaming 

 building and reappeared each time with a kitten 

 in her mouth. But alas! with fatal persistence 

 the devoted creature returned to rescue the 



KEPWICK VIOLET AND " KEPWICK HYACINTH 



BLUES BELONGING TO THE HON. MRS. MACLAREN MORRISON. 



(Photo : J. R. Clarke, Think.) 



was proved, for after the fire was extinguished, 

 the charred bodies of mother and child were 

 found lying side by side. 



A clever writer has stated that " the human 

 race may be divided into people who love cats 

 and people who hate them ; the neutrals being 

 few in numbers." This is very true. There 

 are also differences of opinion as to whether 

 cats are desirable inmates of a household or 

 not, but there can be no question as to the great 

 utility of these animals, and it is only natural 

 to suppose that they were created for the pur- 

 pose of suppress- 

 ing rats and mice 

 and other ver- 

 min. There is a 

 popular notion 

 that if a cat is 

 petted and well 

 fed she will be- 

 come less useful 

 as a mouser. 

 This is a fallacy, 

 for the cat's in- 

 clination is to 

 hunt the mouse 

 or rat, not for 

 food, but for 

 sport, and an ani- 

 mal that is en- 

 feebled byneglect 

 and starvation is 



not in the best condition to successfully catch 

 its prey. This love of sport is not, however, 

 inherent in all cats, but is hereditary in the 

 feline tribe as it is in the human race. 



It may not be generally known that the 

 Government pays annual sums for the purpose 

 of providing, keeping, and feeding numerous 

 " harmless, necessary cats " in their public 

 offices, dockyards, and stores, thereby attest- 

 ing to the worth and capability of pussy's 

 services. 



In the National Printing Office in France 

 a considerable number of cats are employed 

 in keeping the premises clear of rats and mice 

 which would otherwise work havoc amongst 



remaining one, and that she reached the spot the stock of paper always stored in large 



