THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



in charge of each depot to submit to the 



War Department a request for an allowance 



for the cats of meat and milk. 



More than three hundred cats are 



in the employ of the Post Office 



Department, distributed among 



about fifty of the largest offices. 



The New York City office expends 



sixty dollars annually in cats'- 



meat. At Pittsburg, there is a 



"cold-storage" breed of cats, 



which has special qualifications 



for enduring extreme cold. These 



cats are short tailed, with long 



and heavy fur, and their eyebrows 



and whiskers are extraordinarily 



long and strong. It is said they 



do not thrive when transferred 



to an ordinary atmosphere. 



The following extract from the 

 Daily Mail of February ist, 1902, 

 gives us an account of a most 

 exemplary, well trained, and up- CAT CALENDAR. 



to-date cat, and opens up a fresh (.By kind permission of Ra 

 field for the utility and agility of 

 our domestic pets not an absolutely fresh 

 field indeed, if one recalls the fact that Puss 

 was already a " retriever " in ancient Egypt. 



A PING-PONG CAT. 



Hunting for balls is un- 

 doubtedly the one great draw- 

 back to ping-pong. Might I 

 suggest a novel and easy 

 method of accomplishing this 

 difficult and unpleasant task ? 



My cat is now an expert in 

 the art of finding ping-pong 

 balls. Immediately the ball 

 touches the floor the cat is 

 after it, and brings it from its 

 hiding-place to the side of the 

 table at which I am playing, 

 thus saving me from unneces- 

 sary exertion. F. S. W. 



CAT CALENDAR. 



(By kind permission o/ Raphael Tuck &> Co.) 



The thought suggests itself that pussy's teeth 

 and claws might work serious havoc amongst 

 the ping-pong balls, and that some of these 

 would be produced in a mutilated condition. 



Of all animals the cat appears most to re- 

 sent being taught or trained to do tricks. Puss 

 has a natural antipathy to be 

 forced to do anything, or remain 

 anywhere against her will. Hence 

 the few exhibitions of really clever 

 performing cats in comparison 

 with the marvellous feats achieved 

 by dogs. It has been stated that 

 the cat is the hardest animal to 

 teach ; it takes years to train a 

 cat to perform some simple trick 

 which a dog would learn in as 

 many weeks. Once a cat is trained, 

 it becomes a very valuable pos- 

 session. We have all seen the 

 Happy Family, consisting of 

 monkeys, guinea-pigs, canaries, 

 pigeons, and mice, whilst a cat 

 is seated demurely in the midst 

 of this incongruous assembly. No 

 doubt some training was required 

 to cause puss to disregard the 

 natural instincts of her race. 



The cat is a most cleanly crea- 

 ture, and perhaps more particular about her 

 appearance than any other animal. As Miss 

 Agnes Repplier, in her delightful book. " The 

 Fireside Sphinx," says: 

 "Pussy's adroitness is 

 equalled only by her deli- 

 cacy and tact. Her clean- 

 liness and her careful atten- 

 tion to her toilet show re- 

 spect for herself and for us." 

 One of the strangest 

 and most profitable trades 

 in London is the wholesale 

 and retail business of horse- 

 meat for cats. In barrows 

 and carts the hawkers of 

 this horse-flesh cry their 

 wares throughout the city 

 and suburbs, and find a 

 ready sale for them. It is stated that 

 26,000 horses, maimed, or past work, are 

 slaughtered and cut up every year to feed our 

 household pets. Each horse means on an 



