44 



THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



teaspoonful of lime-water to each cup of milk 

 and water. It should be given warm, not hot, 

 and the milk scalded, not boiled. In London 

 or large towns unsweetened condensed milk 

 is better than cow's milk, as the colouring or 

 preservative acids used by dairymen in the 

 latter is very injurious to kittens. This con- 

 densed milk should be much diluted, and 

 flavoured with small quantities of salt and 

 sugar. If too strong or too sweet, the food 

 will cause diarrhoea. Kittens will soon learn to 

 suck out of an eggspoon ; but do not give too 

 much at once, or force the food down their little 

 throats when they object to take any more. 



At about five weeks old the kittens will 

 begin to lap and possibly to eat. Many 

 fanciers are delighted if they will eat and drink 

 before a month old, and some make the serious 

 mistake of trying to coax the little ones to eat 

 solid food at this tender age. Such persons 

 do not stop to think how weak are all the 

 digestive organs of these tiny creatures. The 

 milk of the mother supplies all that is needful 

 for their growth and well-being until such time 

 as Nature makes itself heard in her demands 

 for further nourishment, and if substantial 

 food is given to them too soon, or too strong, 

 it merely goes through the stomach, passing 

 out into the bowels undigested, decomposes, 

 and forms slimy mucus which is the hotbed for 

 worms, even if it does not set up inflammation 

 of the bowels. More kittens die from worms 

 and consumption of the bowels than from any 

 other complaint, and much of this loss of life 

 is directly traceable to strong food at too tender 

 an age. 



Lung disease, gastric catarrh, gastro-enter- 

 itis, are all directly or indirectly set up 

 by the non-assimilation of food ; hence the 

 supreme importance of giving nourishment 

 which can be digested easily. After six weeks 

 scraped raw beef may be given (if the kittens 

 want to eat) three times daily in very small 

 quantities, about half a teaspoonful to start 

 with, and they may have warm milk and water 

 with lime in it. This should be followed by 

 Mellin's, or Benger's Frame Food, as directed 

 for infants. It is advisable not to allow kittens 



to overload their stomachs, but to feed them 

 about four times daily. If healthy they will 

 eat eagerly, but not ravenously ; a kitten who 

 is greed}' and precipitates itself into the saucer 

 in its anxiety to get its dinner may be suspected 

 of worms, and when about eight weeks old 

 a course of Salvo's No. I powders may be given 

 with safety. 



As soon as the kittens are about a month 

 old, a shallow tin of dry earth or ashes (I do 

 not recommend sawdust) should be provided 

 for them, and it will well repay their owners 

 to spend some portion of the day with the 

 little ones and lift them into the earth-pan 

 when necessary. If this is done two or three 

 times, the lesson is probably learnt for life. 

 Kittens are naturally clean, and will get out 

 of their beds, and run about crying loudly 

 for some accommodation for their wants ; 

 and if this is neglected the seeds of dirty habits 

 are sown, and the poor untaught little ones 

 reap a sad harvest of cuffs and sometimes 

 kicks from servants, who naturally dislike the 

 trouble caused by dirty house pets. Even 

 in catteries cleanly habits in cats are much 

 to be desired. If a cat or kitten gets into 

 dirty ways, it should never be beaten and put 

 into the tin, but should be gently stroked and 

 coaxed into good habits. Those who only 

 keep one or two queens will find that if they 

 spend a few minutes playing with the kittens 

 before their meals, they will be well rewarded 

 by the quicker growth and better digestion 

 of the little ones ; but, of course, this is out 

 of the question in a large cattery. 



In summer, kittens should be combed daily 

 with a small tooth comb, as the insects which 

 inhabit their coats not only worry them and 

 cause them to scratch out their fur, but they 

 convey disease from one to another, to say 

 nothing of sucking out so much blood that 

 the poor little creatures become absolutely 

 anaemic, and in this state they fall an easy prey 

 to the first disease that attacks them. Fleas 

 were formerly treated as irritating but other- 

 wise harmless insects ; but we are assured on 

 the best authority that they are a dangerous 

 medium of disease, and that tape-worms are 



