2i8 The Common Cat. [Sess. 



do without our conscious projection of ideas. Thus if our 

 thoughts are sad, the cat is sad ; if we are full of happy 

 thoughts, so is the cat happy. If people quarrel, witness the 

 intense excitement of any cats and dogs which may be present. 

 In cases of murder or suicide, we have often read of the con- 

 dition of frenzy in which the cat was found. We human 

 beings are too material and in most cases unable to translate 

 the telepathic impulses which are undoubtedly sent to us 

 from the lower animals. Our receptive centres are not sufi&- 

 ciently sensitive to receive the impulses which these animals 

 send. Long association with animals, however, sharpens this 

 power, and thus many of us are able almost to converse in- 

 audibly with our cats and dogs. This power of conversation 

 by thought is of course common to many of the lower animals, 

 and by none is it more employed than by cats. You may 

 notice them, after having conversations, leading one another 

 away, it may be on a hunting expedition, or to a comfortable 

 bed, or to food. During their conversation the expression on 

 their countenances varies greatly. The eyes are of course the 

 most expressive feature, — sometimes soft and melting, hard, 

 or even cruel in their glare ; the mouth smiling, firm, or 

 snarling. On the other hand, the speech of cats may be 

 vocalised, though this is less frequent. A remarkably wide 

 range of vocables is provided to the cat — much more so than 

 to most other animals. It can pronounce such consonants as 

 m, a labial of the nasal class, a vocal w, the labio-dental /, the 

 sibilant s and sh, and the labial 'p. All the vowel sounds are 

 also present in cat language, and are used singly and in com- 

 bination or preceded by the consonants. The usual dissyllabic 

 sound is uttered in two notes : the first is usually made on 

 the major sixth of the scale of C, and the second on the 

 fourth note of the natural diatonic scale, though these in- 

 tervals may either be shortened or lengthened. Though these 

 are the fundamental notes, there are infinite varieties of har- 

 monics or secondary notes, which impart to the cat's cry that 

 diversity of sound which makes it charming, discordant, wail- 

 ing, awe-inspiring, or blood-curdling. The sounds are in 

 many cases exactly the same as those produced by the wail- 

 ing of an infant. In consequence of this, fruitless searches 

 have been made to discover infants abandoned by their 



