FELINE INTELLIGENCE. 
ROBABLY no creature has been more calumniated by 
man than the Domestic Cat. While wonderful intel- 
lectual powers, as well as the most amiable traits of character, 
have been accredited to the dog, and rightly so, it seems 
rather strange that so little of good has been found to exist 
in the subject of our sketch. She has been held up to repro- 
bation as a thoroughly selfish animal, seeking her own com- 
fort rather than that of others, and manifesting a stronger 
attachment to places than to owners. Sly and treacherous as 
her untamed kindred of the forests and jungles are known to 
be, she receives no higher commendation, and is even accused 
of concealing her talons in her velvety paws when matters 
go pleasantly with her, and ready to use them even upon 
her best friends when crossed in her purposes. 
Whatever may have been the experience of those who have 
so grossly libelled the Cat, my own large acquaintance with 
the animal has led to different conclusions. Nearly all the 
Cats with which I have been most familiar have been as 
docile, tractable and affectionate as any dog could be, and 
have exhibited an amount of intellectual ability unsurpassed 
by few dogs. There is as much to be said about the good 
and bad temper of the Cat as of the dog, while, as to her 
mental capacities, the advantage is not so decidedly upon the 
side of the dog as is generally supposed. Nor is my own 
experience exceptional, for in all instances where friends have 
possessed favorite Cats their experiences have been similar 
to my own. 
Self is not always paramount to everything else with Cats. 
Some are generous to a fault. Mothers have been known, 
