78 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



expression of their contentment. It is supposed 

 that the sound is formed in the larynx near 

 the vocal cords, and it is supposed to be a sign 

 of health and vigor, old cats being less inclined 

 to purr. 



III. The Fur, the Sensitiveness, .and the 

 Presentiments of Cats 



The race of cats has but two species of fur, 

 long and short. So far breeders ha\-e not 

 applied artificial propagation sufficiently (as 

 they have with clogs) to increase the number 

 of colors and shades trans 

 mitted by means of heredity ; 

 but in countries where there 

 is a commerce in cat skins 

 they take pains to mate cats 

 having heavy fur. The growth 

 of fur can be artificially pro- 

 duced without following the 

 example of a man who put a 

 mother cat into one of his ice 

 houses. The kittens came 

 duly into the world, and 

 the excessive cold to 

 which they had been ex- 

 posed produced a most 

 luxuriant fur, but they 

 finally became such thick 

 round balls of hair that 

 it was impossible for 

 them to move about. 



If breeders pay a lit- 

 tle attention to the fur 



of their cats, the cats themselves do all they 

 can to keep it in good condition. They are, in- 

 deed, obliged to do so, since it not only protects 

 them but serves as a feeler. The hairs of the 

 mustache especially are \'ery sensiti\'e, and so 

 are the nerves with which they communicate. 

 Every cat has from twenty-five to thirty hairs 

 in its beard, arranged in four lines, the two mid- 

 dle lines being the longest. At each side of the 

 head there are likewise some sensitive hairs, 

 which have their roots in little ]:)rotuberances. 

 The hairs inside the ear are also sensitive. 

 The whole pelt in fact shows a high degree of 



sensitiveness when rubbed the wr< 



,vay,- 



a treatment evidently very disagreeable to the 

 animal, though it has to submit to it when its 

 owner desires to show how much electricity it 

 gives forth. 



It is well, however, not to form too high an 

 estimate of the electricity of cats. In very dry 

 countries, for instance, among high mountains, 

 human hair, when rubbed, will give out plenty 

 of electric sparks visible in the darkness. In 

 fact, in such altitudes we have often seen the 

 gas lighted by a touch of the finger after 

 approaching the fixture from the end of the 

 room, rubbing the feet (in 

 thin shoes) along a thick 

 carpet without lifting them. 

 The fur of a badger and of 

 several other animals, if per- 

 fectly dry, warm, and rubbed 

 energetically, will convey 

 electricity to any conduct- 

 ing medium. The fur of a 

 cat, already more or less 

 dried by the bodily heat 

 of the animal, emits 

 elec trici ty if ex- 

 posed to the sun 

 and then rubbed 

 by the hand in a 

 dark place ; but 

 that same pelt, 

 when taken from 

 the animal and pre- 

 pared and dried, 

 will give the same 

 result. Therefore it is not the cats but their 

 pelts^and those of all thick furry animals, which 

 emit electricity under certain favorable circum- 

 stances. Tigers show the same phenomenon. 



Cats feel much discomfort at the coming 

 of a storm, and there is probably some con- 

 nection between the atmosphere, charged with 

 electricity, and their fur. Perhaps their sensi- 

 ti\-eness to atmospheric changes may be one of 

 the causes why they show such distress, espe- 

 cially when young, during a rain storm. Some 

 are seen to show extreme terror during an 

 earthcjuake, but that is a feeling they share 

 with other animals. 



Midday 



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