94 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



which they are killed on the spot. Nevertheless, How stealthily, treacherously, it creeps along, 



the fact is generally true, for they know how to like the cunning thief it is ! . . . 

 turn and twist while falling, so that the center Buffon, as we see, was no friend to cats ; 



of gravity gets placed in such a way as to oblige but long before his day they had cruel enemies 



the body to make a half turn at the last, bring- who fought them more directly. In 1747 



ing the feet to the ground. A cat once fell 

 from the fifth story of a house, and though be- 

 wildered for a moment, picked itself up c]uickly 

 and scampered away. 



A cat seated is an ideal image of repose. 

 No other animal con\'e}'s such an impression of 

 perfect rest and cjuiet meditation. The 

 dog, which is much nearer to man 

 by reason of his development, 

 cannot equal the cat in that 

 position. The graceful 

 pose, the perpendicular 

 front slope, the hind legs 

 wrapped by the supple 

 tail, the short and vigor- 

 ous neck meeting the 

 back in a pretty little 

 curve, and the beautiful 

 round head with its pointed 

 ears give to the seated cat a 

 singularly peaceful air, to whic 

 the contented expression of its neatly 

 cut face contributes much. Is it sur- 

 prising that the artist's eye has been 

 so struck by this attitude that he 

 should love to paint the figure of a seated cat 



"They .me.ax to fling 

 me int(j the w.ater " 



Archbishop Clement Augustus of Cologne 

 published an edict that all cats should have 

 their ears cut off. This singular measure was 

 intended to protect hares and young pheasants. 

 The poor maimed creatures would no longer 

 go marauding, or what is still more probable, 

 the subjects of the prelate would feel 

 their affection for the animal cool- 

 ing after such disfigurement. 

 Moreover, every ear not cut 

 off was subject to a fine of 

 a quarter of a florin. 

 Madame de Custine, a 

 great friend of cats, took 

 up their defense. She 

 wrote, among others, to 

 Champfleury, another 

 friend of pussy, saying that 

 they deserved to be placed 

 before dogs, whose attachment 

 and fidelity was too mechanical, 

 whereas we could not too much ad- 

 mire the independence of cats. 



There are many extravagant judg- 

 ments pronounced by partisans and 

 ad\'ersaries of the feline race. The sportsman. 



beside the old dame knitting near the cradle in especiall)', cries out, " Death to cats ! " It is 

 a tranquil home ! true that these animals can and do cause great 



damage to game and poultry. The wild cats 



XII. For and Against j.,^^,^^ certainly be regarded as beasts of prey. 



In all that we have so far said there is surely deserving of antipathy and of all the measures 



no ground for an injunction against cats ; the 

 fors certainly have it all their own way. But 

 let us now turn our eyes to the againsts. We 

 will take Buffon to witness. He does not spare 

 poor pussy ; he thinks her " an animal that 



taken for their destruction ; but the domestic 

 cat, pro\'ided it is not left to care for itself, 

 does not do the mischief that many persons 

 imagine. In any case, it is easy to take effectual 

 measures against it without resorting to tor- 



deserves no confidence ; which should be kept tures, such as setting traps, or to open murder 



only from necessity, to guard against another by means of dogs. 



unpleasant animal — the mouse. At night. The usefulness of the cat after death is 



instead of sleeping near its master," contin- relatively small, provided we except the intes- 



ues the learned naturalist, "it rambles off, tines, which are used for making violin strings, 



through woods and fields, pursuing and de- and the pelt, which appears in commerce as a 



stroying game. How many nests it ruins ! real fur. 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



