Mammal Stttdy 



269 



Jenny was a cat of remarkable intelligence and was very obedient and 

 useful. Coming down the kitchen stairs one day, she played with the 

 latch and someone hearing her, opened the door. She did this several 

 times, when one day she chanced to push down the latch, and thus opened 

 the door herself. After that, she always opened it herself. A little later, 

 she tried the trick on other doors, and soon succeeded in opening all the 

 latched doors in the house, by thrusting one front leg through the handle, 

 and thus supporting her weight and pressing down with the foot of the 

 other on the thumb-piece of the latch. I remember, guests were greatly 

 astonished to see her coming thus swinging into the sitting-room. Later 

 she tried the latches from the other side, jumping up and trying to lift the 

 hook; but now, her weight was thrown against the wrong side of the door 

 for opening, and she soon ceased this futile waste of energy; but for 

 several years, she let herself into all the .rooms in this clever manner, and 

 taught a few of her bright kittens to do the same. 



A pet cat enjoys long conversations with favored members of the 

 household. She will sit in front of her mistress and mew, with every 

 appearance of answering the questions addressed her; and since the cat 

 and the mistress each knows her own part of the conversation, it is per- 

 haps more typical of society chatter than we might like to confess. Of 

 our language, the cat learns to understand the call to food, its own name, 

 "scat," and "No, No," probably inferring the meaning of the latter from 

 the tone of voice. On the other hand, we understand when it asks to go 

 out, and its polite recognition to the one who opens the door. I knew one 

 cat which invariably thanked us when we let him in as well as out. 

 When the cat is hungry, it mews pleadingly; when happy in front of the 

 fire, it looks at us sleepily out of half-closed eyes and gives a short mew 

 expressive of affection and content; or it purrs, a noise which we do not 

 know how to imitate and which expresses perfectly the happiness of inti- 

 mate companionship. When frightened the cat yowls, and when hurt 

 squalls shrilly; when fighting, it is like a savage warrior in that it howls a 

 war-song in blood-curdling strains, punctuated with a spitting expressive 

 of fear and contempt; and imforttmately, its love song is scarcely less 

 agonizing to the listener. The cat's whole body enters into the expression 

 of its emotions. When feeling affectionate toward its mistress, it rubs 

 against her gown, with tail erect, and vibrating with a purr which seems 

 fundamental. When angry, it lays its ears back and lashes its tail back 

 and forth, the latter being a sign of excitement ; when frightened, its hair 

 stands on end, especially the hair of the tail, making that expressive 

 appendage twice its natural size; when caught in disobedience, the cat 

 lets its tail droop, and when nmning lifts it in 

 a curve. 



While we feed cats milk and scraps from 

 our own table, they have never become entirely 

 civilized in their tastes. They always catch 

 mice and other small animals and prove pesti- 

 ferous in destroying birds. Jenny was wont 

 to bring her quarry, as an offering, to the front 

 steps of our home every night; one morning 

 we found seven mice, a cotton-tail rabbit and 

 two snakes, which represented her night's 

 catch. The cat never chases its prey like the 

 dog. It discovers the haunts of its victims, a ciaw up. b ciaw thrust out. 



Bones and ligaments 

 of cat's claw. 



