Concerning Cats 



her window and let him on to the sloping roof of the 

 " L," from which he could descend through a gnarled 

 old apple tree. Meanwhile I left the back door and 

 went on with my preparations for the night. About 

 ten minutes later I went and called the cats again. 

 It was a moonlight night and I saw six delinquent 

 cats coming in a flock across the open field behind 

 the house, — all marshalled by Mr. Thomas. He 

 evidently hunted them up and called them in him- 

 self; then he sat on the back porch and waited 

 until the last kit was safely in, before he stalked 

 gravely in with an air which said as plainly as 

 words : — 



" There, it takes me to do anything with this fam- 

 ily." 



None of my cats would think of responding to the 

 f call of " Kitty, Kitty," or " Puss, Puss." They are 

 early taught their names and answer to them. Neither 

 would one answer to the name of another, except in 

 occasional instances where jealousy prompts them to 

 do so. We have to be most careful when we go out 

 of an evening, not to let Thomas Erastus get out at 

 the same time. In case he does, he will follow us 

 either to the railroad station or to the electric cars 

 and wait in some near-by nook until we come back. 

 I have known him to sit out from seven until mid- 

 night of a cold, snowy winter evening, awaiting our re- 

 turn from the theatre. When we alight from the cars 

 he is nowhere to be seen. But before we have gone 



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