Cat Hospitals and Refuges 



Mademoiselle Claude Bernard, the daughter of the 

 great scientist who, it is said, tortured more living 

 creatures to death than any other. Vivisection be- 

 came a passion with him, but Mademoiselle Bernard 

 is atoning for her father's cruelty by a singular devo- 

 tion to animals, and none are turned from her gates. 



This is the way they do it in Cairo even now, 

 according to Monsieur Prisse d'Avennes, the distin- 

 guished Egyptologist : — 



"The Sultan, El Daher Beybars, who reigned in 

 Egypt and Syria toward 658 of the Hegira (1260 a.d.) 

 and is compared by William of Tripoli to Nero in 

 wickedness, and to Caesar in bravery, had a pecul- 

 iar affection for cats. At his death, he left a garden, 

 ' Gheyt-el-Quoltah ' (the cats' orchard), situated near 

 his mosque outside Cairo, for the support of homeless 

 cats. Subsequently the field was sold and resold 

 several times by the administrator and purchasers. 

 In consequence of a series of dilapidations it now 

 produces a nominal rent of fifteen piastres a year, 

 which with certain other legacies is appropriated to 

 the maintenance of cats. The Kadi, who is the offi- 

 cial administrator of all pious and charitable bequests, 

 ordains that at the hour of afternoon prayer, between 

 noon and sunset, a daily distribution of animals' en- 

 trails and refuse meat from the butchers' stalls, 

 chopped up together, shall be made to the cats of 

 the neighborhood. This takes place in the outer 

 court of the ' Mehkemeh,' or tribunal, and a curious 



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