Concerning Cat language 



Fortified by this theory he devoted a couple of 

 years to the study of crow language, and made him- 

 self ridiculous in the eyes of his adversaries by 

 attempting to translate a nightingale's song. 



Chateaubriand was much interested in Dupont de 

 Nemours's researches into the language of cats. " Its 

 claws," says the latter, "and the power of climbing 

 trees which its claws give it, furnish the cat with 

 resources of experience and ideas denied the dog. 

 The cat, 'also, has the advantage of a language which 

 has the same vowels as pronounced by the dog, and 

 with six consonants in addition, m, n, g, h, v, and f. 

 Consequently the cat has a greater number of words. 

 These two causes, the finer structure of its paws, 

 and the larger scope of oral language, endow the 

 solitary cat with greater cunning and skill as a hunter 

 than the dog." 



Abb6 Galiani also says : " For centuries cats have 

 been reared, but I do not find they have ever been 

 really studied. I have a male and a female cat. I 

 have cut them off from all communication with cats 

 outside the house, and closely observe their pro- 

 ceedings. During their courtship they never once 

 miowed : the miow, therefore, is not the language of 

 love, but rather the call of the absent. Another 

 positive discovery I have made is that the voice of 

 the male is entirely different from that of the female, 

 as it should be. I am sure there are more than 

 twenty different inflections in the language of cats, 



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