Concerning Cats 



jumped up beside her; I saw that the kitten was 

 anxious to escape, and was only held back by the 

 assurances of the older cat. Some repetitions of this 

 experiment emboldened the kitten, so that she became 

 as tame as any of the others." 



In case an extremely wild kitten of larger growth 

 is to be tamed, the process must be very gradual. 

 First let him entirely alone, but keep him a part of 

 the time where he can see you and others moving 

 about. Gradually he becomes accustomed to seeing 

 strangers, and by degrees, first by placing his food 

 on the floor and leaving it, and then by drawing 

 closer at each feeding, you will manage to get near 

 enough to stroke him, slowly and very gently. As 

 soon as he comprehends that you are a friend and 

 that he has nothing to fear, he is your friend. If he 

 is not lifted from the floor, he will notice other cats 

 sit on your lap, and some day will surprise you by 

 jumping up of his own accord. Three kittens, who 

 had run wild and been chased by boys with pea- 

 shooters and stones for weeks, took shelter with us. 

 At first they would run and hide at the slightest 

 movement on our part, but on learning that we had 

 nothing but kind intentions, they became gradually 

 tamed and quite affectionate. One day " Little Blue " 

 had allowed me to stroke his back on the floor for 

 some time, and I ventured to lift him up. It was a 

 new experience, and he was as frightened as I should 

 be if some monster a thousand times my size sud- 



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