Concerning Kittens 



denly lifted me a furlong above the earth, and for 

 weeks none of us could touch him. But otherwise 

 he was very friendly and social, and occasionally 

 jumped into our laps of his own accord. 



A cat is naturally the cleanest of domestic pets, 

 and if a kitten is trained right at the start he will 

 never give any trouble. The mother cat attends to 

 his natural needs until he is about five or six weeks 

 old, when he begins to run about, and perhaps to 

 drink milk. If he is kept in the house, a low box, or, 

 better, a tin or earthen pan of clean, dry sand or 

 earth, should be kept where he can get into it read- 

 ily. If he is shown to it a few times he will compre- 

 hend its purpose at once, and if the earth is changed 

 frequently and kept clean, there will be no further 

 trouble. As soon as he is big enough to run out of 

 doors the box can be dispensed with. City cats, if of 

 value, should not be allowed to run out, and should 

 be provided with such an arrangement in the cellar, or 

 some convenient place. A neat cat insists on having 

 such places kept perfectly clean and fresh. In case 

 a cat has been shut in a room, and accidents occur, 

 an intelligent cat will often show great shame and 

 contrition, and needs no punishment. If not, or in 

 case of a kitten, he should be shown the place and 

 severely scolded. Cats hate to be scolded, and this is 

 often enough ; but if not, an effective treatment is to 

 hold their noses to the place, and punish them very 

 gently. Kittens and cats should never be given a 



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