Concerning Cats 



merchandise injured can prove that the ship was not 

 furnished with a cat, he can recover compensation 

 from the owner of the vessel. A ship found under 

 certain circumstances without a living creature on 

 board is considered a derelict, and property rights in 

 her are forfeited. It has frequently occurred, after a 

 ship has been abandoned, that a live cat discovered 

 on board has saved the vessel from being condemned. 

 For such reasons shipowners take care not to send 

 vessels to sea without a cat. 



It is said that in the cold storage warehouses of 

 Pittsburgh cats of a special breed have been domesti- 

 cated. These establishments are much beset by rats, 

 and on this account ordinary pussies were introduced. 

 They could not stand the cold, and soon died. At 

 length a sturdy female was acclimated in one of the 

 warehouses, growing fat where the temperature was 

 below thirty degrees. She gave birth to kittens 

 which grew into robust, thick-furred cats, suited to 

 the Arctic conditions. These kittens were distributed 

 among other cold storage houses, propagating their 

 kind, until now cold storage cats are plentiful enough. 

 They are chubbily built, and have a great develop- 

 ment of the long hairs of the mustache and eyebrows, 

 which serve as feelers with which to find their way 

 in the dark. 



Only a few years ago discovery was made of a great 

 cave in Egypt filled with thousands on thousands of 

 mummified cats. But alas, how are the mighty fallen 



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