THE CAT QUESTION 299 



extremely reluctant to put kittens that are not 

 wanted to death. In the houses of the well-to- 

 do the servants are ordered to kill them ; but 

 the poor have no person to delegate the dirty 

 work to ; and they have, moreover, a kindlier 

 feeling for their pet animals, owing to the fact 

 that they live more with them in their confined 

 homes than is the case with the prosperous. The 

 consequence is that in very many cases not one 

 of a litter is killed ; they are mostly given away 

 to friends, and their friends' children are de- 

 lighted to have them as pets. The kitten 

 amuses a child immensely with its playful ways, 

 and is loved for its pretty blue eyes full of fun 

 and mischief and wonder at everything. But 

 when it grows up the charm vanishes, and it is 

 found that the cat is in the way ; he is often on 

 the common staircase where there are perhaps 

 other cats, and eventually he becomes a nuisance. 

 The poor are also often moving, and are not well 

 able to take their pet from place to place. It is 

 decided to get rid of the cat, but they do not 

 kill it, nor would they like to see it killed by 

 another ; it must be ' strayed ' — that is to say, 

 placed in a sack, taken for some miles away from 

 home at night and released in a strange place. 



