CAT— GENERAL INTELLIGENCE. 
425 
fished. After describing the case of a cat opening a 
thumb-latch in the same way as those already mentioned, 
this writer proceeds : — 
At Parara, the residence of Parker Bowman, Esq., a full- 
grown cat was one day accidentally locked up in a room with- 
out any other outlet than a small window, moving on hing°s, 
and kept shut by means of a swivel. "Not long afterwards the 
window was found open and the cat gone. This having 
happened several times, it was at last found that the cat jumped 
upon the window-sill, placed her fore-paws as high as she could 
reach against the side, deliberately reached with one over to 
the swivel, moved it from its horizontal to a perpendicular posi- 
tion, and then, leaning with her whole weight against the 
window, swung it open and escaped. 
To give only one other instance of high reasoning power 
in this animal, Mr. W. Brown, writing from Greenock to 
‘Xature ’ (vol. xxi., p. 397), gives a remarkable story of a 
cat, the facts in which do not seem to have admitted of 
mal-observation. While a paraffine lamp was being 
trimmed, some of the oil fell upon the back of the cat, 
and was afterwards ignited by a cinder falling upon it 
from the fire. The cat with her back 6 in a blaze, in an 
instant made for the door (which happened to be open) 
and sped up the street about 1 00 yards,’ where she plunged 
into the village watering-trough, and extinguished the 
flame. ‘ The trough had eight or nine inches of water, 
and puss was in the habit of seeing the fire put out with 
water every night.’ The latter point is important, as it 
shows the data of observation on which the animal rea- 
soned. 
