(d) Tongue.—Pass your finger-end over the cat’s tongue; is it rough or smooth? In which direction of motion of the finger does the tongue feel roughest? Would the roughness be of any help to the animal in licking meat from bones?
(e) The limbs.—Measure the legs. Are the fore and hind limbs of equal length, slightly unequal, or very unequal? How do they compare in this respect with the limbs of the rabbit? Make out the main bones by feeling through the skin, and especially notice where the ankle-joint is. Examine the toes and notice how, when you gently squeeze them just behind the ends, the sharp claws protrude, and go back into a kind of sheath when the pressure is removed. Can the animal put out its claws and draw them back at will?
2. The habits of the cat.—(a) Food.—What kind of food does the cat prefer, animal or vegetable? Does it bolt its food greedily, or does it eat deliberately and daintily? Have you ever known cats to hunt other animals? Do they hunt singly, or do several cats join together to hunt? How do they approach the prey; do they try to run it down by speed, or do they creep up slyly and then spring? What is the use of the claws? How does a cat drink?
(b) Locomotion.—Watch a cat moving slowly; does it walk or hop? Try to find out the order in which it puts its feet down. How does it run? Is it nimble or clumsy? Does the cat walk with the whole sole of its foot on the ground, or does it walk “on its toes”?
(c) Likes and dislikes.—Do you consider a cat sociable, i.e. fond, in general, of the society of other cats? Do cats, as a rule, show much appreciation of the difference between right and wrong? Are they as affectionate as dogs? Have you ever heard of any cat trying to remain in a house after the family had removed to another house? Are cats fonder of warm or of cool places in a house? Do they like getting wet? Do they pay much attention to personal cleanliness? How do they wash themselves? Do you think the tongue is used as a comb? How? Can you know whether a cat is pleased or angry (i) by the appearance and movements of the tail, (ii) by the sounds which it makes?
(d) Intelligence.—Write accounts of cases of great intelligence which you have known cats to show.
(e) Voice.—How do you describe a cat’s voice? How does the voice vary according to the animal’s mood?
(f) Play.—How does a cat play?
3. Kittens.—(a) Appearance.—Are kittens helpless or active when they are born? Is there any very marked difference between the proportions of the body and limbs and those of a full-grown cat? At what age is a cat full-grown?
(b) Play.—How does a kitten play? How does it pretend to “stalk” a small object, such as a ball of wool? In the same way that a full-grown cat stalks a mouse? Why does the kitten adopt this method before it has any experience of hunting?