Mr. W. M. Acworth, in his excellent book, "The Railways of England," gives a very interesting account of the usefulness of the cat. He says, writing of the Midland Railway: "A few miles further off, however—at Trent—is a still more remarkable portion of the company's staff, eight cats, who are borne on the strength of the establishment, and for whom a sufficient allowance of milk and cats' meat is provided. And when we say that the cats have under their charge, according to the season of the year, from one to three or four hundred thousand empty corn sacks, it will be admitted that the company cannot have many servants who better earn their wages.
"The holes in the sacks, which are eaten by the rats which are not killed by the cats, are darned by twelve women, who are employed by the company."
Few people know, or wish to know, what a boon to mankind is "The Domestic Cat." Liked or disliked, there is the cat, in some cases unthought of or uncared for, but simply kept on account of the devastation that would otherwise take place were rats and mice allowed to have undivided possession. An uncle of mine had some hams sent from Yorkshire; during the transit by rail the whole of the interior of one of the largest was consumed by rats. More cats at the stations would possibly have prevented such irritating damage.
And further, it is almost incredible, and likewise almost unknown, the great benefit the cat is to the farmer. All day they sleep in the barns, stables, or outhouses, among the hay or straw. At eve they are seen about the rick-yard, the corn-stack, the cow and bullock yards, the stables, the gardens, and the newly sown or mown fields, in quest of their natural prey, the rat and mouse. In the fields the mice eat and carry off the newly-sown peas or corn, so in the garden, or the ripened garnered corn in stacks; but when the cat is on guard much of this is prevented. Rats eat corn and carry off more, kill whole broods of ducklings and chickens in a night, undermine buildings, stop drains, and unwittingly do much other injury to the well-being of the farmers and others. What a ruinous thing it would be, and what a dreadfully horrible thing it is to be overrun with rats, to say nothing of mice. In this matter man's best friend is the cat. Silent, careful, cautious, and sure, it is at work, while the owner sleeps, with an industry, a will, and purpose that never rests nor tires from dewy eve till rosy morn, when it will glide through "the cat hole" into the barn for repose among the straw, and when night comes, forth again; its usefulness scarcely imagined, much less known and appreciated.
They who remember old Fleet Prison, in Farringdon Street, will scarcely believe that the debtors there confined were at times so neglected as to be absolutely starving; so much so, that a Mr. Morgan, a surgeon of Liverpool, being put into that prison, was ultimately reduced so low by poverty, neglect, and hunger, as to catch mice by the means of a cat for his sustenance. This is stated to be the fact in a book written by Moses Pitt, "The Cries of the Oppressed," 1691.
GENERAL MANAGEMENT.
FEEDING.
Adult cats require less food in proportion than kittens, for two reasons. One is this: a kitten is growing, and therefore extra bone, flesh, skin, hair, and all else has to be provided for; while in the adults, these are more or less acquired, and also they procure for themselves, in various ways in country or suburban localities, much live and other food, and no animal is the better for over or excessive feeding, especially if confined, or its chances of exercise contracted.