Pussy and Her Language

by Marvin R. Clark; Alphonse Leon Grimaldi

"They are self-sacrificing, even to death, understanding man's language, verbal and other, including the reading of human character and words, the interpretation of facial expressions, use of money and knowledge of its power and the principle of barter, buying and selling, self-control, appetite, co-operation with man, both in useful service and in crime, sensitiveness to insult or affront, neglect, injustice, punishment and reproof, discovery of murderers and murders, lost or stolen property, idea of time, tune, number, order, succession of events. On the whole the place next to man, as respects both intellect and morals, is usually assigned to the dog, a rank which is, undoubtedly, due to his intimate association with and careful training by man for countless generations, for there can be no question as to the hereditary transmission and consequent accumulation of the truths, good or bad, of education by or in imitation of man.

"Man ascribes to the Cat spitefulness, selfishness, cold cruelty, stealthiness, treachery and attachment to place and not to person. The poor Cat has, probably, been as much maligned and misunderstood as it has been petted. We are told that its apparent affection is only 'a cupboard love,' and that this is popularly supposed to be sufficient to account for its propensity to pilfer eatables and drinkables. It is said to be attached to place, not to person, to stick to a given house, even when a master or a mistress who has heaped kindness upon it has had occasion to change quarters. Absurd stories are told as to its sucking children's breath. To speak of a scandal-propagating, sour old maid as 'spiteful as a Cat' is so common, and we hear the Cat so frequently accused of stealthiness or treachery—of the enjoyment of the tortures of its victims and of calculating cruelty, and yet Wood tells us, 'instead of being a greedy, selfish animal, it is really a very unselfish and generous one, capable of great sacrifices.' Jesse mentions one that fed a jay twice a day with mice. Another Cat always brought and laid at her master's feet the mice she had caught, before she would eat them; she made use of them as food only when they were given back to her by her master. The attachment of the Cat is frequently as great to person as to place, such attachment, however, depending usually on how far she is understood, sympathized with and kindly treated.

"Cases have been given of Cats following their masters from house to house and place to place, accompanying them on visits to other people's residences as unconcerned as a dog. They may be trained to guard and defend like a dog."

This author speaks of the affection of the feline for the canine and gives many proofs instancing the feeding and nourishing of a sick dog by a Cat, and of Cats and dogs living together, in the same kennel, of which there have been innumerable instances. Other authors who independently verify these assertions by the relations of personal observations are Mockridge, Lubbock, Belt, Hogue, Pierre Huber, François Huber, Latreille, Nemour, Dr. Franklin, Paisley, Boyer, Spaulding, Houzeau, Nichols, Menauly, Leroy, Burnett, Jebb, Fleming, Ferrier, Gillies, Gudden, Czermak, Flourens, Smellie, Marville, J. G. Wood and many others.

Strong proofs in refutation of the ridiculous assertion that the Cat is a lover of place and not of person have been multiplied until their name is legion. Strongest of all these proofs are the verified narratives of most reliable people and recited in books of authors who are above question as to veracity. There is, in fact, no need of deceit in this demonstration of the truth in this regard, for where the intellect is but ordinary, the evidence of the eye is conclusive to those who may have witnessed the action of the maligned animal, and the character of the truthful author, whose honesty of purpose and freedom from deceit have never been impugned, will be taken for all it is worth by all searchers after the truth.

Prof. Wood, the celebrated naturalist, relates a wonderful story of a Cat, as follows:

"A Cat recently exhibited a mysterious intuitive power, which equaled if not surpassed any story of its kind and narrated. She was the property of a newly married couple, who resided toward the north of Scotland, where the country narrows considerably, by reason of the deeply cut inlets of the surrounding sea. Their cottage was at no great distance from the ocean, and there they remained for several months. After a while the householders changed their locality and took up their residence in a house near the opposite coast. As the intervening country was so hilly and rugged that there would have been much difficulty in transporting the household goods, the aid of a ship was called in, and, after giving their Cat to a neighbor as a present, the man and his wife proceeded by sea to their new home.

"After they had been settled for some weeks, they were surprised by the sudden appearance of their Cat, which presented itself at their door, dirty, ragged and half starved. As might be expected, she was joyfully received, and soon recovered her good looks.

"It is hardly possible to conceive whence the animal could have obtained her information. Even if the usual means of land transport had been taken, it would have been most wonderful that the Cat should have been able to trace the line of journey. But when, as in the present instance, the human travelers went by water and the feline traveler went by land, there seems to be no clue to the guiding power which directed the animal in its course and brought it safely to the desired goal."