Illustrative Anecdotes of the Animal Kingdom

by Samuel G. Goodrich

"On the following morning, much to my surprise, I found puss waiting for me at the door of my apartment. She accompanied me down to breakfast, sat by me, and caressed me in every possible way. She had always been in the habit of going down to breakfast with the lady of the house; but on this morning she had resisted all her coaxing to leave my door, and would not move a step till I had made my appearance. She had never done this before, and never did it again. She had shown her gratitude to me for the care of her little ones, and her duty was done."

The editor of the "Edinburgh Evening Courant" gives us the following extraordinary story: "A country gentleman of our acquaintance, who is neither a friend to thieves nor poachers, has at this moment, in his household, a favorite cat, whose honesty, he is sorry to say, there is but too much reason to call in question. The animal, however, is far from being selfish in her principles; for her acceptable gleanings she regularly shares among the children of the family in which her lot is cast. It is the habit of this grimalkin to leave the kitchen or parlor, as often as hunger and an opportunity may occur, and wend her way to a certain pastrycook's shop, where, the better to conceal her purpose, she endeavors slyly to ingratiate herself into favor with the mistress of the house. As soon as the shopkeeper's attention becomes engrossed in business, or otherwise, puss contrives to pilfer a small pie or tart from the shelves on which they are placed, speedily afterwards making the best of her way home with her booty.

"She then carefully delivers her prize to some of the little ones in the nursery. A division of the stolen property quickly takes place; and here it is singularly amusing to observe the sleekit animal, not the least conspicuous among the numerous group, thankfully munching her share of the illegal traffic. We may add, that the pastrycook is by no means disposed to institute a legal process against poor Mrs. Puss, as the children of the gentleman to whom we allude are honest enough to acknowledge their fourfooted playmate's failings to papa, who willingly compensates any damage the shopkeeper may sustain from the petty depredations of the would-be philanthropic cat."

In the month of July, 1801, a woman was murdered in Paris. A magistrate, accompanied by a physician, went to the place where the murder had been committed, to examine the body. It was lying upon the floor, and a greyhound, who was standing by the corpse, licked it from time to time, and howled mournfully. When the gentlemen entered the apartment, he ran to them without barking, and then returned, with a melancholy mien, to the body of his murdered mistress. Upon a chest in a corner of the room a cat sat motionless, with eyes, expressive of furious indignation, steadfastly fixed upon the body. Many persons now entered the apartment; but neither the appearance of such a crowd of strangers, nor the confusion that prevailed in the place, could make her change her position.

In the mean time, some persons were apprehended on suspicion of being the murderers, and it was resolved to lead them into the apartment. Before the cat got sight of them, when she only heard their footsteps approaching, her eyes flashed with increased fury, her hair stood erect, and so soon as she saw them enter the apartment, she sprang towards them with expressions of the most violent rage, but did not venture to attack them, being probably afraid of the numbers that followed. Having turned several times towards them with a peculiar ferocity of aspect, she crept into a corner, with a mien indicative of the deepest melancholy. This behavior of the cat astonished every one present. The effect which it produced upon the murderers was such as almost amounted to an acknowledgment of their guilt. Nor did this remain long doubtful, for a train of accessory circumstances was soon discovered, which proved it to a complete conviction.

A cat, which had a numerous litter of kittens, one summer day in spring, encouraged her little ones to frolic in the vernal beams of the noon, about the stable door, where she dwelt. While she was joining them in a thousand tricks and gambols, a large hawk, who was sailing above the barn-yard, in a moment darted upon one of the kittens, and would have as quickly borne it off, but for the courageous mother, who, seeing the danger of her offspring, sprang on the common enemy, who, to defend itself, let fall the prize. The battle presently became severe to both parties. The hawk, by the power of his wings, the sharpness of his talons, and the strength of his beak, had for a while the advantage, cruelly lacerating the poor cat, and actually deprived her of one eye in the conflict; but puss, no way daunted at the accident, strove, with all her cunning and agility, for her kittens, till she had broken the wing of her adversary. In this state, she got him more within the power of her claws, and, availing herself of this advantage, by an instantaneous exertion she laid the hawk motionless beneath her feet; and, as if exulting in the victory, tore the head off the vanquished tyrant. This accomplished, disregarding the loss of her eye, she ran to the bleeding kitten, licked the wounds made by the hawk's talons in its tender sides, and purred whilst she caressed her liberated offspring.

In the summer of 1792, a gentleman who lived in the neighborhood of Portsmouth, England, had a cat, which kittened four or five days after a hen had brought out a brood of chickens. As he did not wish to keep more than one cat at a time, the kittens were all drowned, and the same day the cat and one chicken were missing. Diligent search was immediately made in every place that could be thought of, both in and out of the house, to no purpose; it was then concluded that some mischance had befallen both. Four days afterwards, however, the servant, having occasion to go into an unfrequented part of the cellar, discovered, to his great astonishment, the cat lying in one corner, with the chicken hugged close to her body, and one paw laid over it, as if to preserve it from injury. The cat and adopted chicken were brought into a closet in the kitchen, where they continued some days, the cat treating the chicken in every respect as a kitten. Whenever the chicken left the cat to eat, she appeared very uneasy; but, on its return, she received it with the affection of a mother, pressed it to her body, purred, and seemed perfectly happy. If the chicken was carried to the hen, it immediately returned to the cat. The chicken was by some accident killed, and the cat would not eat for several days afterwards, being inconsolable for its loss.

"I had," says M. Wenzel, "a cat and dog which became so attached to each other, that they would never willingly be asunder. Whenever the dog got any choice morsel of food, he was sure to divide it with his whiskered friend. They always ate sociably out of one plate, slept in the same bed, and daily walked out together. Wishing to put this apparently sincere friendship to the proof, I, one day, took the cat by herself into my room, while I had the dog guarded in another apartment. I entertained the cat in a most sumptuous manner, being desirous to see what sort of a meal she would make without her friend, who had hitherto been her constant table companion. The cat enjoyed the treat with great glee, and seemed to have entirely forgotten the dog. I had had a partridge for dinner, half of which I intended to keep for supper. My wife covered it with a plate, and put it into a cupboard, the door of which she did not lock. The cat left the room, and I walked out upon business. My wife, meanwhile, sat at work in an adjoining apartment.

"When I returned home, she related to me the following circumstances: The cat, having hastily left the dining-room, went to the dog, and mewed uncommonly loud, and in different tones of voice, which the dog, from time to time, answered with a short bark. They then went both to the door of the room where the cat had dined, and waited till it was opened. One of my children opened the door, and immediately the two friends entered the apartment. The mewing of the cat excited my wife's attention. She rose from her seat, and stepped softly up to the door, which stood ajar, to observe what was going on. The cat led the dog to the cupboard which contained the partridge, pushed off the plate which covered it, and, taking out my intended supper, laid it before her canine friend, who devoured it greedily. Probably the cat, by her mewing, had given the dog to understand what an excellent meal she had made, and how sorry she was that he had not participated in it; but, at the same time, had given him to understand that something was left for him in the cupboard, and persuaded him to follow her thither. Since that time I have paid particular attention to these animals, and am perfectly convinced that they communicate to each other whatever seems interesting to either."

A cat belonging to an elderly lady in Bath, England, was so attached to her mistress, that she would pass the night in her bedchamber, which was four stories high. Outside of the window was the parapet wall, on which the lady often strewed crumbs for the sparrows that came to partake of them. The lady always sleeping with her window open, the cat would pounce upon the birds, and kill them. One morning, giving a "longing, lingering look" at the top of the wall, and seeing it free from crumbs, she was at a loss for an expedient to decoy the feathered tribe, when, reconnoitring, she discovered a small bunch of wheat suspended in the room, which she sprang at, and succeeded in getting down. She then carried it to the favorite resort of the sparrows, and actually threshed the corn out, by beating it on the wall, then hiding herself. After a while, the birds came, and she resumed her favorite sport of killing the dupes of her sagacity.