Mr. Scheitlin understandingly describes the Cat in the following language: “The Cat is an animal of a high order of intelligence. Its bodily structure alone indicates this. It is a pretty, diminutive lion, a tiger on a small scale. It shows the most complete symmetry of form, no one part of it too large or too small. That its every detail is rounded and beautiful is even shown by an examination of the skull, which is more symmetrical than that of any other animal. Its movements are undulating and graceful to the extent that it seems to have no bones. We value our Cats too slightly because we detest their thievish propensities, fear their claws and love their enemy, the dog, and we are not able to show equal friendship and admiration for those two opposite natures.
“Let us examine the Cat’s qualities. We are impressed by its agility, yet its mind is as flexible as its body. Its cleanliness of habit is as much a matter of mental bias as physical choice, for it is constantly licking and cleaning itself. Every hair of its fur must be in perfect order; it never forgets as much as the tip of its tail. It has a discriminating sensibility as to both color and sound, for it knows man by his dress and by his voice. It possesses an excellent understanding of locality and practices it, for it prowls through an entire neighborhood, through basements and garrets and over roofs and haysheds without bewilderment. It is an ideally local animal, and if the family moves it either declines to accompany them, or, if carried to a new residence, returns at the first opportunity to the old homestead; and it is remarkable how unerringly it will find its way back, even when carried away in a sack for a distance of several miles.”
Large families are the custom with Cats, for usually five or six kittens are born at one time. As these cunning little objects are totally blind for nine days after birth, the devoted mother Cat must work industriously to properly care for them and especially to preserve them from danger. They must be hidden away from harm, as the father Cat would be perfectly willing to devour them, and would attack them as readily as he would a rat or a mouse. The mother Cat lifts her helpless little ones very tenderly by compressing the skin of their necks between her lips and gently carries them to a place of safety.
While attending to the duties of motherhood the Cat is in a sympathetic frame of mind and will sometimes care for the young of other animals as well as for her own. Mr. Brehm tells us that, when a boy he brought a little squirrel, yet blind, to one of his Cats, which accepted the strange child among her own and tenderly cared for it, and after her own kittens had been given away she regarded it with increased affection. They became inseparable companions and understood each other perfectly, though each talked in its own language.
Cats frequently form friendships for other animals, and even dogs and Cats become friendly, in spite of the impression to the contrary.
While living in a large city where yards were small and infrequent, I was the happy owner of a beautiful tree, which stood near the rear of the house. There were many pet Cats in the neighborhood, and all delighted to visit my tree. Undoubtedly some were attracted by the English sparrows which were almost omnipresent among the upper branches, but all enjoyed clawing, stretching and scratching up the friendly trunk. One day a strange kitten appeared, and although smallest and youngest of all the Cats, by its superior intelligence it soon became king among them and ruled them all, causing many a commotion in the previously tranquil group. This young Cat gained entrance to my next door neighbor’s house and made itself at home with an “I am come to stay” air. In fact, it refused to be evicted, and by its determined persistence became a member of the household.
The other family pet was an old pug dog—Jack—cross and uninteresting, but tolerated because he gave some amusement to an invalid daughter of the family. Jack, jealous and annoyed, received the newcomer in the most hostile manner, and the kitten seemed to take special delight in tormenting the dog in every possible way. In fact, the lack of harmony between the pets became so annoying that it was decided to sacrifice the kitten, and it was taken to a remote place. For a number of weeks quiet prevailed in the rear yards of the neighborhood, but in time, to everyone’s surprise, the Cat reappeared and refused to be turned away. Its courage and daring won recognition, and again it was received into the family circle. I wondered what Jack would do now that the kitten was restored to favor. About this time business called me from the city, and some time elapsed before my return. On reaching home again, one night I heard the dog crying and whining till nearly morning. I could not imagine the cause, but to my astonishment learned the next day that the dog and Cat had become such firm friends that the dog was perfectly inconsolable when the Cat was absent, and as his kingship had chosen to wander outside that particular night, the dog had mourned for hours. In fact, after causing the family a sleepless night, his master was obliged to rise and punish him before he would cease his cries. Such devotion put to flight all my previous theories of the inborn antagonism between Cats and dogs.
The different varieties of Domestic Cats are distinguished from one another by the difference of color, length of hair or, more rarely, length of tail.
The Cats of India are spotted, those of the Isle of Man are practically tail-less, but the European Cats are commonly “tabby,” black, white, sandy, tortoise shell, dun, gray or the so-called blue.
The most beautiful of all are the highly prized Persian or Angora Cats, with their long, silky hair and bushy tails.