The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Cat, Domestic, The

CAT, Domestic, The. The influence ofthe domestic cat upon American civilization hasreceived less consideration than it deserves, fora great deal of the advance of agriculture aswell as of the spreading out over the vast woodlandand prairies has been made possible by thismuch abused and misunderstood animal. Howmuch food cats have saved, how much propertythey have guarded from destruction, whatplagues of vermin they have kept in check, fromthe time this country was first settled, it isimpossible to compute. But for their sleeplessvigilance the large cities would quickly be overrunwith rats and mice.

The government appropriates money everyyear for the maintenance of cats in thepost-offices and other public buildings of the largercities, in order to keep down the vermin thatwould gnaw holes in mail-sacks and destroypublic records and other property. It is recognizedin the national printing office of France,where vast quantities of paper are stored, andwhere an army of cats is retained to keep themice in check. In Vienna it is regarded as apart of good municipal government to takecare of the cats. The United States governmenthas systematized its cat service in publicinstitutions, and in Pittsburgh a certain strain hasbeen bred to live in cold storage houses, and isdeveloping characteristics peculiar to this kindof life. In warehouses, corn-cribs, barns, millsand wherever grain or food is stored, cats mustbe kept. But to be effective, they must be takencare of, for well-fed cats are the best mousers.

Origin and History of the House Cat.—Formerly it was carelessly thought that ourhouse cats were simply the progeny of tamedpairs of the European wildcat; but anatomydenied the probability of this, and historicalinvestigation showed that they came from anothersource. This source is the North-African“gloved” or “Caffre” cat (Felis libyca), which,as historical evidence, including innumerablemummies, shows, was domesticated by theEgyptians before the time of the oldest monumentsof their civilization. Moreover, thecharacteristic specific markings of the caffrecat (still wild as well as tame in the Nile Valley)reappear unmistakably in our commonhouse cats, in spite of the fact that interbreedingwith other species, and various local races,has intervened. A well-marked variety of thiscat was to be found anciently, and now, inSyria and eastward, known as the Mediterraneancat. It is established that manycenturies before the Christian era the Egyptians,Cretans, Phœnicians and other men of theLevant were constantly voyaging all over theMediterranean Sea, and founding trading-postson both its shores, where finally arose andspread the extensive civilizations of Greece andof Rome on the north, and of Carthage on thesouth. With these colonists undoubtedly wenttheir friendly and useful mousers. That theythen were crossed somewhat with the nativewildcat seems to be shown by the appearanceof the peculiar form we call “tabby” cats.This, in brief, is the history of the commonEuropean house cat, whence have come, byemigration, those of America and most of thecivilized world.

In the remote and isolated East, however,exist races of domesticated cats of more localorigin. Prof. G. Martorelli, of Milan, Italy,has made a special study of this wholesubject; and he has concluded that the ordinarydomestic cat of India has descended from theIndian desert cat (Felis ornata). From it, hesays, are derived their common spotted breed,while the fulvous breed seen in India has beenproduced by a cross with the native jungle cat(Felis chaus). Both these have interbred withthe imported western cats in recent years. ThePersian or “Angora” long-haired breeds mayprobably have come from Pallas' cat ofcentral Asia; and the curious Siamese cat isregarded as derived from the golden cat. Theintermingling accidentally, or by the design ofbreeders, of these various species and raceshas produced the bewildering variety of formsnow seen. Consult on this subject Ingersoll,‘Life of Mammals’ (New York 1909, withbibliography).

American Interest in Cats.— Americaninterest in the cat is often said to have originatedwithin the last 20 years, that is, since theadvent of exhibitions and the taking up of thecat-cult by the public. This impression is notborne out by facts, for we have exhibitors whohave intimately studied cats, have bred andraised them, and have cared for them for over60 years, and cat-shows were held in Mainebetween 1860 and 1870, even before the greatexhibition instituted in London by the well-knownanimal painter, Harrison Weir, in the year1871. But cat shows in America were notknown outside of Maine until one was held inthe Madison Square Garden, New York, in1895. The exhibitions in England have goneon from Mr. Weir's first show up to the presenttime, so that the marking epochs in moderncat history may be dated from the CrystalPalace show in 1871, and the New York showin April 1895. From these shows has arisenwhat may be described as a cult, or in someways an industry. Numbers of individuals,principally women, have taken up the cat as apartial means of livelihood, selling those theyrear by exhibiting them to the public, theoutcome of which has been the production ofdifferent colors, strains and families. Clubs havearisen for the care and maintenance of exhibitions;registers and stud-books have beenstarted; and the importance of cats of knownpedigree is duly recognized by our governmentas one of the many things to be considered andprovided for in a tariff schedule.

The varieties or breeds recognized in showsare the Persian, Siamese, Abyssinian andordinary domestic short-haired cats. ThePersian and Angora may be said to be the samecat, though distinctions were drawn in old days;but these were very indefinite, and at the presenttime we draw up rules and regulations fortwo large groups, the long-haired cats and theshort-haired cats, and these are judged bypoints and classified by color distinctions.Angora is a small place, and comparatively fewcats could have come from there, but manyhave come from other parts of Asia. Takingthe long-haired division first, because commerciallyit is the most prominent, the judgerequires that the cat shall be short in body witha short tail and short legs, the latter shorter infront than behind. The chest should be wide,the loin square and firm, the bones of the legswell delevveloped and the frame sturdy. Thehead that corresponds with this formation andis required is a broad, round head with short,wide nose, eyes large and round and set wellapart. The ears, a most important feature,should be as small as possible and placed onthe side of the head, the base of the ear beingnarrow, not gaping wide opta, with a tuft ofhair at the apex. This standard is more orless based upon original imported specimensfrom Asia. The colors most valuable and mostapproved are the light silvers, smokes, blues (orslate color) white, black, orange, cream andtortoise-shells; and the tabbies of differentcolors are also favorites. The tabby cat is acat that has a light ground-color and is spotted,barred or striped with darker color, and theword “tabby” has no reference to the sex ofthe animal. The name "tabby" is derived fromAtab, a street in Bagdad celebrated for itsmanufacture of watered or moiré silks, whichin England were called atabi or “taffety.” Themost usual colors in tabby cats are yellow,marked with orange or red, making what arecalled orange tabbies; yellow brown, markedwith black, making the brown tabbies; gray,marked with darker stripes, giving us the graytabbies; and paler silver, marked with black ora sort of dark blue verging on black, fromwhich we have the silver tabbies. The greatfeature required in tabby cats is that theground-color should afford as distinct acontrast to the stripes, bars or spots as possible;the colors should be vivid and the marks veryplain. There are spotted tabbies, and in thesethe spots must be round, clear and distinct; butwe seldom see a good one of this variety unlessit come from India, the home of the best spottedtabbies. The solid-colored cats are the whites,blues, blacks and smokes; although recently thesilvers, creams and oranges have in a fewinstances almost attained perfection in beingwithout marks or foreign color. The tortoise-shellcats are black, red and yellow; whenaccompanied by white, the patches are clearer anddistincter, and this feature is what is aimedat. Tortoise-shell males are almost unknown,and orange females are very scarce.

Points of Show Cats.— The eyes of a catare an important feature, and should be large,round and pleasant in expression. Althoughcolor of eye is a great feature, many judgesprefer large, well-placed, pleasant eyes to thosethat are more correct in color but badly placed,or are small and mean in expression, or give thecat a sour look. The color of eyes requiredmay be briefly summed up as blue (as deep aspossible) for a white cat; emerald-green forlight silver or chinchillas, as they have beencalled; and yellow to orange, as deep aspossible, for all other varieties. The color andbeauty of the cat's eyes vary according to thestate of health, the light and the time of day,and judges have to be careful in this matter.The body-colors can be defined as white, aspure as possible; black, deep and glossy; blueor slate, sound and pure from root to tip ofhair, showing no light shadings or light under-color;smoke, a deep plum-color, silver undercoat,ruff and stomach; cream, light fawn orcream color; orange, whether marked orunmarked, should be as rich and strong aspossible. The tortoise-shells marked with cleardistinct patches, clean-cut and free from eachother. The fur of the long-haired cats shouldbe fine, long, silky and glossy; wooliness isdeprecated, but is more inclined to appear incertain colors, such as orange and cream; andblades may have a rather coarser texture ofcoat if they make it up in color. But in whites,silvers, blues, smokes and in brown tabbiesthere can be no excuse found for anything butexquisite quality.

in the short-haired division we mustconsider our old fireside friend first, and colorationin this variety is much the same as in thelong-hairs, though we do not often find smokesor so many silvers, and the blue-eyed whiteshave probably been bred from the long-hairedcats. But as to color, color of eyes andclassification, the rules specified for long-hairs fitthe short-hairs except that the tabby cats aremore distinctly marked and more brilliant, asthe colors are not clouded or mixed by thelength of the hair. White cats with blue eyesare generally deaf, but not always. Theshort-haired cat is rather different in formation to thelong-haired cat, the face is more angular, orrather the nose may come to a finer point,though its cheeks should be well developed.The eyes are differently placed yet should befull and large, the ears larger, closer together,more toward the top of the head, wider at thebase and more pointed at the apex. The bodyshould be moderately long, slender andelegant. The great thing to avoid in all cats iscoarseness, and size alone is not arecommendation.

Foreign Cats Exhibited.— The Siamese isa distinct variety which comes from the palaceof the King of Siam or from a few families ofnobles. These cats are conceded to be the mostintelligent and companionable of all cats, buthaving been much inbred are not easily rearedand do not increase very fast. The climate ofCalifornia suits the Siamese cat, and the varietyis found there in fair numbers and doing well.The points valued in this cat are a rather smalland flat head, a small and elegant body of alight fawn or biscuit color, with chocolate-coloredlegs, mask and tail. The more decidedthe contrast — that is, the lighter thebody-color and the darker the points — the better.The Siamese are much appreciated as show-cats.Chocolate-colored cats of this variety arefound and are valuable. The fur mostapproved is very fine and flossy, resemblingbeaver. The eyes are blue, the color as rich aspossible.

The Manx cat makes a distinct species inour exhibitions, and is classed by itself.Besides the absence of tail, which is thedistinguishing feature of this cat, a different formationof body is required; namely, that the forelegs should be short and the rump rise asabruptly as possible, making the hind legslonger than the fore legs, so that the cat seemsto jump forward like a rabbit, and is sometimescalled a rabbit cat. The head should be neat,round and rather small, and the cat itself small,short and compact. The Manx cat may be ofany of the recognized colors. There is adistinction between this variety and our otherdomestic cats. Gambier Bolton who studied thequestion and traveled to collect specimens forthe British Zoological Society coincides withthe naturalist Kempfer, and recognizes a stronglikeness in these cats to those of the islandsin the East, the Malay Peninsula, Japan, Chinaand lands contiguous. All the cats in thoseparts, even the Siamese, seem to have peculiarformations of the tail, whether cut short, forked,kinked or otherwise. These cats are smaller;there are differences in the call or language,ways and character, that have been observed bythese students. The origin of the Manx catis now attributed to the arrival of these cats onthe Isle of Man from ships belonging to theSpanish Armada that were wrecked there.These cats were most probably previouslybrought from Japan or other parts of easternAsia, for cats now brought from Japan areexactly like our Manx. A cat with his tail cutoff, showing a stump, does not constitute aManx cat for the student

Other cats found in show-rooms are theAbyssinians, but they do not make much headwayand have not yet arrived in America. Themales are generally darker than the females,and the color of these cats should be a deepbrown ticked with black, somewhat resemblingthe back of a wild rabbit, with a distinctblack band running down the back to the tip ofthe tail. The inner sides of the legs and bellyare more of an orange tint than the body, andare marked in some cases with a few darkpatches. The eyes are deep yellow, tinged withgreen; nose dark-red, edged with black; earsrather small, dark-brown, with black edges andtips; and the pads of the feet are black.Attempts have been made to copy this cat, and ithas been attempted to exhibit, as such, slightlymarked, ordinary short-haired cats, but theyare not the genuine breed. The absence oftabby-markings is the point most sought andprized, and if kept pure the characteristics ofthese cats are peculiar. The Abyssinian cathas never been very numerous at exhibitions,perhaps because it is a short-haired cat, thoughshort-haired cats, when good exhibition specimens,bring large prices. Cats marked withwhite have not found much favor in Britishexhibitions, but have always been popular atAmerican shows, and Madame Ronner, thegreat French painter of cats, usually depictsher cats — that is, the dark ones — with somewhite patches. If cats are marked with white,they are preferred with four white paws anda white face; that is, the white starting in asharp point between the eyes, spreading outonto the lips, making a triangle with the apexon the forehead, and continuing thence downthe chest, but not spreading to the shoulders orgoing round the neck or over the back. Anymarking, in an “any other class,” that is regularand even, and forms anything like a regularpattern, should be recognized and encouragedby a judge; besides which, any effort madeto bring out a new variety or color must betaken note of and encouraged. There is nowa tendency to encourage Dutch marked cats,which means black patches on the cheeks, awhite blaze up the face, joining a broad, whitebelt which goes completely round the cat half-waybetween the ears and tail.

Possibilities in Native American Species.—Of the cats indigenous to the Americancontinent, which might be suitable for domestication,few have been tried in a domestic way,and the species that inhabit this country are notmany. I have seen the wildcat or gray lynx, atshows, behaving in the most exemplary manner.Having been brought up from infancy bychildren, and perfectly tame, it was more atease in a large show-room, and not nearly asnervous as the ordinary feline. So that if itwere not for the size of the creature, itspossibilities as a domestic animal would begood; but unfortunately our time does notseem to be destined to take in hand or give usany fresh species of domesticated animals;what we have are handed down through theages. In this particular we are not original,for we destroy more often than we create, andwe seem to have no time for trying to subdueor lead into bondage any new varieties ofmammals. The puma, cougar or mountain lionranges over the whole of North and SouthAmerica, but is too large for domesticpurposes; yet it has never been aggressive againstman, and, if history is to be thoroughlycredited, was quite the reverse with earlysettlers till driven to exile and filled with fearby man himself. The ocelot is one of our mostbeautiful varieties, and varies somewhat incolor, with sometimes a gray body-color, butmore often yellow. It is clearly marked withdark color in spots, bars and splotches; and isvery handsome, but larger and more powerfulthan the domestic cat. These cats have beentaken when young and reared; and althoughcomparatively tame and sociable till about ayear old, they then become savage andimpossible and have to be caged or killed.

A very pretty cat that has been exhibited inAmerica is the margay from Central and SouthAmerica, where it inhabits the woods. This cathas been handled at an exhibition and foundtame and with a passion for being caressed.The margay is light red or orange, beautifullyand regularly spotted with small black spots,the ears small, round and pointing forward,whitish-gray at the backs, edged with black.It is a small cat, very handsome and refined,and if the effort could be made to obtain somemore of the species these cats would be a veryvaluable addition to our varieties and to ourhome circles. Geoffroy's cat is another smallspotted cat, of which a few have been introducedinto England, but it is too early to statewhat the future increase may be. The pampascat is another feline not amenable to domesticlife.

Asiatic Races.— As a rule our best whitecats with blue eyes come from India and someof the best are brought from Tibet. In crossingthe Himalaya Mountains with these catscarriers slit their noses to enable them tobreathe with greater ease the rarifiedatmosphere of the high altitudes. Cats with slit nosesare much valued. As to cats coming fromthis place or that, such as Persia, Angora, etc.,a good deal of proof is required before anyparticular claim can be accepted. The writerhas failed to find any long-haired cats atTeheran and Angora, as has been said, is buta small place. We probably obtained manyof our long-haired cats from around thePersian Gulf, and more from India, many ofwhich come down from the interior of Asiawith the Arab horse-traders. Cats vary in theiradaptability to changes of climate, and nodoubt to this factor we owe what we have andwhat breeds we can retain and perpetuate.The Siamese soon succumbs to dampness, butthe long-haired cats, in some cases, took to theclimate of Maine early in the century, whenbrought from the East. They bred extensively,and increased and became an article ofcommerce to the large cities, long before thesecities held shows. These cats went by thename of Angoras, and in fact the ordinarynomenclature of the country defines alllong-haired cats as Angoras. The Maine cats wereoften carelessly bred, and when showscommenced and competition came they had to giveway to the more finely bred English cats, but inother cases they held their own and the bloodhas been perpetuated. The Maine cats arefound in all colors, and some are very big andstrong, but these have been probably crossedwith short-haired cats, and a great deal ofhybridizing has been done even in England.There is a Russian long-haired cat, but it hasnot gained much favor, being solitary in itshabits, unsociable in character, coarse in bodyand fur and dingy in color. A few have beenbrought from Persia, but they had the facultyof attaching themselves more to other cats thanto their owners. They are originally the samecat as the Asiatic, — that is, the Persian orAngora; and the first long-haired cats musthave been brought over by sailors and travelersfrom the East. All long-haired cats seem tohave a common origin in Pallas' cat (Felismanul).

Another cat that has created a great deal ofinterest is the Maltese. This cat is hard toaccount for, but should be blue or slate in colorand greatly resembles what in Great Britain iscalled the Russian or Archangel cat, specimensof which have often been brought from Russia;but lately quite an influx of blue cats has comefrom Iceland. Whether cold winters arecalculated to develop blue cats I do not know, butit is sufficiently evident that northern climateshave produced most cats of that color. Bluecats are not numerous in Great Britain, althoughthey are becoming more so by introduction.Here in America we have plenty scattered allover the United States, but how they gainedtheir name of Maltese the writer has been unableto discover, for there is no blue cat indigenousto the island of Malta. Probably the cats werebrought there in early times from the samesource whence the English now obtain theirs,and, the color being peculiar, these cats wereselected or by superior hardiness they may haveselected themselves. However many peoplewho are not cat exhibitors or who do not knowmuch about cats scientifically keep theirshort-haired blue “Maltese” and are proud of them.The Chartreuse monks had blue long-hairedcats many years ago.

Temperament and Intelligence.— Somewriters have told us that long-haired cats areless affectionate than short-haired cats. Thisis a mistake, although long-haired cats, onthe average, are more intense, more nervous,more highly strung, more pugilistic and havemore pluck and daring than the short-hairedcats. The cat has great intelligence; in fact, isone of the most intelligent if not the mostintelligent, of the domestic animals, and it is thisfact that precludes the possibility of teachingthe average cat tricks. For the cat sees throughthe manœuvre, and refuses to be made a foolof. In respect to memory they are phenomenaland far exceed the average dog in this quality.Their powers of conversation are well developed,accompanied by delicate inflections of thevoice that need to be known to be understood.Dupont de Nemours says: “The cat has also theadvantage of a language in which the samevowels as those pronounced by the dog exist,with six consonants in addition, m, n, g, h, v,and f.” It requires study to get to know cats,and Rouvière, the actor, said that no one couldreally understand a cat unless he himselfbecame one. A cat, of all the domestic animals,has retained the greatest part of its wild natureand traits, and the easiest way to get at a catis by kindness and by trying to learn cat ways.A cat never gives in to coercion. Liberty isthe last thing it will resign; and often it willnot resign that except in exchange for death.The cat should be used as the emblem of liberty.

It is a mistake to suppose that a cat caresonly for places, for it is only the innateconservation of the animal that gives this impression.Regularity is the keynote of its existenceand what it does one day it likes to do thenext; and certainly to places where it has beenreared and has lived it shows great attachment.But on the contrary there are cats that wouldsettle down anywhere, that have crossed andrecrossed the Atlantic Ocean, and have livedquietly in any locality their owners chose. Acat is one of the finest mothers on earth.

Cat-fanciers' Associations.— The fortunesof the cat are now more or less regulated byclubs and associations, and there are homes,hospitals and refuges in many places and inmany lands. The principal clubs are theNational Cat Club founded in 1887, withheadquarters in London; the Scottish Cat Club,founded in 1894; the Cat Club, London, foundedin 1898; the Northern Counties Cat Club, theSilver and Smoke Persian Cat Society, theSiamese Club and the Orange, Cream, Fawn andTortoise-shell, founded in 1900; the Black andWhite Club, the Blue Persian Society, theChinchilla Cat Club, the Short-haired Cat Club, theMidland Counties Cat Club, the British CatClub and the Manx Cat Club, founded in 1901.All the above are in Great Britain, but manyhave members in America. In the United Statesthere are the Beresford Cat Club, foundedin 1899, with headquarters in Chicago; theAtlantic Cat Club, with headquarters in NewYork; the Chicago Cat Club, the Louisville CatClub, the Pacific Cat Club, the Orange andCream Society, with headquarters in Chicago,the Washington, D. C., Cat Club, the DetroitClub, etc. All these have been founded since1899; so we can see that the advances made oflate years have been sudden and rapid; and theywill continue to grow; for shows are held inmany of the principal cities and are yearlyfixtures. Prices for cats increase; and whereas$25 was considered a good price a few yearsago, some of the best have been recently soldfor $250 each, and many at $75 and $100. Thelargest price of which we have record as havingactually been paid in cash for a cat is $300,which was the price Lady Decies paid Mrs.Greenwood for Lord Southampton; although Iexpect to see this exceeded in time to come, forcompetition enhances values, and the best specimensand most perfect will bring high pricesfrom those who want them. All this will tendto draw attention to the cat and better the raceand its general conditions.

Cats have had their artists: the Egyptians,the Japanese, the Chinese, Salvator Rosa,Gottfried Mind (“The Raphael of Cats”), Burbank(a master little known), Cornelius Wisscher,the Dutch artist, whose “Tom” cat has becometypical, J. J. Grandville, Harrison Weir, LouisWain, Madame Ronner and Adam.

Members of the English royal family breedand exhibit cats at the regular exhibits ofthe present day. The Duchess of Connaught,the sister-in-law of the late King, was theorganizer of the National Cat Club, one of theassociations which maintains a thoroughlyreliable studbook for cats; the Queen motherAlexandra herself is one of the active membersof the Ladies' Kennel Club, and both PrincessChristian and her daughter. Princess Victoriaof Schleswig-Holstein, have taken many firstprizes with their valuable feline pets.

A Few Hints to Breeders.— Do not try tokeep too many; a good cat well reared willbring more money than 8 or 10 badly nurtured,undersized kittens. Cats are not gregarious,and when crowded together become diseasedand mangy, and prematurely die. One litter ofreally good cats will give more pleasure andprofit to the owner than five or six litters ofpoor ones.

Liberty is necessary to the health alike ofthe present and of the coming generations, andthese latter should never be out of our mindswhen mating.

Meat is the main diet of all the carvnivorato which order domestic cats belong. The bestdiet for cats is composed largely of meat, forwhich their teeth are adapted. Without meatthey will not long remain healthy. They varyin their tastes, and what is fancied by one isnot always preferred by another. Fish they arefond of, but as a rule house cats should not begiven much raw fish. Cats kept in confinementshould have grass, vegetables and changes ofdiet provided for them. Grass is a necessity.

Epidemics that sweep through different countriesand continents at stated periods decimatethe cat family, and it is well to be prepared forsuch occasions by having none but the healthiestand best of animals. Distemper, the greatestof cat scourges, is best treated by nursing,care and cleanliness. Fleas convey embryonicworms which infest cats, and should be rigorouslykept down. They breed in cracks in thefloor, in bedding and in the ground, and warwaged upon their haunts will be work well laidout.

Do not use nauseating drugs for ailing cats,but choose the mildest remedies that will effecta cure. Do not be prejudiced against a courseof treatment till you have tried it well; andremember that supposed cures suddenly made arenot always effectual. Cats, when ill, requiresympathy as much as human beings, and moreso than any other animal, in order to battlesuccessfully with disease, for they have a tendencyto be very pessimistic and sorry for themselves,and to recover or fail quickly. They suffermostly from distemper, worms, eczema, bronchitis,pneumonia and liver diseases, andoccasionally from catarrhal fever. If you areacquainted with a good homœopathic physician,and have any idea of what ails your cat, consulthim and abide by his advice.

Do not breed from your queens too young,although many good kittens have been raisedfrom queens not a year old, if strong andhealthy. Male cats will not mate as early inlife as the queens, and are seldom of much usetill a year old. Do not cross long-haired catswith short-haired cats, for you spoil the type ofboth. Siamese cats will breed with other cats,but the progeny are never good for the showroom;and the Siamese being a distinct breed,does not amalgamate with any of the othervarieties. The Manx cat is better kept pure, orthe type degenerates and the result is notsatisfactory.

Remember, when trying to rear good cats,that what goes in at the mouth and the carebestowed upon the young and growing animalscover 50 or even 75 per cent of essentialrequirements. The best blood in the world willnot bring prize-winners or nice pets if they arebadly reared. The crucial period takes in thefirst six months; when the young cat is wellgrown, and at seven months of age is throughteething, you will have an animal that may live20 years or more. Healthy cats are morelong-lived than dogs, and authentic records tell ofnot a few over 20 years of age, and of someeven 30.

Kittens should not be taken away from theirmothers before they are at least eight weeksold; and if three months old, it will be stillbetter. Care should be exercised in the diet ofkittens at an early age. Sudden changes orsudden chills will bring on gastritis. Milk,unless pure, is more dangerous than meat, whichin a raw state may be given scraped or mincedat a very early age. Milk is' better when mixedwith Robinson's prepared barley according tothe directions on the box, unless you can obtainwarm milk from a cow that has not been toolong in milk. The most dangerous diet forhighly bred kittens is cold skimmed milk of anuncertain age.

To destroy a cat, or put it out of its miserywhen too sick to recover, administer a fewdrops of chloral, place the cat, if possible, in atight box, and when the cat is fast asleep dropinto the box a sponge saturated with two orthree ounces of chloroform.

Bibliography.— Barton, ‘The Cat: ItsPoints and Management’ (New York 1910);Champfleury, ‘Les Chats’ (Paris 1870); Champion,‘Everybody's Cat Book’ (New York1909); Dawson, ‘Mammalian Anatomy, withSpecial Reference to the Cat’ (Philadelphia1910); Hehn, ‘Kulturpflanzen und Hausthiere’(Berlin 1894); Hill, W., ‘Diseases of the Cat’;Hoey (Mrs.), Cashel, ‘The Cat, Past andPresent’; Huidekoper, ‘The Cat’ (New York1903; standards of form, treatment, etc.); Hunt,‘The Life Story of a Cat’ (London 1910);Jennings, ‘Domestic and Fancy Cats’ (London1893); Marks, ‘The Cat in History, Legendand Art’ (ib. 1909); Repplier, Agnes, ‘TheFireside Sphinx’ (New York 1901; historicaland literary); Rolleston, ‘On Domestic Cats’ inJournal of Anatomy, and Physiology (Vol. II,London 1868); Ross, C. H., ‘Book of Cats’;Simpson, Frances, ‘The Book of the Cat’;Stables, G., ‘Cats: Handbook to their Classification,Diseases and Training’ (London 1897);Warwick, ‘Cats Eyes’ (ib. 1911); Weir, Harrison,‘Our Cats: Varieties, Habits and Management’(New York 1889); Williams, ‘The Cat:its Care and Management’ (Philadelphia 1908);Winslow, H. M., ‘Concerning Cats’ (Boston1900).