The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1870-07-23
very affectionate in her conduct toward these

very affectionate In her conduct toward these
strange allies.
sweetened tea to milk, and bread crusts to
meat Moreover, she would not eat her meals
unless the dish was placed near her mistress
and if this wish was not gratified ALWAYS sniff.
ed contemporary and turned away. She was
an enthusiastic mouser, but her greatest tai.
ents were displayed in the capture of sparrows
She was accustomed to creep quietly into the
garden and 10 seek concealment under the
thickest foliage that she could find. Being
thus hidden from the watchiul eyes of the lit
t'e DirGs which flock in such numbers and
with easy lmpertinence to the suburban gar
dens, Pref would initiate the chirpipg of the
sparrows with such wonderful success that she
repeatedly decoyed needless sparrow within
the reach of her spring, leaped upon it, and
carried it eff in triumph TO her mistress. While
engaged in this singular vocal effort, she used
to comfort her mouth in the straDgest manner,
forcing her lower jaw so far from side to side,
that it appeared every moment to be in danger
of dislocation. On such occasions the distor-
ton of the features was so great as to make her
absolutely ugly.
She was one Of the most playful cats that
ever knew, and, even in the very last hours of
her existence, would play as long as she had
| power to move limb. Although the mother
| of several families, she was as gamesome as a
| kitten, and delighted in getting on some ele-
| waited spot, and dropping piece of paper or a
| handkerchief for the purpose of seeing it fall.
| More than once she got ON a chest OF drawers
| and insinuating her supple paw into drawer
| that had been left slightly open, booked out
| every article of apparel that it contained and
| let them drop on the floor.
When any one was writing Pref was apt to
| rather dscogcert the writer. She always must
| needs try her skill at anything that her mis-
| tress did and 10 sooner was the pen in motion
| than Pref would jump on the table, and seiz-
| ing the end of the pen in her mouth, try to d.
| rect lis movements in her own way. That plan
| answering her pYnpctatinpq Sha would mot
| the fresh writing with her paw, and make sad
havoc of the correspondence.
Clever as Pref was, she sometimes displayed
| most unexpected simplicity of character.
After the fashion of the cat tribe she delighted
| in covering up the remnants of her food with
| any substances that seemed most convenient.
She was accustomed, after taking her meas
| to fetch piece of paper and lay it over the
the saucer or put her paw into her mistress
packet, and extract her handkerchief for the
same purpose.
These little performances showed some depth
| of reasoning in the little creature, but she
would sometimes act in a manner totally op-
posed to rational action. Paper and handker-
chiefs failing, she has been often seen, after
partly finishing her meals, to fetch one Of her
kittens, and to lay it over the plate, for the
purpose of covering up the remaining food.
| When kitten, paper and handkerchief were
all wanting, she did her best to scratch up the
| carpet and lay the torn fragments upon the
plate. She has been known, in her anxiety to
find covering for the superabundant food, to
drag table cloth from its proper locality and
to cause sad demolition of the superincum-
| bent fragile ware.
Some of her offspring have partaken consid-
erably of their mothers soft fur andlgen,le ma
| ture, but none of them are so handsome as
their parent One of her kittens, called min
nie,' was removed and conveyed to another
household where was young canary which I
| had bred. The cat and the bird were formally
introduced to each other, and for time all
| went we'll. One day, however, the kitten,
then three parts grown, was seen perched on
the top of the wires, her paw being thrust in
to the cage. AT first the cat seemed to be en-
gagged in an attack upon the bird, but on a
closer inspection it appeared that Minnie was
simply playing with the little bird and was
strok ne its head with her soft paw, the canary
seemed to comprehend the matter, and to be
rather pleased with the caresses of the velvet
paw than alarmed at the proximity of its nat
ural enemy.
After while Minnie herself became a moth
er, and conveyed herself and kitten to her
former home. Although she had not seen the
house since her early kittenhood, she recog-
missed the locality at once, and pulling her kit
ten out of its BASKET, established it in her &C.
customed bed on the SOFA One of her offspring
is now domiciled in my own house, and there
with its departure.
Minnie knew perfectly well that her kitten
was going away from her, and after it had
been placed in little basket, she licked it af-
fectionately, snd seemed to take formal fare
| well of her child When hext visited the
house, Minnie would have nothing to do with
me, and when her mistress brought her to me.
she hid her face in her mistress arms So
demonstrated with her, telling her that her lit
tie one would be better off with me than if it
had gone to a stranger, but all to no purpose.
At last | said, Minnie, I apologize, and will
not so offend again. Whereupon, Minnie lift
ed up her head, looked me straight in the face
and voluntarily came on my knee, anything
more humanity appreciative could not be i'm
agined. For many days after the abstraction
of her offspring Minnie would not approach
the various spots which had been sanctified by
the presence of her lost child, and would not
even repose on certain shawl knitted from
scarlet wool, which was the favorite resting
place.
She is compassionate pussy, and is might
ly distressed at any illness that falls on any of
the household. When her mistress has been
suffering from severe cough, 1 have seen
Minnie jump on the sofa, and put her paw
| sympathetically on the lips of the sufferer
Sneezing seems to excite Minnes compassion
even more than coughing, and causes her to
display even greater amount of sympathy.