The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1886-08-19
THREE YANKEE CATS.
One Hunts Squirrels, Another Partridgess
and One is g Years Old.


The Connecticut cat. says Norwich
correspondent of the New York Sun, is
attending mainly to routine business
this year, but here and there is one that
shows trace of genius. Mr.. Amos l..
Cobb of this town has u remarkable
young cat. 1t ignores mice entirely.
1t will have nothing but red squirrels.
1t goes out into the woods each morn
ing and catches one red squirrel. One
squirrel lasts for Il whole days meals.
The hind quarters serve for breakfast,
the fore quarters for dinner, and the cat
tapers off her appetite by picking the
hide and head for supper. 1t is hard
work to catch a red squirrel mapping,
and the cat realizes that one squirrel
must 60 a long way. She brings all her
catches to the house, and the back yard
is strewn with red-squirrel skins turned
wrong side out Mr.. Cobb has in his
veranda n lot of wire cages, all COM
municating with each other and each
provided with play-wheels, and in the
cages sixteen squirrels which he has
caught in traps. The cat often sits for
an hour near the cages with her eyes
closed and with very benevolent ex-
preston on her face, and accidentally
she lets her paw fall inside the wire for
the squirrels to play with. Fooling
with that sleepy paw has nearly cost
three squirrels their lives. She has not
got one of the wired squirrels yet, but
she has hope, and spends an hour each
day before the cages.
Arthur Keller of Preston has a cat
that catches partridges. She gets about
one week. When she cannot catch a
partridge, mice, birds, ground-mOies,
and rats are good enough for her. Now
and then she takes big flying grasshop-
pers. and flies off a window-pane. 1t is
worth the price of ticket to dime
museum, Mr.. Keller thinks. to see his
cat chase a flying grasshopper. The
grasshopper starts off, flushed with hope,
and with satirical flutter and buzz
that manifestS its opinion of thing on
legs trying to run down a thing that has
both legs and wings. The grasshopper
sails away in a side-long direction about
dozen rods and plumps down in the
grass with wlry chip that is meant to
say to the cat that the grasshopper can
take that little skip not less than twenty
five or thirty times and not get tired.
but rather enjoy it The cat, however,
means business, and, with tail erect and
claws outspread, is at the first station
almost as soon as the grasshopper has
aIighted. The grasshopper has to get
up again and be off with an alacrity
that takes its breath away, and before
it mas taken half 4 dozen flights it is a
very surprised and serious-looking grass
hopper that blindly dashes in zigzag
way before the pursuing cat. At the
end of the sixth or seventh inning the
cat generally nails her prey to the
ground in the stubble. A fat flying
grasshopper makes 4 dainty lunch for a
cat
Rhode Island cats arc noted for Ion
gevity In other states cats that are not
chewed up by other cats die of old age
before they are 1Oyears old. They stay
out too late at night on fences and
shed-roofs at the expense of their emo
tional natures and their vitality is
early exhausted Rhode Island cats are
less frivolous. They keep their heads
cool and do not overwork themselves at
night. Henry Cliff, in that state, owns
IA cat that is Is years old. and her facul-
ties are all perfect Age has etched her
whiskers' ends and tine fringe of fur
along her sides with peculiar designs in
pink, hence MIR. Cliff calls her ..Pinkey."
In other respects she is in a normal
feline condition. Mr.. Cliff takes excel
lent care of this cat and does not re-
quire that she shall earn her own living.
She lives on the fat of his larder and
takes only one stroll around the house
daily for exercise. She scorns mice and
all other cheap, coarse food. A mouse
might run between her feet and she
would not take the trouble TO step on
him. All she has to do is to sit on the
veranda, close her eyes, and look wise.
Mr.. Cliff hopes to keep her alive until
she is 20 Years old. 1t is believed that
Pinkey is the oldest cat in Rhode
Island