The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-01-03
AMONG STRANGE CATS.
4 REPORTERS VISIT TO A FELINE
oOARDlNGrHOUSE-
4 Man Who Takes Care Of Peoples Pete
Teachin@ Good Manners to Kittens
The Extraordinary Raccoon Cat
Various Other Kinds
boston Herald


and knocked at . dooi, which was presently
opened BY . very hairy man with q swellsd
aose. In Response to an invitation. tho
visitor entered the room, three sides OF
which were lined with wooden cages, piled
On top Of one another. Probably there
vera not less than sixty Of them. each con-
aiming 1T least ono cat and some two or
three. Roasting about on top Of the boxes
0: playing around the floor were fifteen or
twenty pushes Soms were sleeping and
,thers were making their toilets; but al
looked sleek, well fed and contented.
.cney'vs just had their dinner" said the
Larry man.
~8ut where do they ali com, FRONT asksi
the reporter.
sOa, most Of them ara left with me to
board People who arc going out Of town
frequently wish to leave their pets in SAFE
Lands, and send them to me to lie taken
cara of. / am somewhat out Of the way
Eers, but I have business arrangements
with all tbs fancisrs and when customer
asks them to taks charge OF q cat, they let
mo know and call for it. Then again
cats are left with ma to train. A kitten
has t. be taught good manners, just like
child. Mother cats which are well trained
usually teach their offspring propriety OF
behavior. but kittens which are deprived
sarly of the maternal care and those who's,
mothers ara not lady cats have to be prop
srly instructed in points Of department be-
Tore they are fit to be pets"
"What do you feed them onP
@Brsad and milk, with some meat for the
OLD cats. Meat il bad for kittens; it gives
them Indigestion. dyspepsia aa1 fits Cats
will eat almost anything at a pinch; OF fish
shey are extremely fond AMI oysters they
are wild after. A full grown cat can eat
as many oysters as q man any way. il it has
\ chance. give them fish sometimes, even
tho kittens It doss them good. J think.
and makes them fat. Some OF tho cats
have here ara my own. have paid great
scal OF attention to breeding choics vari-
.ties for sala Behind you is the most beau
tiful specimen Of the cat tribe that have
ever SEEM
THE RACCOON CAT.
Tho reporter turned, and saw for the first
tims. perched upon a box close by, a Zero
cious looking animal with flaming green
syes, which lookei as il it was about to
spring. II seemed fully twice the sizs OF
an ordinary house cat. its hair, which
was nearly three inches long, causing
it to appear larger than it really was Its
sars were long and pointed, and two tufts
u hair growing out just in front Of them
produced very much the effect OK horns.
"Don't be alarmed" said the proprietor.
che Is perfectly tams. notwithstanding the
ferocity OF his appearance. Como here,
Monster"
Ths cat lsapsd down from his box to his
masters sect, and then upon his lap, where
he sat contente1ly looking up into the face
Of the hairy man and purring loudly.
This" said the financier, "is what is called
a raccoon cat" 1t is so great a rarity that
in oil my life have seen Only two am
not astonished that you shouli havo been
alarmed by it. for its appearance is csr-
extraordinary. 1t is not Sd much ths siz,
OK the animal that is surprising nor the
beautiful long red and black hair with which
It Is covered. nor yet the Lushy tail,
like that OF q raccoon. It is the expression
OF the face. Psrhap, at some time in your
life you have seen the face OF human
being with the expression of horror Oh 1t
which some awful fright Eas proiucel. II
You will gag. attentively at the face of this
cat, you win ses that it, natural expression
4, such just . look a, that OF course. the
pointed ears. the horns, the black lower
lip. showing the fangs. AMI. above al. the
huge green eyes, wide opoa rs with sur.
prise, have much to do with this etfec:; but
there 10 something more that Is not easy to
nnalyz,. When the cat fixes its gaze upon
you, you cannot help feeling uncomfort-
able. for the horror which the animal op-
pareutiy feels seems to b, inspired by your
SELF The raccoou cat is distinct variety;
but, rs told you, extremely rare. I can
not say where they cams from originally.
CATS IN VARIETY.
Asleep near the stove you will ses q cat
tho tailles, species II has only n rudi-
mentary tail, which curls up tight like a
pigs In the box over there. in the corner,
il hairless cat Its color is blue. you OBJ
serve, and it is entirely bald, except for a
tuft ON tho end Of its tail Some hairless
cat, have a beautiful flesh tint They
como from Japan, l bsiieve. Tailless cats
oome from the isle Of Man and Corn wall.
Angora cats. as you know, come from Per-
sis. They ara said to be . cross between
the house cat and tho silver fox, but that is
all nonsense. OF course. They have long,
silky white hair. aud are worth about $50
apiece here. Unfortunately they usually
lie in this climate. Maltese cats arc sup
rosei to come from the island Of Malta.
but, though spent two weeks on the island
once, and saw plenty OF cats, l never saw
what We call Maltese; they were mostly
tortoise she'll
1t used to be supposed that the house cat
was tho wildcat donesticated, but the alb
,lrlity OF such theory Is at once apparent
when We consider that OF all beasts the
wildcat is rated as tn, most fsrocious and
untamable. 1t is altogether probable that
tins domestic cat springs from q species
which still exists in North Africa, yellow.
III grey animal, about two feet and half
n length. This Is certainly thu original OF
the domestic cat OF ancient Egypt skeletons
which have bsen found in the tombs, and
lectures on tho monumsntl"
A few moments later the reporter left the
room. carrying unisr each arm a bright
yellow xitten. which the hairy man had
begged him to accept as a souvenir OF his
visit.
Maxim: . Literary Reputation.
chicago Tribune.l
Il go into society a good DEAL said .
visitor to an editor, and I want to got the
reputation of being q literary man. soma
thing like Henry James and those fellows
Now how shall go to work. Talk Baisao
TO them, sententiouslY replied the elitor