Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1888-12-05
PERFORMING CATS.
Things They Do, and How They
Are Taught and Trained
The Most stubborn Animal, Outside OF .
Mule or Goat, to InstIl Idea Into
Facts Furnished by Profess
sional Trainer.

EuFui-neu HrOicB-
sional Trainer.
The twelve cats comprising the troupe
which made their debute the other evening
at the Canterbury and Paragon Music Halls
are one more instance a the extraordinary
results that may be achieved by trainer
who thoroughly understands his business;
and when ~ is mentioned that in addition
10 walking along a row Of campagne bottles,
the cOrks Of which are supplanted by stop
pers with a fiat surface somewhat larger
than a crown piece, jumping through
lighted hoops, ascending and descending a
goOd-sized pole temporarily erected in the
center of the stage, walking a tight-rope,
first without any obstruction thereon and
later on picking their way gingerly across
the same, taking the greatest care not to
rufiie the serenity or alarm the susceptible
ties of certain rats, mice and canaries
placed at intervals along the same, TO say
nothing of other minor efforts in various
directions, il will be admitted that the
Professor " has something to be proud Of
i found the Professor, (Says a correspond
eut OF the Pail Mall Gazette who interviewed
him, in the small yard at the rear of the
hall, engaged in supervising the morning
toilet and general comfort of the feline
members of his troupe, and at once an
nounced my desire of learning as much of
his system" as he felt disposed TO COM
municate. Il may tell you at once" he
said, " that the idea of training cats to per-
form in public as mine do did not originate
with myself, although am, l believe, cor
rect IN saying that beyond these you see be-
fore you there is at present only one other
Similar troupe in existence, and 1t is just
now being exhibited on the continent by
Prof. Bonnette, who came out some twelve
months ago; and it was from him some four
months later that l got the idea, and set
about training similar troupe on my own
account"
"These cats" said, "do not give me the
impression OF being quite English, you
know" "No, they are not, not one of
thcm l was with circus in Madrid when
/ formed the idea Of having a troupe as an
extra attraction, and got all my cats there.
Most Of them are Of the Angoro breed, but
/ don't see why the British cat should not
do as well as foreigner, and am going to
experiment on one or two very shortly"
Had you any difficulty in getting theml"
"Not the slightest l could have double the
number il I wanted, and, as a matter of
, fact, have had upward of twenty alto
gether; one or two have died, and the rest
have proved useless for training, but all
these (twelve) are as good as can desire"
"Most Of them appear young" Eyes;
the oldest is only two years old, or rather
more, perhaps; and the youngest not above
three months; he does not do much vet, but
he Will be as good as either Of them in
another month or two"
"What age do you prefer TO have them at
| for training purpOsesm ut really does not
matter much. have had them as young as
eight or nine weeks, and as old as one and a
| half Years. That one there Ipointing TO a
] aforementioned light tabbyl is one of my
best. BOneta, l call him, and next to him
l Minis a (tortoisc-shclD. He does the pole
trick, the most difiEult thing of all to teach;
and yet. although Boneta was a year older
than Minis when / had him, don't know
/ that he wasn't the easier of the two to tram.
Taken all round, should say about six
months old is the best time to begin train
J ing at OF course, il is as well to have them
younger, so as to get them thoroughly well
accustomed to you"
"And how do you set about training
them, may aslSl" "First of all get them
used to me and as fond of me as they are
capable of being (Which is not saying much,
| for don't believe cats have any real affec-
ton whatever), and having done this the
rest follows easily enough by degrees. You
mustn't expect 10 do it all at once; but any
Cat of average intelligence can be trained
10 do almost any thing in nine or ten weeks.
Feeding and coaxing do it. If you attempt
10 resort 10 harsh measures it is all U p
They turn sulky directly"
What IS the first trick you teach themi"
''To sit up and beg, and then feed them
when they do IL well then creeping through
the chairs and gradually walking over the
backs, and so on. When they have once
begun to learn and find they get bits of
meat when they do a trick neatly, they give
very little trouble after"
| "What about the rats, mice, etc., Do
| your cats appear antagonistic 10 them at
| frstm Not bit. l have had a cat that
has been taught to walk the rope, the first
time the mice or rats have been put ON, Just
to knock them off with her feet so as TO get
them out Of her way, but not show the
/ slightest desire to hurt them; and the same
way with the birds. One Of the greatest
difficulties l have to encounter is to teach
them the (cats) to lift their feet up so as
not to upset the rats or birds"
"And the rats, birds, etc.--do they
mlnd!" mot a bit. They don't take the
slightest notice of the cats so long as they
don't tread on them. They are not the least
afraid; in fact, it is a case of neutrality on
both sides"
"And the pole trick; how do you manage
thatl" "Well, as a rule, that is the most
difficult thing of all. You see, a cat may be
made to go up a little way, say; and there
she sticks-won't 60 up or come down: and
| you can't do any thing in the same way as
| you could IL they are performing on the
chairs or the tight-rope, where you can
reach them OF course, there is always a
bit of meat at the top of the pole, otherwise
they would not go up at all; and even with
this inducement they usually make great
fuss, especially the coming down head
| first"
"Have you ever had a cat fly at you?'
"NO, l can't say have; they have given me
some nasty scratches before now, as well as
bites, but l don't mind that. II they turn
sullxy let them alone. Coercion is no good
in their case, and force is no remedy. You
must just let them have their sulk out, and
then start again"
.'Do you consider cats easy TO tame or
otherwisel'' "Most decidedly otherwise,
have tanned all sorts of animals and birds,
and next TO a goat (which is, i verify be-
lieve, the most obstinate animal in the
world 10 instill an idea into), cats most GER
tainly are entitled TO second place. You can
| never get them to take an interest in their
work thew do il, and do it well enough gen.
orally, but they DO not take pride in what
they do like a horse or a dog-that's the
point"
Turned It Edgewise.
"Smith is a mighty mean man, l say,''
| exclaimed jenkins, warmly. "Why, what
has Smith ever done TO youi" asked Blen-
hinsop, surprised. " Bet me ten dollars