St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-01-28
SOME CLEVER CATS.
How London Professor Teaches
His Feline Pets.

-
Leoni Clarke, and at II 80 next mornin.
l met him on the stage of the Pavilion
to witness the rehearsal. / found Mr..
Clarke hard at work in his shirt-sleeves
rigging up his apparatus and planning
some improvements. IL have always to
be making out something new" he said,
unless my troupe are put through their
drilteyery day, they would soon get out
of practice. The young ones have to be
taught and the old ones kept up to the
mark, so Pm generally pretty busy.
Where did begin this business? Well,
| made start with it at Dublin music
hall. The first night there were any
amount Of bets offered that my cats
would 90 off, helterSkelter, as soon az
they faced the band and the audience:
but was ready for that. l had heard
of cats, and the first night they all
bolted. So, for a good month before
our first public appearance, l had
band to play every day to my cats and
a lot of boys talking and kicking up no
end of row while they practiced. At
last they got quite used to the noise"
By this time the eats are arriving.
They are brought down from their com
Portable quarters at the top of the house
in five large. covered baskets. and the
first step is to transfer them from these
baskets to the shelves of a couple of
wooden houses or sheds at either side of
the stage. They make their entries and
exits before the audience by little doors.
like pigeon-holes, and an assistant sta
toned in each house, keeps them from
quarrelling, and acts the part of call
boy, by sending them on at the proper
time. As each basket is opened. one
sees 4 variegated mass of soft fur, out
of which six heads project, and SIX pairs
of bright eyes look up with quiet, self
satisfied air, that tells of kindness and
good treatment. There is no anxious
covering anywhere. And from the out
set there is proof of good training. The
They wait till they are handed, one by
one, to their places. As they are passed
along, Mr.. Clarke asks me to feel the
weight of them. especially of one shaggy
animal from Russia, answering to the
appropriate name of Moscow, the giant
of the troupe. II have a bigger one at
home" says Mr.. Clarke; II feed them
we'll; they have right to a fair share of
what they Garland they get it," III
Quiring further as to diet, | learn that
they have two good meals a day-at 10
a. m. and 9 p. m.-So that there is time
for rest before the morning rehearsal
and the evening performance. 1t is
quite mistake to suppose that animals
will be more tractable by being half
starved, and these clever cats have hard
work to do. which requires a liberal
diet; so they are regulated with meat,
fish and milk ad libitum, the menu
changing every day.
Twenty-Five pussieS attended at the
rehearsal this morning-all colors, all
ages, all sizes, from the back-and-
white Moscow down to pair Of little
kittens. just able to get about. There
are, also. several nationalities repre-
sented-English and Manx cats, two
Russians. one Spanish, long-limbed
white and tortoiseshell cat that is the
liveliest player of the lot. Fireworks
is the name of this Spanish lady; she
comes from Valladolid. and she quite
deserves her name. "Eight-tOeS' is the
appropriate name for another puSS, q
black and white, with eight perfectly
formed toes and claws on each of her
fOrepaws, a maniformatiOn which gives
her some advantage in rope-walking.
They cross and recrOss the stage,
trayersing it on the top of row of,
champaign bottles: they bound through
wire hoops, they walk a tight-rope, they
scramble up and down cloth-covered
boards placed at the vertical. LIN walk
ing the tight-rOpe they have to pick
their way among white rats and mice
and canarieS perched at intervals OH
family" of the streets. In the evening
only the finished performers appear be-
fore the public, but at the rehearsal
learners of all ages are put through
their drill. Mr.. Clarke does all his
work by gentle means. Patience and
kind encouragement are his methods.
There is no bullying or ScOlding, and
the female pupils are never struck. If
they succeed there is pat on the head,
and bravo. Sweep" "Well done.
Spot"' from their master. If they
hesitate or bungle, they are helped and
encouraged. ''Come on, puss; come on,
love; its quite easy; your halfway
across already;;' and then pussy is
lifted over the difficult jump. She
learns the trick by being thus put
through her drill until she does it her
self. The sight of the other performers
is, of course, a help.
Now and then one of the cats would
stop timidly and express her feelings by
low, prolonged mewing. One of them
Cdiuc W a IdIt III Wis way VII HIGH
rope; a kind word of encouragement
from Mr.. Clarke was enough to start
her again. He takes good care of his
favorites, and has an ingenious con-
trlvance by which kind of little plat
form can be run along the high rope
to afford temporary fOothold to feline
in difficulties. Every cat
seemed to have different character.
Some, like works, or eager to be OUT
on the stage, and do everything in
rush. Others go through the perform
ance quietly and steadily, as if it were
matter of duty. Some walk the rope
on the bottle tops with a iaunty air,
others creep across. Some learn quick
ly. others slowly. and there are actors
in the troupe whose training cost a year
of patient teaching. All have to begin
young. and with all the same method is
treatment and uniform
kindness.
The performance over, the cats are
replaced in their baskets and carried
up to their quarters at the top of the
hOuSe-a clean, airy room, where a
luncheon of hot milk is awaiting for
them. They are no sooner turned cut
of their baskets than some lie down for
a sleep, others begin to play with the
kittens, others again are washing their
furry coats. 1t is a very happy family,
and they are quite ready to make
friends with their interviewer. One
big tabby Tom. indeed, is so demonstra-
tive, and hangs on SO affectionately to
my overcOat, that it is not easy to get
awap from him.
Equal to the Occasion.