The St. Johns herald., 1892-10-06
BOHEMIAN FELINES.
Country Cats and Their Peripa-
 tetic Propensity.
They Pretend to Be Exclusively Domes- tic in Their Tendencies, Eut They Are Ease DissimulG-
 forS.

All cats are more or less Bohemian, though many. owing to circumstances beyond their own control, are Precindcd from giving free play to their propensl- ties, which accordingly remain unde- velopcd all their lives. But country cats have every opportunity of induiglng their tastes for a more wild, irregular and lawless life than the domestic hearth affords, and not few avail themselves freely of the chance. of this class of cats there are several va r;eties: but three are sufficient for the present purpose.
 There is, first of all, says the St. James Gazette, the dissimulating cat, which pretends to be an exclusively domestic animal, lives q great deal n the parlor or drawing-room, and gener- ally reminds one of the stories told of burglars and other criminals who have posed before the world as exemplary citizens for years, have perhaps been church wardens or elders, and all the time have been pursuing the most ne farious practices in secret. A cat or this kind, however, is not, strictly speaking, a gypsy cat. Her domicile is always the same. She merely slips out on the sly to enjoy little sport oy night. while all her friends and rela- lions. that believe strictly in her virtue, are sound asleep. She IS out long enough. however, to do a good deal of mischief: and when she comes in with the milk looks as innocent as Ii she had
 e. probably had a game supper, which ac- counts for the heavy sleep in which she indulges during the remainder of the day, and which imposes on all but those who are behind the scenes.
 These cats, if they have reputable be- longings, will not be deliberately shot by the neighboring game keepers; but their respect for Farmer So-an-So, or for the clergyman or the doctor, will not prevent them from setting traps where such cats are likely to prowl, and if puss walks into one they cannot help it. Some fine morning she IS probably missed from the breakfast table: and when in time it becomes ev- ident that she will return no more the virtues of the deceased are eXtolled to the skies, and the wretch who would ln- iure so harmless and amiable pet con- signed to the bottomless pit.
 A more straightforward and indepen- dent cat is the one that cares very little for the comforts of civilization and rarely sleeps in any human habitation, hut divides its time between the woods a;,d uelds in fine weather and barns, stables and outhouses which 1t ire ouents in the winter. This cat, Of course, is systematic poacher, though it will take to rats and mice when there is nothing better to be had, while at the same time it keeps up connection with some cottage or farmhouse to which 1t can fly for refuge in emergencies. This cat will lie in the turnips like hare or rabbit as long as it is dry weather, and when disturbed will dart off to the cot tape aforesaid, and, jumping upon some coign of vantage, will stand with tail erect, swearing in most preposterous fashion and making believe all the time that it is the cat of the house. This, we mean, is what it will do if 1t escapes with life from the shooting party who first reused it; but, as it usually has to run the ordeal of five or six barrels, the chances are considerable aginst it.
 While it lives, however, the eat in question has pleasant and coinforta- ble existence. In the summer and early autumn it lies about in the copses, hedge-rows and standing corn, living deliciously on young rabbits, partridges, and whatever else it can catch of flesh or fowl. As the weather grows cooler it returns to the snug winter quarters in the old barn or hayloft, where 1t nestles warmly in the straw, and when tired of vermin finds a pleasing variety in the sparrow. This cat has his regu- lar winter and summer haunts, despises the restraints of domestieity. and, as Macauley said of Boyce and Savage, is as irreelaimable as the wild ass. Still he is not altogether wild cat. He is on friendly terms with the wagoner and thrasher, and on very cold nights will sometimes condeseend to lie before a cottage fire. But there is another animal whom country people generally call wild eat, and who really deserves the name, though not belonging to the genuine wildcat species with the short, stumpy tail, which is now all but ex- tinct in the southern parts of Great Rr;tain