Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1894-12-28
BOHEMIAN FELINES.
Country Cats and Their Peripa-
tetic Propensity.
They Pretend to BE Exclusively Domeo.
tic In Their Tendencies. But They
Are Base Dissimula-

All cats are more OF less bohemian,
though many. owing Ia circumstances
beyond their own control. are precluded
from giving free play to their propensi-
ties, which accordingly remain unde-
vclopcd all their lives. But country
cats have cvcrv opportunity of indulglng
their taste for 4 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
rieticS: hut three are sufficient for the
present purpose.
There i. first Of all, says the st.
james Gazette. the discriminating cat,
which prctends 70 br an exclusively
domestic animal. live, 4 great deal in
the parinr 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 OF
this kind, however, is not, strictly
speaking, gypsy cat. Her domicile is
always the same. She merely slips out
on the sly to enjoy a little sport by
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 good deal OF
mischief; and when she comes in with
the milk looks as innocent as if she had
never heard of fur or feathers. She has
probably had game supper, which &C.
counts for the heavy sleep in which she
INDUCES 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, OK
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 in
jure 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.
but divides its time between the woods
and fields in fine weather and barns,
stables and outhouses which it fire.
quents in the winter. This cat. Of
course, is a 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 it
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 of to the cot
tage aforesaid, and, jumping upon some
coign Of vantage, will stand with tail
erect, swearing in a 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 it 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, tho
chances are considerable aginst 1t.
(, While it lives, however, the cat In
question has q pleasant and comforts
bic 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 It
nestles warmly in the straw, and when
tired Of vermin finds q pleasing variety
in the sparrow. This cat has his regu-
lar winter and summer haunts, despises
the restraints of domesticity. ind, As
Macauley said of Boyce and Savage, is
as irreclaimable as the wild ass. Still
he is not altogether q wild cat. He is
on friendly terms with the wagner
and thrasher, and ON very cold nights
will sometimes condescend to lie before
. cottage fire. But there is another
animal whom country people generally
call wild cat, 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
Britain.