The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-07-24
TEDDY, THE SAILOR CAT.

|
Jumps Overheard and Svims In.
From the Westminster Budget.
| Cats, as we have pointed out before,
! are becoming the fashion," and their
virtues and talents, SO long despised
| and disregarded, are at last recognized.
| History repeats itself and If the cult
| of the cat continues to develop at the
| rate at which it has done during the
| last two or three years there is no
| knowing but that, in due course, we
| may again arrive at the stage of ador-
| alton which prompted ancient Egypt
| to look upon It's cats as adorable deitiss,
| to be revered in life, embalmed after
| death, protected always. AS the case
Of the cat stands at present, Grimalkin,
dainty and dignified, affectionate and
intelligent, gracious and graceful far
beyond the ken of any dog, is purring
herself into favor with all classes. The
great ladies who not so long ago
thought only fit to have a little italian
greyhound a King Charlie, or a tiny
Yorkshire terrier as boudoir pets, are
now vieing with each other for owning
the finest cat, and so far from being
rather ashamed Of admirfng so lowly
creature, they proudly boast Of their
attachment to their feline friends. One
Is glad to see the wheel of fortune thus
which is as amusing as it is interest
Ing, and which has far more indiv1d-
uality than most pet ANNALS. AS an
instance of the spirit and determine
ton Of pet cat, we print the follow
ing charming Character SKETCH" sent
to us by a constant reader and lover
of animals:
whilst in the north of England re-
Gently" writes our correspondent, IT
made the acquaintance Of a handsome
cat, to whom 1 will introduce you His
name is Teddy. He Is big and gray
striped, with a good deal of shining
black in his coat. When stroked he
turns his head round and ticks the
caressing hand as a dog would. He
shows little of the naughty indifference
that cats frequently exhibit
who Is It that tells us a dog Is
proud to serve us, but a cat treats US
as Interiors" I may not quote word
for word CORRECTLY, but that is the
spirit Of the obser, Ation. Most of us
know that If the cat is not in the mood
she won't stir when she is called nor
take any BUT scant notice of the politest
advances made by mere humans.
The cat to whom I am introducing
you has his home in an old house near
the banks Of a beautiful river. Near
the house is little landing place where
a boat is moored. The oars are kept
III Oil OulIIOuSe CfOSG " Iu6 house.
When Teddy sees the oars produced
he knows what Is about to happen.
II he Is In the mood for sail, he
betakes himself to the landing stage
and watches till the rowers appear.
Then he is the first to jump into the
boat, and shows an active interest in
the whole proceedings. He knows all
about managing a boat. On one occa-
sion, when well out in the river, Ted
dy suddenly became restless and anx-
1cus, apparently remembering a press
ing engagement ashore which he must
keep. AS no one wished to land but
himself, he saw only one way out of
the difficulty and leapt from the boat
Into deep water, swimming CALAMITY
to the banks and climbing up as fast
as he could. After a good shake, he
made tracks across country, to no one
knows where. The swim, for cat an
animal that detests water, is a re-
markable achievement. He seemed in
no way to suffer, and still goes out for
an airing in the boat when opportunity
and inclination suggest. I never before
knew OF cat showing such q brave
spirit as to actually choose to swim,
and 1t would be interesting to hear Of
similar occurrence"
The same correspondent tells the fol-
lowing story in illustration Of the as
ton1shingly quick understanding be-
tween children and animals:
"a most intelligent black kitten, the
prettiest we ever had. was brought to
us as a present by a sweet little girl.
After considerable discussion a. dolly's
cradle was selected as his resting place,
and dolly's nightgown produced in
which to array the kitty. This was
done as only children's hands could do
it, and the kitten was put to bed In
the cradle with his little black paws
sticking out of the white sleeves, the
most comical sight imaginable and he
went to sleep, too, and had some milk
when he awoke. He couldn't walk
about in the nightgown, but romped in
1T and turned head over heels 1t was
gown, that he really did not require it.
He slept in the cradle he was too
big for 1t, and after that he compro-
missed matters by putting his fore paws
and head inside the cradle, while the
rest of him staid on the floor"