Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-01-01
A WORD AGAINST CATS


the cat-admiring reader will regard this
and I understand the right
cons Indignation which prompts tne
question what does he Know apout cats
anyway" 1t is fair to answer TINS dues-
ton.
I have owned upwards of 70 cats from
FIRST to last. and have had as many as
seven at one time. Some of these were
IF recognized breeds. and others were lust
simply cats. | have a complete alphabeti-
cal list of their good qualities from
" Amlablity" to "Wistfulness,' hut
would not own another cat If 1t possessed
every one Of those qualities in ITS own
furry person. | know how companionable
pussy ie. when she rrhs herself against
ones legs, archng her back and meowing
gently to attract ores attention. and l
realize the cosy homclike feeling she en-
genders, as she sits on the rug before the
open FIRE with her tail curled over her
front paws. blinking at the flames. and
grooming softly to herself-the personih-
cation of contentment But there are
two sides to her character and | know
the other side as well. I know that that
gentle. purring creature on the hearth
rur is but a tiger in rcpose; That SOFT
vibrating purrinc Is the faint rumbling
of volcano. inactive for the time being
but liable to be in eruption at any mo-
meut. No matter how gentle a cat may
he. how much good training it has receiv-
ed the f1utter of n birds wing or the
movement of n mouse calls il back to
Nature in an instant. and arouses the
demon which resides in the heart of every
member of the feline race. without
moments warning the gentle, blinking
ewes are ablaze with n cruel light. the
velvet paws are bristling with sharp tai
ons. and the soft purring has changed to
n savage growl There may be exceptions,
but they are so few that the general
statement holds good.
The first loss | sustained at the hands
or rather the teeth and claws. of n cat
occurred when was a small boy. I had
lot of pjgcons in a loft. and one morn
ing was much distressed to find the part
" eaten body of one of the birds lying
on the floor of the coon A few DAYS later
another one was killed and nv keerinr
p close watch I one evening discovered
our own tabby entering the pigeon cote
having climbed down from the roof, which
she had gained by way of a tree trunk
GROWING against il. She never ate any
more nigeons
since then have had some very sad
experiences with cats n few Of which
will mention. Some years ago I took
two Young gray SQUIRRELS from the nest
IN studv and they were soon so tame that
they would follow me all over the garden
exnlorirr nv pockets and chasing each
other all over nv BODY The cats. of
which we had seV eral were always locked
in the house when the SQUIRRELS were loose
in the garden. one dav | was sitting on
The ground. p,avinr with the grays when
ono of them started suddenly away from
me. The next instant there was a terrified
soueal from the squirrel. and the little fell
low wbisked through a small window into
the cellar. Close upon him was a large
tom cat. which I thought was locked up
in the house With bound he went
through the cellar window. which was.
alas, too small for me to enter. rushed
into the house and down the cellar steps
lust in time to see the cat making his
exit with the linn body of my pct hang
ing from his laws.
Two or three years ago n song sparrow
built in the honeysucklo which twlned
around fence-post in the garden. Scarce
" had il laid its eggs before "A cat. in an
effort to reach the sitting bird. utterly
demolished the little home. Fortunately
the bird escaped and like the nluckv III
tie heroine that she was began 10 huIld
another nest in the same snot This ono
home vas built in the honevs,,ckle. ana