Omaha daily bee., 1921-01-08
Cats at Best Are
Most Deceiving
Critters v

SatS III nome are either pets OF
pests. II depends upon the cat and
upon the family the cat has ADOPT.
ed. No other phrase is possible ac.
cording to those who cultivate OF
are cultivated by this particular
species of domesticated carnivorae
IT must always be compromise
The man or woman who says he
understands cat is due to get badly
scratched,
Some of the worlds earliest
known artists drew cat when they
drew Cleopatra. History tells us
that this siren "vamped" two genera
tons of Caesars, but it fails to rec
ord what the effect of all this was
upon the cat. Through repeated re-
productions upon canvas, stage and
screen we have become fairly
familiar with what probably were
the wiles of the woman, but her
familiarity still remains mystery
even unto this generation.
Biologically we are told the cat
OF the fireside is direct descendant
Of the tiger, the panther, the cougar
even Of the lion. When we half
close our eyes as the Goals die in
the CRATE and the big, tawny pet
raises himself in prolonged yawn
and stretch, we can believe all Of
that-and more.
Once outside, the most domestic
OF cats will revert to type faster than
young man with an unlimited ex-
penSe account They will sleep all
evening in nnrring dreams befo.e
respectable fireplace and go out into
the night while the family sleeps TO
kill rabbits and bring half of one
home to clandestine family hidden
under the woodshed. They will rend
.the hand that caresses and caress the
hand that chastises. No one knows
! exactly what they will do next.
The most famous cat story in the
world is that of the feline animal
which was the mascot of the old
battleship Maine when it was blown
up in Havana harbor. This particu-
lar cat is said to have been found
the morning after the explosion
perched upon one of the davits which
protruded from the water, splitting
fire and birthstone at the sailors who
sought its rescue. According to
those who venture familiarity with
the psychology of cat, this animal
considered that the sinking of great
battleship was merely and. solely All
affiront to its dignity and comfort.
The incident and the deduction are
probably untrue, but no one who
knows cat can deny that this might
be exactly what the mascot, of the
Maine really Thought about the mat>
ter.
Apparent Design in Acts.
A normal cat is the mcst self-satis-
fed creature in the world and also
the most dignihed. A fully qualified
cat will consider the burning OF the
home Of its patrons as personal af-
front and the rebuilding of the struc-
ture as solely designed for its own
amusement. If it does not there is
something wrong with the cat. That
is cat psychology.
At the Same time a cat will en-
dear itself to a family by the most
engaging tricks of familiarity. 1t
prefers, seemingly, to sleep on the
neck or shoulder of a human rather
than upon the softest Of cushions, It,
will climb to the neck OF a man who
has recently thrown it out Of the
window and purr with the greatest
of contentment. and apparent salts
faction. Whether this is to disarm
him against further violence, heap
ing Goals Of fire upon his head, or
mere perversity no one knows.
Occasionally upon the vaudeville
stage one sees such thing as
"t,ained" cat; that is, cat that will
perform certain tricks, apparently at
Z the direction of its trainer. Some ex-
perts in cat psychology have said
that it was really the trainer who
was trained to announce what the
cat was going to do next. At least,
no one ever saw a cat go through
any involved series of stunts such
as those performed by dog, a
cockatoo, an elephant or seal.
Every once in a while some one
lcses his or her temper with cat
and commits an act Of violence. Yet
most OF the dead cats one sees nave
not been slain in this manner, but
rather by being run over by auto
mobiles or having their backs
broken by expert cat slayers of the
dog family.
This, il might be noted, is dis
tinct breed among dogs. Any dog
that kills cat is champion. That
means that no dog can kill cat aft
er he has once failed in the attempt.
Among dogs the unsuccessful cat
killer ceases not only to be cham
pion--he ceases almost.to, be dog
when there is cat around. 1t may
! be a feeling of disgrace and then
again it may be remembrance of
what happened. At any rate dog
fanciers agree that they never get
over an unsuccessful battle.
They say that good dogs fight
porcupines until they finally have to
be killed to put them out of their
misery. But one good fight with
cat is usually enough.-New York
Sun.