Evening star., 1925-02-07

Today let us consider the cats
meow. The oats. meow" .is a slang
phrase meaning that the person,
thing or circumstance to which II Is
applied Is about the limit In excel
lence.
1t is not of the slang, however,
| would write, but simply of the
language Of the cat, felis domesticus,
the ordinary house cat that inhabits
our hearth by day and prowls the
alley at night.
since the cat, Jack Spratt, came to
i've with me, have received a liberal
education In the ways of feiines. OF
especlal interest to me has been the
variety or his speech, meowing, or
whatever one chooses to call 1t
Tho dogs bark Is more or less a
stereotyped affair. Confined to con-
sonants, It's bark is a harsh sound,
simply varied In Intensity, made, COM
paratively mild for ordinary use,
| iorced into stridency when strangers
or warfare demand.
Ine cat, on the other hand, Is
Ihas'eI ~ Oh such a variety of sounds
ehat IL may be said to pos~ess a
v"ritable language, so full of meaning
ls It's meowing. To people not privi-
leseo 10 know cat Intimately all
one or these beasts does Is "yowl," of
course.
Listen to THAR such person
VIII say. calling attention to a mu-
sical program being given on the
back fence. Listen to those darn
cats!"
Thee caterwaulings, however. are
but one OF number of sounds nads
by the cat, in which the full ramut
or the vowel sounds are used
+ X + II
T
tInct sounds made by Jack Spratt and
ne doubt there are many more wbich
Will be revealed to me in time. Anv
one VINO has cat can add to the list.
Ihere are at least, then. IA varie ties
or the cats meow, ranging from the
sort purr, ometimes called the song
OF the cat, to the awful caterwaul-
ings heard at night Each is easily
distinguishabfe.
Let us consider the purr first. as IT
ls' perhaps, the most distinctive. II
mas oeen compared to the singing of
tea Kettle on the stove, and, indeed
is not unlike that utensils bubbling
sound.
The cat Jack Spratt has two varie-
ties OF purrs, one the ordinary brand
the other an extraordinary type. The
nrst is usually on tap the first thing
In the morning. Jack Is a somewhat
surly fellow. chary OF his purrs, but
he Invariably gives good demon
stration in the morning, whether he
has just come in from the outdoors or
up out of the basement
A purring cat is about the ne plus
ultra OF satisfaction. Even the white
whiskers seem to participate in the
noise. Some writer's have labeled
purring singing" declaring that II
is. in fact, real song, confined to one
note. The cat, it has been said. is
thus the only quadruped that sings.
He holds his drone bass continuous
ly. as long as the mood Is upon him,
then drops 1t abruptly. Pull his
tail, touch a hind leg, the cat stops
purring.
The extraordinary purring usually
arises when the cat wants something.
Thus Jack has been known to outdo
himself in purring when he thought
he was going to get a piece of meat.
At such times he purred fit to burst,
his singing growing louder and
louder. ...-
The cats meow for meat is a
special variety, differing somewhat t
| from his demand for cream, or even
fish. 1t takes a delicate ear. how
ever. to distinguish. an ear attuned
TO fine niceties of the cats meow.
Such a meow has a certain liquid
quality which differentiates 1t from
other household meows. It Is pitched
In c. as near as / can make out 1t
would go we'll on the air. and ought
to be broadcast. for the delectation
of the friends of cats
AS far as / know, no broadcasting z