Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-01
This and That
By Charles E. TrdceueH.

Jack Spratt, the cat. purely carniv-
orous animal, has turned vegetarian
Perhaps it would be nearer to the
truth to say that he has been turned
vegetarian, for Jack has no Use what
ever for his new diet.
AS readers here know, he has OBJ
served an almost exclusive meat regi-
men for the six years of his life. He
began as a kitten, and soon grew so
fond of beefsteak that he would cat
nothing else.
Faced with vegetables, or eggs, or
milk. he would turn up his white nose
with disdain. in a perfect gesture OF
disgust. Occasionally he would con-
descend to eat a few baked beans. or
lick the white sauce off peas. but
mostly he had no regard at all Tor
foodstuffs other than animal fiber.
His preference was for veal outlet
and round steak. but if porterhouse or
sirloin were on the bill-of-fare he dld
not protest. Liver he cared little Tor.
and among the fishes would eat only
baked sea trout. Sardines he spurned.
He liked salmon, but it was too rlch
a food for him.
Jack was so welded to his meat that
if ANYTHING else was placed before MN,
no matter how hungry he might be,
he would give it brief, scorntul !ook'
and turn away until he got What ne
wanted. AS it was Impossible Ior meat
to be in the house without MS knowing
it, he always got what ne "anteo.
Severe attacks of stomach ailments
led Jacks friends to the belief that ne
might be getting too much meat. From
time to time. during the years his ad-
ventures have been spread here every
Sunday, we have been in receipt OF
kindly and well intentioned letters from
readers declaring, You give that cat
too much meat" 49,,
Jack didn't seem to agree with tnenl'
however, so we continued giving nun
his half pound once a day. Even now
! we are not sure that this is What aus
him, but owing to his recent Ill healLn
are inclined to think this may be the
reason.
IT was worth testing out, at any rate,
we thought. Accordingly, Jack Spratt
was taken off a meat diet and put on
one of vegetables. He began 1t very
auspiciously with a full pint OF ACID
| ophilus milk, which he drank eagerly
and with genuine gusto.
"Ah. hal" we thought. The prop
| lem is solved" But We knew JACK
| Spratt, and soon realized that ne mao
drunk the milk with the friendly pac,
, terra in it simply because it tasted gooo
| to him.
The moment he realized that we DE,
sired him to drink it, that very second
he refused to touch another drop;
Since potatoes and bread are narreo
from the feline diet by the best veterl-
narians. the only comestlbles !elC were
vegetables.
X X 4
Cats only like vegetables OF hlgh
| protein content, such as beans ana peas.
1t took us about a week to starve JACK
Spratt to the point where ne WouIo
condescend to even smell tnem.
He still was looking for meat. When
! the pangs of genuine hunger struck
| him. however. he buckled down and ate
a very satisfactory meal OF peas ana
beans He wanted meat. No sooner
| would he eat his vegetables than he
would go around looking Tor peel-
steak.
! Occasionally he will eat the yellows. OF
poached eggs, and upon one occasion castor
| he was caught attempting to eat corn
| off the cob, which is even more OF
feat for a cat than for human being.
We wish that we could report that
the vegetable diet has been complete
success. It has not. Meat is the nat
uraI food of cats, and no doubt each
and every one of them, even If III,
should be given certain amount Of it..
Jack Spratt Is better, but both he
and the writer have a sneaking belief
that he would be better still for nice
hunk of raw beef. Probably by the
time this gets in print Jack will have
had his beefsteak. Maybe at this very
hour he may be consuming it.