Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-14
This and That
By Charles z. Trdcetceu.

Tn The Sunday Star of last week
you wonder how any one can nate
cats" writes NJ S. Of Chevy Chase, Md.
st wonder how human beings can
love the woolly beasts, and take them
In their hands and arms.
IT dislike them.
But I do not know why, and
wherever I go, If there Is q cat in the
house, it comes right to me. rubs
against me. or jumps on my lap. Can
you tell me the why Of that?
st love cows, horses, calves, but cats
and dogs do not like. When I was
milking our Jersey, that gave almost
pure cream, always gave the cats
cats would come to the kitchen door,
but they would never come inside the
house.
"A few months before I left the
farm one of the cats had i've kittens,
at the barn, and as soon as they
could walk she brought them to the
q Immediately carried them back to
the barn. In q few hours she had
them back In the house yard. picked
up q stick and threw it at them, hit
ting one of the kittens, knocking It
over. Il hurt myself more than hurt
the cat,)
well, the mother Immediately took
them out Of the yard. /, OF course,
thought she took them back to the
barn, and expected to see them Wnen
I MIXED the COW in the evening.
"Rut they were nowhere to be seen.
After two weeks time the mother re-
turned to the barn without the kittens.
Now what did she do with those kit
tense Solve that problem, Mr.. Trace
we'll: YOU know so much about cats:
They were too young to take care OF
themselves.
81 never did anything to any four
legged animal that felt so bad about
as I did about hitting that helpless
kitten, and always wonder what she
did with them. Sincerely yours, M. 5.
The above Is an interesting letter,
not only for its anecdote about the
mother cat and kittens, with the mys-
terry Of their disappearance. but also
because 1t shows what happens 70 an
inherently kind person who inadver-
tently commits o deed Of cruelty, no
matter how slight.
Kindness to animals is q virtue IN
which no one can be 100 per cent
perfect. There will come regrets IN
the life Of every such person, no mat
ter how kindly. The writer here once
found a starved kitten on the street
and went on. To this day he never
passes that spot without regret. He
once slapped an old cat which bit his
hand while he was rolling it over by
its hind legs. The old cat ran away
and never came back, and ever since we
have wondered about him.
These are not superniceties, but SIM
Af fhnSA r.
sons everywhere who are kind to dumb
animals. This Is q special trend OF
mind, or heart, call 1t what one will.
Often he or she who likes animals has
no particular regard for human beings.
we have never been able to feel sure
that kindness to animals Is real v1r-
tue in a human being, but we hope
that IT. Is. When one thinks Of all the
countless cruelties Of man to man. Of the
starving, sick and helpless everywhere,
1t would seem that the more perfect
virtue is kindness to human beings.
Yet for thousands Of persons kind
ness to animals Is very real thing,
which they can never transgress, even
though only slightly, without being sorry
for It. For the comfort Of our cor
respondent, who Is more kind than per-
sonally realized, we would say that the
mother cat in all probability took her
kittens to a neighborhood, or to place
in the woods, In the latter event return
ing to them every day Cat night until
they could take care Of themselves
Nature does very well for her children
Il she Is given q chance.
There are many recorded cases Of
cats showing quick and keen resent
ment Of nistreatment, especially from,
one whom they like. In the present
case it would seem that cats recognize
a friend In our correspondent, and we
would suggest that an attempt be made
to reciprocate this friendship. Every
one knows that often the very people
one dislikan at first turn out to be
ones best friends.