Evening star., 1947-08-16
This and That
By Charles E. Trace,pell
m STREET.


Dear Sir
i seldom fail TO read your interesting con-
tributions. Recently you spoke of male
tortoise-shell cat I have always thought of
tortoise-shell cats as lady cats. Please set me
right.
"Al cats are my friends. I cannot speak to
homeless cat for fear 1t should follow me
home as has happened on several occasions,
and they have been loving friends till death.
II will never have another pet cat as it might
outlive me. I am 80 years old.
Sincerely, A. M"
This correspondent is correct
The tortoise-shell cat is almost always a
female.
Just why this is, no one seems to know.
True tortoise-shells are black, orange and
yellow, in about equal quantities.
Sometimes there is some white, giving q
tortoise shell and white cat.
But in all cases, according to authorities, to
the extent of about 80 per cent they are females.
So if any one tells you he has tortoise shell
cat that is male, put him down as mistaken.
AS for the tabby cat that term does not
necessarily denote female cat.
The term comes from an old word meaning
silk" referring to the silken hair.
Actually, tabby means "the silken one
Today 1t is generally taken to mean, by cat
minded people, striped cat of either sex.
People who have way with cats often find
them tagging after them.
This means in some cases, that kitten or
young cat is being led away from its home.
Those who really like cats know that the
term homeless cat' is often misnomer.
just because a cat looks thin, some persons
think it is not well fed, and therefore has no
home. But the fact is that some cats are thin,
some plump. according to their heritage.
fna oil onfn oo1c yYhn yrytlf
generally follow any one, young or DID, who
pets them and speaks kindly to them.
Cats the world over love the feminine voice.
They respond quickest to the clear treble call
of kitty, kitty, kitty" etc.
In the household, the male members of a
family know that the household cat is fondest
of the feminine members OF the family
Cynics might think that is solely because the
lady of the house feeds the brute.
Nothing of the sort, as all friends of cats
know.
But some families have instituted regime
of feeding so that the master of the house will
dish out the cats food.
Maybe it will work, but one may suspect that
after the meal the faithful cat Immediately
Jumps into the lap of the mistress of the house
just the same.
There is no training that will change nature
and nature has made 1t that cats love best the
soft-voiced ones of the human species.
This Is not feminine nature Gaining 10 IeInl-
nine nature Such an idea cynics might hold
but they would be very much mistaken, for
there Is no more masculine creature In the
world than tomcat.
1t is an odd fact about these unusual ami
mails that the most loving to humanity are
these same toms. They like attention, and
purr the loudest and the longest. The female
cat is more reserved, less likely to make up to
humans.
Vet IL is fact that ladv cats ALWAYS manage
to win their way, so that no true friend of these
animals can be contented long with just males
in his menagere.
There is pathetic something in the eyes o1
the females that touches the hearts of then
human friends. One might dissertate at length
on this, but it is unnecessary: life has q way
Of making so many things unnecessary.