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True Stories About Dogs and Cats
"I should like to have Hero for my dog," said Frank, "and live with
him in a place where there were no sheep; and then, after many years,
he might forget his bad tricks."
"I must say something in favor of the much-abused cat. Doubtless she
would be a much better member of society, if she were better treated,
if she had a better example set before her.
Sportsmen are very angry because she catches birds, and because she is
sly. They will themselves lie down in the grass so that the birds may
not see them, and be as sly as the very slyest old puss, and yet they
cannot forgive her for watching noiselessly for birds. Has not she as
good a right as any sportsman to a little game? She takes only what
she wants to eat. She does not kill them in order to boast to another
cat of how many she has bagged.
They say she must be bad, for she kills singing birds. Do not
sportsmen kill larks and thrushes? Were you once to see a lark rising
up into the blue sky higher and higher, and hear him singing as he
rises louder and louder, as if he saw heaven opening, and wanted to
tell you how beautiful it was, and call you up there; and then to
think of killing and eating him, you would say, What cat can be so
unfeeling as a man? Who, with any music in his soul, could do so? Yet
men do eat larks for dinner, and then scold at the poor cat who treats
herself with only one perhaps. Why should she not be a little dainty?
Men, women, and hoys and girls are often cruel and unreasonable, not
merely cats. The cat is as good as she knows how to be."
"So you are, pussy," said Harry, taking up his pet cat in his lap, and
stroking her. "You never do any harm, but catch the mice in our
mother's barn. But you are a little sly, and, if you should catch
birds, right or wrong, I'm afraid I should box your ears. You must
learn to do without birds for your dinner."
"When I was in England," said Mrs. Chilton, "I saw, exhibited in a
cage about five feet square, rats, mice, cats and dogs, a hawk, a
guinea pig, a rabbit, some pigeons, an owl and some little birds, all
together, as amiable and merry as possible. Miss Puss sat in the
midst, purring. The others ran over her, or flew upon her head. She
had no thought of hurting them, and they were not afraid of her.
I found, on inquiring, that the way the keeper establishes such peace
and harmony is by systematic and constant gentleness, and by keeping
the animals all well fed. They are called the happy family.
The cage was always surrounded by a crowd of people curious to see
such natural enemies so happy together. Nothing but the law of
kindness could make all those creatures so civil and well behaved to
each other. But I must not forget my anecdotes of that respectable
animal, the cat.
You need not smile; I mean to make you respect, as well as love cats.
There are some men, and many boys who say they are domestic tigers,
that they are sly, that they steal, that you cannot trust them; that
the cat heart is bad, and that there is no harm in boys' teasing them,
since it is no more than cats deserve; that they were made for us to
plague; and that the only good thing they do is to catch rats and
mice.
Now, if this were true, and they were really ever so bad, they ought
never to be treated cruelly, never teased and tormented. None but the
meanest boy will ever torment any animal.
He who created us created also the little fly that crawls upon the
window pane. I am not now thinking of those boys who do not remember,
or have never learned this truth, but of those who have a cruel
prejudice against cats, of those who are kind to dogs and horses, but
unkind to cats. I shall speak to you of the poor cat with almost as
much respect and seriousness as if I were talking about any of my
fellow- creatures who were injured and ill treated.
We take it for granted that cats have no love in them, and so we never
act towards them as if they had any; now I believe they have, on the
whole, pretty good hearts, and, if they were treated with justice and
kindness, would be far more respectable members of society than they
are. To show this I will mention some facts of which I have heard,
and, some which I have witnessed.
In the first place, the cat is accused of never caring for the
inhabitants of a house, but only for the house itself. Now I knew an
affectionate cat who manifested much disturbance when the family were
making preparations for moving; at last, all was gone from the house
except herself and the cook. The cook, in order to make sure that the
cat should not escape from the carriage on the way, put her into a
cage and fastened her in.
When they arrived, the cat walked quietly out of her cage, looked at
her old friend the cook, went into another room where she met another
friend, and began forthwith to purr her satisfaction.
Two years afterwards, this family moved again. As soon as the cat saw
the preparations making for moving, she showed great uneasiness, and
went down into the cellar, where she remained during all the
confusion.
When all else was gone, the cook went to the cellar stairs, and called
her. The cat came up directly. The cook stroked her, and showed her a
basket just big enough to hold her, and said, "Get in, get in, pussy,
and take a pretty ride!" The cat got in, and, without the least
resistance, allowed herself to be shut into the basket by a cloth tied
over it. As soon as she saw the different members of the family in the
new house, she manifested her contentment.
In six months the family moved again. The cat again submitted herself,
and showed her preference to her friends over their house.
A cat has been known to nurse and bring up a rat with her own kittens.
I once took a little rabbit who was starving to death from the neglect
of its own mother, and placed it before the same cat who preferred the
people to the house. She had just come from nursing her kittens, and
when she saw the little trembling rabbit before her, her first thought
was, evidently to make a good meal of it. I took up the little thing
and caressed it, and then put it down again. She now approached it in
a motherly way, and looked at it; its ears seemed evidently to puzzle
her. After a while, she tried to take it up as she did her kittens,
but saw she could not safely; then she went to her nest and mewed, and
then came to me and rubbed herself against me; and then went to the
rabbit and licked it tenderly; I now ventured to put the rabbit in
with her kittens, and she nursed, and took the best care of it.
A friend of mine who killed a squirrel not knowing that she had young
ones, took all the little squirrels, brought them into the house, and
put them before his pet cat who had lost all her kittens but one.
Pussy looked at them for a while; probably her cattish nature thought
a little of eating them; but her better nature soon prevailed, for she
took them, one after another, and carried them all to her nest, and
proved a faithful nursing mother to them, and ere long there was no
part of the house in which the old cat and her roguish adopted
children were not to be found.
What will not cats submit to from a loving child? I have seen a child
lie down with a cat for its pillow, and the cat merely move herself a
little, so as to bear the weight as easily as possible.
A cat can be taught to stand and walk on her hind legs, which seems at
first very disagreeable to her.
I remember, when I was a child, seeing a Maltese cat come in every
morning and wait till my father had finished his breakfast, then, at a
certain signal, rise up on her hind legs, and beg for her breakfast,
and take just what was given her with the utmost propriety, asking for
nothing more.
I will tell you a well-authenticated anecdote which I read the other
day. A cat had been brought up in close friendship with a bird. Now
birds, you know, are the favorite food of cats. One day she was seen
suddenly to seize and hold in her claws her feathered companion who
happened to be out of the cage.
The first thought of those who saw her was that, at last, her tiger
nature had come out, and that she was going to make a meal of her
little trusting friend; but all the cat did was to hold the trembling
bird still, and, on looking around the room, it was discovered that
another cat had come in, and that catching the bird was only the means
the friendly cat used to keep it safe till the intruder should leave
the room. As soon as the other cat was gone, she let go the bird, who
it was found was not in the least hurt.
A cat who had been petted and always kindly treated by a family of
children, was present one day when the mother thought it necessary to
strike one of them for some bad action; the cat flew violently at the
mother and tried to scratch her, and from that time she never could
strike one of the children with impunity in the presence of their
faithful, loving friend.
A friend related to me that they had a cat in her father's family who
was a great favorite, and who was particularly fond of the baby; that
one day this child was very fretful, and sat for a long time on the
floor crying, and that nothing would pacify her.
The cat was by her side on the floor, and finding herself not noticed,
and perhaps wearied at the noise, she suddenly stood up on her hind
legs and boxed the child's ears in exactly the same way in which she
was in the habit of boxing her kitten's.
It seems that this cat was not so amiable as the other, and did not
object to giving a box on the ear to a naughty child.
I have another story from a good authority which is still more in
favor of poor pussy, and puts her upon a par with the most faithful
dog.
During a hard snow storm last winter, a kitten with a broken leg and
almost frozen hopped into the hall door of a gentleman's house in
Brooklyn, New York, and set up a most piteous mewing.
The master of the house ordered the servants to throw the kitten into
the street, when his little daughter, a child eight years of age,
caught up the poor little creature, and begged to be allowed to keep
and nurse it. The father, at first, refused. The child, however,
begged so earnestly that he at last allowed her to keep the kitten.
The little girl, whom we will call Emma, nursed her pet until it got
quite well. The kitten returned, in full measure, all the love of her
gentle nurse, and was never quite happy away from little Emma.
Some time afterwards, the loving child was taken severely ill, and was
confined to her bed. Kitty had grown into a cat. It was found
impossible to keep her away from the bed of her suffering friend. The
cat would watch at the door when turned out of the room, dart in
again, and mew, and jump upon the bed where little Emma lay. There
Kitty was quiet.
As the child grew more ill, it was impossible to get the cat out of
the room; until, at last, when little Emma was dying, pussy stretched
herself out near the bed, and seemed to be dying too.
The cat was taken into the next room, and put gently upon a rug.
"Take care of my poor kitten!" said the kind little Emma, as she saw
them take it away; and her loving spirit went to the land of loving
spirits.
When the sorrowing friends went into the adjoining room, the life of
her "poor kitten" had departed too.
Does not the fact that love and kindness can make such an irritable
animal as the cat so loving and grateful, teach us all their heavenly
power? Ought we not to do all which we can to bring out this better
nature?
We have made cats our slaves. We have taken them from the woods, that
we may have them to catch our rats and mice. We make them do just as
we please, and ought we not to make them as comfortable and happy as
we can?
Can we not be patient with their bad or disagreeable qualities, and
encourage all their good dispositions? We never know the true
character of any living being till we treat that creature with entire
justice and kindness. I therefore am the friend of the poor, despised,
abused, neglected, suspected, calumniated cat. I confess she is
sometimes a little disposed to thieving, that there are strong reasons
for supposing that she is somewhat addicted to selfishness, that she
may justly be suspected of occasional hypocrisy, and that she is to
blame for too readily using her claws.
These are, all of them, human as well as cattish faults; but, if pussy
has in her the capacity for something better, for self- forgetting and
devoted affection, we must treat her with such patient, enduring
kindness and perfect justice as may cherish all that is good in her
nature. In short, can we not overcome her evil by our good? Let us
try, boys!
One thing I have not yet told you in relation to cats, and that is
what pets they are made in France. No drawing room seems complete
without a beautiful cat. The cats are well trained and are very
gentle.
The Angora cat is most prized. She is fed with the greatest care, and,
in all respects, is treated like a respected member of the family; and
noticed, of course, by visitors. I have seen a beautiful cat go from
one guest to another to be caressed like a little child.
These pet cats are playthings. They are not expected to catch rats and
mice, but are idle creatures, and only amuse themselves and others. It
is considered a special attention for any gentleman or lady to make a
present of a pet cat."
"What's the use of cats who can't catch rats and mice?" said Frank.
"Do the French pet the mice, too? I wonder what comes of the bread and
cheese?"
"O, the people have another set of cats, whom they call gutter cats,
who catch rats and mice. The gutter cats never come into the drawing
room; but they are treated well in the kitchen, and made as happy as
possible.
I was told that these working cats were far more intelligent than the
pets of the drawing room.
I knew a French seamstress who had a gutter cat, of which she was very
fond. One day the cat fell from the roof of the house. She seemed
dead, but her faithful friend put her upon a soft bed, gave her
homoeopathic medicine, and watched all night by her to put a drop of
something into her mouth if she moved. At last the cat gave signs of
life, and by good nursing her life was saved.
I saw once in Paris a man carrying about a splendid large mouse-
colored cat, dressed up with ribbons.
The creature was twice the common size, and gentle as a lamb. He was
for sale; the price, sixty francs, which is twelve dollars. Every body
who was not too busy, stopped to stroke Master Puss."
"He would have done to wear boots," cried Harry. "I should like him
right well. Such a big cat would be worth having."
"The French are very humane to animals, and never inflict unnecessary
pain upon the meanest. In the street in which I lived in Paris, there
was a hospital for cats and dogs."
"Is not a hospital a place where sick folks go to be cured, Mother;
and do they like to have dogs and cats there?"
"This was a hospital devoted to sick cats and dogs."
"Do they have cats and dogs for nurses?" said Harry, giggling as he
spoke.