LESSON VII.
1. This time, Jessie, I wish you would tell us something about the mouth of your cat, if you are not afraid she will bite you.
2. No! my kitty will not bite me; she knows I will not hurt her. Come, pussy, open your mouth and let me take a good look at it.
3. I see four long teeth in the front part of her mouth. The two on the upper jaw are the larger, but the two on the under jaw are the sharper.
4. When she shuts her jaws, these teeth would easily go through the skin and flesh of a rat or mouse, and very likely would break its bones.
5. Between these long teeth in front I can count six funny little teeth on each jaw. Theyare too small to be of much use. Back of her long teeth I can see three or four on each jaw, and these are sharp and stand up like saw-teeth.
6. When pussy licks my hand, I can feel that her tongue is rough, and this is what I read about it in my cat-book:
7. “The cat’s tongue is covered with little hooks, all pointing backward, so that when the food is in her mouth, the rough tongue helps her swallow it. With this rough tongue she laps up milk, licks the plate clean when she is fed, and licks the meat off from bones.
8. “The dog’s jaws are strong, so he crushes bones and eats the meat, bones and all; but the cat’s jaws are not strong enough for that, so she gets the meat off with her rough tongue.â€
9. My pussy keeps clean by licking her fur, the hooks on her tongue brushing the dirt off. It is funny to see her wash her neck. She first licks her paw and makes it wet, and then she reaches up to her neck and uses her paw like a brush.
10. The old mother-cat licks her kittens all over, and keeps them clean before they can do it for themselves. She uses her jaws to carry her kittens about before they can walk. She takes them up carefully by the nape of their necks.