ON THE DISEASES OF CATS.
I must now endeavour to describe a few of the ailments to which pussy is liable, and by pointing out the cause, when possible, may hope to assist the kind reader in avoiding the evil effect, bearing in mind the well-known proverb, Prevention is better than cure.
Considering the careless feeding to which the cat is often subjected, her digestive organs must be somewhat enduring; but, on this account, they must not be overtaxed or disregarded. Thereis a very simple medicine to which puss will instinctively resort occasionally, which is grass. In an old translation of Pliny may be found the following quaint prescription for the cure of a sick lion:—
“The lion is never sicke but of the peevishness of his stomache, loathing all meat: and then the way to cure him is to ty unto him certaine shee apes, which, with their wanton mocking and making mowes at him, may move his patience, and drive him, from the very indignitie of their malapert saucinesse, into a fit of madnesse, and then, so soon as he hath tasted their bloud, he is perfectly wel againe: and this is the only help.”
Now, without the aid of a violentremedy such as the above-prescribed, Miss Puss can stroll quietly out of doors and help herself to a small quantity of selected grass. This simply acts medicinally as either an emetic or as a purgative. It has been my practice, when keeping cats confined, to have some fresh, healthy grass in a large flower-pot in the most sunny spot, and sometimes put out in the open garden, so as to receive the benefit of all the light, air, and sunshine available.
Diarrhœais a complaint to which the cat is sometimes subject in a mild form, and may attract but little notice; or it may be so severe or protracted as to cause great distress, and even prove fatal. As in ourselves, it may be brought on by violent changes oftemperature, together with unwholesome food or drink, irregular feeding, too much fat meat, putrid matter, too much liver, sour milk, etc. But in the cat the excrements may occasionally appear slightly loose without the animal seeming in the least unwell. This need cause little concern, although slight attention to the general diet and requirements of the animal will not be unwise. In this respect cats differ somewhat from dogs, which are constitutionally of rather constipated habit. When the cat is really ill, it will look so. Puss is a comfort-loving creature, and in nursing, comfort is to be the main consideration. Be careful to attend to the accommodation of clean habits, and allow a fresh supply ofearth or sand, as alluded to in Chapter IV.
There is a very simple remedy, and which I have proved to be a sufficient one, prescribed by the Honourable Lady Cust in her little book upon the cat, and I may here quote her own words:—
“In the commencement give new milk, with mutton-suet melted in it; the proportion of a piece of nice fresh suet, without skin, the size of a large walnut, to a teacupful of milk. Keep the cat warm and quiet in a comfortable nest, and if it be too ill to lap, give it, every two hours, a teaspoonful of the mixture, only just warm enough to melt the suet. Put it gently into the mouth with a small spoon. You need not swathe the cat, as after the first spoonful isswallowed it will feel the benefit, and swallow another; but do not give much; it is better to give very little that will remain and do good, than a large quantity which will return. Treat the complaint in other ways as in the human subject. Observe if there be no bile; and if there is not, give to a full-grown cat a grain and a half of the grey powder (Album. cum creta) used in similar cases. As I before observed, you must watch the effect of your remedy, as the complaint may change at once; if it does not, and there is still no bile, give, in about two hours, another dose.
“If the diarrhœa continue, give a teaspoonful of chalk mixture, used for the same complaint in human beings, with seven or eight drops of tincture ofrhubarb, and four or five of laudanum, every few hours, until it cures. Cats will continue as ill as possible for a few days, their eyes even fixed; but still, with watching and care, can be cured. A teaspoonful of pure meat gravy at a time should be given now and then (but not until near two hours after medicine), to keep up the strength until appetite returns; then be careful what food you give, and in small quantities at a time, as the digestion will be weak.”
If, however, under fair treatment, the poor cat does not quickly recover, or if dysentery ensue, no hope can be entertained of its restoration; and the wisest and most merciful act will be to end quickly the life that must undoubtedly perish.
In administering medicine to a cat, be careful not to alarm or excite it by needless fuss and ado, nor try its patience by delay. Have what you require ready to hand, and the assistance of one person. Take a large, coarse cloth, such as a round kitchen towel or coarse apron, and seat yourself with your face or left side to the window. Then, with the cloth across your knees, take the cat from your assistant, and lightly gathering up the cloth, wrap it round the cat. The reason of this is twofold: to assist in gently holding the cat secure, and also to prevent its fur from getting soiled by any of the medicine that may drop, and, moreover, save your clothes also. With the cat facing towards your left hand, carefully openthe mouth. This must be done with the left hand. The mouth will be easily opened by finger and thumb, the palm of the hand being under the cat’s throat. Gently feel with finger and thumb between the loose skin of the lips, and then, with very slight pressure just behind the molar teeth, the mouth will be opened wide, like magic. So long as you gently but steadily retain the hold, the mouth will remain open. But don’t allow the cat time to become impatient, and mind your fingers. When the mouth is opened, your assistant must promptly and carefully administer the medicine. If it is a liquid, it must be poured in very little at a time from a small spoon. This must not touch the mouth, or the cat will instinctively biteat it. The instant the medicine is given, remove your hold of the mouth and leave the head at liberty, in order that the cat may swallow at ease. A pill should be placed well back, so as to go the right way. A simple powder may be placed upon the tongue dry, mixed with butter, or, if not unpleasant, can be put in a little milk, to be drank as usual.
The Yellows.—The cat is liable to a form of distemper known as cat-sickness, or the yellows, which is analogous to jaundice in the human subject. It occurs more generally in large, high-conditioned animals, and I think it is more common in he-cats than in those of the other sex, and it more generally occurs in early life, but seldom beforethe attainment of full growth. On the approach of the malady, the cat appears unusually dull and sleepy, and disinclined to touch any kind of food, but may attract little attention. Soon, however, the complaint will be self-evident by the vomiting of a peculiar yellow, frothy fluid. This sickness will recur at intervals, and the poor animal will loathe all food, and drink nothing but water. Sometimes the malady will run its course, and an unexpected recovery may follow; but in many cases the unfortunate cat becomes weaker and weaker, and ultimately dies.
Two or three months ago, from the time I am now writing, I nearly lost a splendid young cat named Colocolo; and I consider the unexpected recoverydue to the great strength of his constitution. He is totally black, and was, at the time of the attack, just over eight months of age. And as the circumstances connected with this individual case may perhaps be interesting to any who may have a cat similarly affected, it will not be out of place here to narrate the symptoms and the treatment, such as it was, from first to last.
Colocolo had been to the Crystal Palace Show, was highly commended, and the best behaved cat in his class, often ready for a little skittish sport with an attentive visitor. He had been home just a week when he was taken ill. Whether he had been made a little too much of after his return from thePalace, I cannot say for certain; but I may here remark that I do not in the least think the show disagreed with him. He stood a four-day show at the Albert Palace well, was very highly commended there, and returned in high spirit. At these exhibitions the cats, many of them animals of considerable value, have the best and most careful attention on the part of the management. But they are sometimes pampered by their fond owners, and I may here suggest that after the confinement and restraint of even two nights and two days, it will be wise to be a little careful to avoid undue feeding for a day or two if the cat be in high condition, as show cats often are. [This mistake is equal to the folly, described with telling effectby the late Albert Smith, of supplying blankets to a beloved son to keep him warm while ascending Mont Blanc!—Ed.][3]
But to return to the subject now under consideration. Colocolo was as bright as a lark, romping about, at times, with surprising vivacity and great bodily force. He was not less lively on the evening of Tuesday, October 27th, but the next day, however, he was observed to be listless, and disposed only to sleep. He declined to eat throughout the day, and about dusk his first sickness came on. For the next two days he continued to vomit occasionally, in less quantity, however,and the bowels were also disordered. He became weak to a degree most distressing to behold, and the whole skin was tinged with yellow. Nature was left to work her own cure. For five whole days and nights the poor creature ate absolutely nothing, but he frequently manifested a desire for water. A supply was kept constantly within his reach, and often completely renewed, for his mouth was very foul. On the forenoon of the Monday following, the weather being unusually mild, he crept into the garden and basked in the sunshine for some hours. It was sad to see a fine, noble, happy-spirited animal so altered. He was unable to move without staggering, and his hind limbs appeared as if paralyzed. He mounted a step withdifficulty, and in descending it he tottered and rolled, or rather sank upon his side. When he came indoors again, he returned to his bed, and fell into a most unusually heavy sleep—in fact, I never knew a cat to sleep so heavily. There was not a sign of life, and the eyes even appeared fixed. We thought he had at last slept the sleep of death, and felt a pang of regret, but not without a feeling of relief to think that the poor cat was thus released from its distress. But, strange to say, we shortly afterwards found that he had aroused and altered his position from on his left side, being coiled in a ball upon the right. After some time, he left his cushion and actually partook of a little milk, but only four or fivelaps. Probably the strong air in the garden had overpowered his weak frame, and caused that extraordinary sleep, which was the turning-point, apparently, in his illness. But scarcely anything would he touch until Thursday (November 5th), when I offered him some fresh raw sheep’s lights, full of blood. To my agreeable surprise, he ate what I gave, and looked for more. I allowed him a good sized piece, as much as I considered safe to give at first, taking into account his very weak state. On the strength of this he picked up as by magic, and forthwith began to recruit strength at a marvellous rate, and in a few days he became as well as ever. All his former energy had now returned; his coat, which had become dull, dirty,dry, and staring, is now as soft, sleek, and pure as it ever was. Fortunately he appeared to suffer no acute pain during his illness, although, he certainly was very miserable and dejected. But I have seen more distressing cases of this malady in cats, and it is often most humane to put the wretched animal out of its misery by a speedy destruction. Fortunately the yellows is an ailment that occurs but once.
It is, I consider, both unwise and cruel to tamper with strong drugs, and certainly it is mistaken kindness to force milk, or any other food, down the throat of a cat suffering from sickness. Let the poor animal be as quiet as possible, in a comfortable nest, but not so near a fire as to be hot. Sick animalsrequire air, but are very sensitive to cold or the slightest draught. As the cat is such a remarkably clean animal, it will, whether ill or well, often take a dislike to a favourite resting-place, if it become in the slightest degree foul or tainted.
At the very commencement of the sickness, however, an emetic may do good in clearing the stomach. But it should be administered at the beginning or not at all. I have tried it with good result, and have found simple salt and water most handy: it is harmless, at any rate. It may be mixed in the proportion of about one-fifth part of salt. Sulphate of soda (Glauber’s salt) is sometimes preferred to salt. It must, however, be diluted in a much largerproportion of water, and less than a teaspoonful of the mixture will be as much as should be given. To allay an undue continuance of sickness, arising from irritation, about half a teaspoonful of melted beef-marrow may be found to give relief.
Fits.—The cat is liable to fits of a distressing nature, and they occur in young animals—more generally about the time they attain their full growth—and are more common in male than in female cats. When seized with a delirious fit, the poor animal suddenly appears to go wild, dashes about in a frantic manner, with staring eyes, often darts through a window, open or shut, and then hides in some corner. The symptoms of a convulsive fit aresomewhat different. In such a case it utters a cry, with staring eyes, and falls upon its side. The whole body appears stiffened, the limbs struggle convulsively, and the mouth foams. The cat is quite harmless, however, during the fit, and there need be no fear in handling it. But be gentle and quiet with the poor animal. The best way to give relief is to cut a very small slit in the thin part of the ear with a sharp pair of scissors, or to make slight incisions with a lancet; not enough to hurt or disfigure the ear, but just sufficient to draw a few drops of blood. It is well to encourage the bleeding by carefully fomenting the spot with warm water, but be very careful not to let any water enter the ear. If, however, the bleedingis free, there will be no need for the warm-water applications. The loss of only a few drops of blood will afford relief. After the fit the cat will generally be timid and nervous, and should therefore be treated with consideration. Be careful to avoid overfeeding it; in fact, for a short time let its feeding be slightly lowered, if in high condition. The cat will quickly outgrow these fits. Many young toms have one attack, and a she-cat never has a fit after having once littered.
ON THE DISEASES OF CATS.
(Continued.)
Pneumonia, or Inflammation of the Lungs, is not an uncommon malady in the cat, and the tendency to pulmonary weakness appears to be transmitted from generation to generation, and is certainly more generally met with in cats of foreign origin, as Persian, etc., than in our own native kind. In fact, all the felines are evidently much more liable to lung disease than are the dogs. Nor are the larger forms exempt, for many a majestic lion, or a beautifulleopard in our best-managed zoological collections, has succumbed to this fatal distemper. Exposure to cold and damp, poor feeding, etc., are generally the immediate causes of lung disease in the feline, as in the human subject. The symptoms in pneumonia are a dull, uneasy restlessness; the poor cat looks miserable, as doubtless it feels, and mopes about in a very dejected manner. It is less disposed to lie than it is to squat about. Pneumonia is usually accompanied by pleurisy, and if this complaint is as distressingly painful as I have experienced it to be, I am sure the cat must at times suffer the most acute pain. Inflammation of the lungs, although so generally fatal, may nevertheless be overcome by good nursingunder favourable circumstances. It occurs more generally in winter and spring—the most trying time, in our English climate, for both man and beast. Keep the cat indoors, and in a room of comfortable temperature, but not too warm, at, say, not much over 55° Fahr. A troublesome cough distresses the poor cat frequently, and the laborious breathing is manifest by the heaving of the flanks. In the treatment of the disease, apply, in the first instance, a stimulating liniment composed of equal parts of compound camphor liniment of the British Pharmacopœia and soap liniment. Rub it in upon the sides of the chest, and do not spread about more than is necessary, as cats are made miserable by the fur being soiled or tainted. The operationmay be repeated the next day if the liniment has not produced tenderness. Administer, internally, the following mixture every four hours, in a dose of ten drops:—Syrup of chloral, forty drops; syrup of squills, forty drops; ipecacuanha wine, ten drops.
As, probably, the cat will not eat, it will be well to keep up its strength by administering beef tea or good milk at intervals.
Bronchitis, or inflammation of the lining membrane of the bronchial tube, arises from much the same causes that produce inflammation of the lungs and pleura, and often accompanies these affections. Bronchitis may be readily distinguished by the peculiar wheezing and rattling sound which is made whenthe poor cat is coughing. It may be treated the same as inflammation of the lungs, but the mixture to be given may contain twenty instead of ten drops of ipecacuanha wine, and also, in addition, ten drops of antimony wine; and fifteen drops may be given every four hours.
Mangeis caused by a minute insect which burrows into the skin and there multiplies. The sarcoptic mange is the most common form that attacks the cat, and generally appears first upon the head and neck, and will, in time, if not destroyed, spread over other parts of the unfortunate animal. It is both humane and prudent, therefore, to check it at the outset. The disease is, moreover, contagious, and if a mangy cat is allowed to wander at large, it willcommunicate its trouble, to the ultimate distress of its fellows, and the annoyance of their owners. Sarcoptic mange may be at first detected by an irritating itching, but it soon breaks out into painful sores, which are aggravated by the repeated efforts of the poor cat to ease itself by rubbing and scratching. Fortunately, however, this disease is not difficult to cure in the cat, and with but little trouble. The principal agent employed, both externally and internally, should be sulphur. On no account use the strong dressings that are prepared for the skin diseases of animals of a different nature. An ointment composed of flowers of sulphur and fresh lard, rubbed upon the spot with the finger, is a very simple remedy, and I have provedit to be a very effectual one. It is well, however, before applying this simple compound, to foment the spot with tepid water, and dry it with a soft, clean rag. Apply the flowers of sulphur and lard once or twice a day until it has taken effect. As it is not in the least unpleasant to the taste, the cat is sure to swallow more or less of it in dressing the fur, and more readily so if within direct reach of the tongue. The sulphur swallowed acts upon the system from within, most effectually poisoning the offending intruders in course of time. Mr. Harold Leeney, M.R.C.V.S., remarks that “a proof of this eccentric behaviour of sulphur may be found in the blackened watches and silver coins carried in the pockets of persons takingthe drug.” In theAnimal Worldfor October, 1882, Mr. Leeney alludes to the application of sulphur as follows:—“Sulphur in almost any form will destroy the parasites, but used as an ointment, much difficulty is experienced in washing it off again, and sulphur pure and simple being insoluble, and more active remedies dangerous, there is nothing better than a solution of sulphuretted potash, which should be applied warm, in the proportion of half an ounce dissolved in a quart of water. In using any skin dressing, whether for mange or fleas, or any other parasite, it is always advisable to begin at the head, as the opposite course leaves open a retreat to the ears and eyes, where the application is less likely to reach theenemy. That fleas take refuge round the animal’s ears when in the water was, no doubt, early observed, and gave rise to the story, current in sporting circles, that foxes rid themselves of fleas by swimming with a piece of wool in their mouths, to which the insects betake themselves for safety, and find out their mistake when it is too late.
“The sulphuretted potash lotion need only remain on the cat an hour or two, when it should be washed off with more tepid water, to which some glycerine has been added, to about the proportion of one ounce to each quart of water used. The animal should be carefully dried, giving special attention to the face and ears.”
Follicular Mange, so named from itsbeing caused by the presence of a parasite distinguished asDemodex folliculorum, is of a different nature to the sarcoptic mange, and is less readily expelled.
“Unlike sarcoptic mange, which oftenest affects the hairless parts of the body, the follicular mange is found upon the back from the neck, down the course of the spine, to the tail. I think the reason of the selection on the part of the demodex is that the hair follicles, or little bags from which the hairs grow, and in which the parasite lives, are much larger, and afford better accommodation. The first symptom of anger in a dog or cat is usually the elevation of these hairs, showing them to be stronger, and consequently havinga larger base, than at other parts of the body.
“The unfortunate cat affected with this malady soon begins to arch her back and rub it against the staves of the chairs or the under part of a low couch or other convenient furniture; then the hairs are observed to be broken, and their condition attributed to this habit of rubbing, so that the real cause is often not suspected till great mischief is done and the parasites thoroughly established, the back becoming sore all the way down, and the animal rapidly losing condition.
“Treatment.—Since the cause is parasitic, destruction of the offenders is the object to be attained, and the best method is by laying bare theirstronghold, by removing the scurf, etc., with soft soap, before applying any remedy. The reason for using soft soap is that the potash it contains causes the outer cuticle to swell up and become detached, and thereby permits the remedies to come in close contact with the insects, who are tenacious of life, like most low forms of animal life. Having thoroughly washed the sore skin, apply gently, but with a good deal of persistence, a lotion composed of one part of oil of tar to four parts of olive oil, taking care to cover the infected area, but not using any more than is necessary, as it is most easy to excite nausea in the cat, but not easy to allay it. This should be repeated alternate days, washing it off in the intervals withplain curd soap, until the skin begins to look dry and scaly, and loses its redness. The administration of small doses of sulphur (milk of sulphur, two to three grains) daily will facilitate the cure, because it is found to make its way through the skin from within, rendering the cat a less desirable host.”
Eczema(from the Greek,ekzeo, I boil out) is another form of skin disease to which the cat is sometimes subject, and is the effect of an unhealthy condition of the blood. Unlike mange, eczema is not caused by the intrusion of an insect parasite. The disease, being of quite a different nature, requires treatment of another character altogether. Again I use Mr. Leeney’s words:—
“Those parts of the skin whichhave upon them the least hair, as the belly and thighs, and under the elbows, are the most frequently attacked. It commences with a simple reddening of the skin, and a few days afterwards little watery bladders or vesicles are observed. These breaking, and their contents drying upon the skin, form an offensive, unctuous matter, which becomes mixed with dirt and thedébrisof broken hair, etc., and reacts upon the already inflamed skin. It is caused by an arid condition of the blood, or perhaps it would be more correct to say an insufficiently alkaline condition of it, since in health that fluid should have an alkaline reaction. Whatever doubt may be cast upon this theory as to the origin of the malady,there is no doubt but that alkaline bicarbonates produce a speedy cure, and the recovery is much facilitated by soothing applications to the abraded parts.
“I would advise as a mixture, bicarbonate of potash, two grains; water, thirty drops; mix for one draught; to be taken twice a day. If the nurse cannot give the medicine as a fluid, the same quantity of potash may be mixed with a little butter or honey, and smeared upon the cat’s toes or shoulders, for she will soon lick it off there. Many cats will not detect it dissolved in a saucer of milk, as it has only the slightest saline taste. If neither of these methods is successful, two grains of exsiccated carbonate of soda may bemade into a tiny pill and given in a piece of fish.
“The skin should be well fomented with warm water and a sponge, with a little curd soap and glycerine added to the water. After carefully drying with a piece of lint or old, soft calico, an ointment of zinc (benzoated zinc ointment of the British Pharmacopœia) should be carefully applied for several minutes, careful manipulation being of more service than a large amount of ointment. We have spoken of the condition of the blood which gives rise to eczema, and of remedies likely to cure it; but prevention is, of course, better still.
“I have been able to trace the disease in some cats to access to a neighbouringfishmonger’s dust-hole, where offal has been thrown and allowed to decompose; in others it is traceable to milk. It is difficult enough to keep dogs from eating filth in the streets after refusing good food at home; but who shall restrain the cat? The removal of the offending material, rather than any additional restraint upon pussy, will be, if permissible, the best remedy.
“I have known many cats quite cured without any other remedy than an abundant supply of horse-flesh, as retailed by the cats’-meat men.
“While the subject of food is under consideration, I may mention that a very unfounded prejudice exists against horse-flesh; and while our French neighbours are making it an article ofhuman food, we retain our insular prejudices to such an extent that many people do not even like their dogs and cats to eat it. As a general rule, horses are slaughtered because lame or incapable, and their flesh is in a healthy state, and affords good, sound muscular fibre, while those who die generally do so from acute diseases, as colic, inflammation of the lungs, hernia, etc., etc., the flesh or muscular parts being in no way injured or rendered deleterious. A noticeable example of flesh-fed cats is to be seen in the many large and handsome cats at the Royal Veterinary College, who feed themselves on the donkeys and horses in the dissecting-room.”
Before concluding this chapter I maysuggest that, with fair attention, a good cat may be expected to live out a fair term of years, and perhaps without any special ailment. Certainly the causes of disease and death are not a few, sometimes obscure, or of a complicated character; yet the cat is not singular in its liability to pain and death, for such is the portion which falls to all creatures, man not excepted. But when we consider that the cat is a rather fast-breeding animal, and has fewer natural enemies than many other creatures—the rodents, for example—it is evident that the feline race, both in its wild and domesticated state, must be subject to such a constant check upon its undue increase as is justly required to maintain the right balance in creation.Few cats live to old age, which may be estimated at fourteen years. I have heard, however, of two cases at least in which the extraordinary age of twenty-two years has been attained. But what a vast proportion are not permitted to survive as many hours! The irrefutable assertion in the Book of Ecclesiastes, that there is “a time to be born, and a time to die,” having reference to the limited duration of human life, may with equal truth and propriety be considered respecting the whole animal creation. Death is one of the essential laws in nature. Disease and violence may be regarded as but instruments of destruction in the hand of the Almighty. No thoughtful student of nature can fail, however, to be deeplyimpressed by the evidence that the great God that made all things is not only infinite in power and wisdom, but a God of love. To use the words of Isaac Walton: “The study of the works of nature is the most effectual way to open and excite in us the affections of reverence and gratitude towards that Being whose wisdom and goodness are discernible in the structure of the meanest reptile.”
Worms.—It may be difficult, however, to comprehend, or to regard without disgust, such loathsome forms of life as are the different worms, in some form peculiar to, perhaps, every species of mammal, bird, or fish.
As Mr. Leeney observes:—“Cats are subject to wandering parasites, whichpierce the tissues and cause much pain and illness in seeking ‘fresh fields and pastures new.’ Pussy is not exempt from theTrichina spiralis, which, as my readers are probably aware, is the cause in man, in swine, and other animals, of the dreadful malady known as trichinosis.
“It is during the wandering of these minute worms that the fever and pain is produced in the subject, be he human or any other animal.
“That cats should be more liable to this parasite than man is readily understood when we take into account the liking they have for raw meat, while cooking generally obviates the danger from man. The prevalence of trichina, and the disease produced by it, inGermany, is to be accounted for by the custom of eating uncooked ham and other things. I have myself eaten this ‘schinken’ in Germany. I am afraid if trichinosis could be detected in a cat no remedy could be suggested; but in speaking of worms, it ought to be taken into consideration, and may, perhaps, account for some of the obscure causes of death in our domestic pet.
“There are, again, worms whose habitat is the blood-vessels, and whose choice for a nest is the junction or branch of some artery—a favourite one being that vessel which is given off from the great trunk (posterior aorta) to the liver (hepatic). The presence of such a nest occludes the vessel, and produces changes in the structure of its coat,which, together with the diminished calibre of the vessel, seriously affects the liver, by depriving it in a great measure of its nourishment, its substance, like all other parts of the body, depending for its maintenance and repair on the constant circulation of fresh blood, charged with material for supplying the daily waste.
“The ducts or passages from the liver through which the bile should pass are the favourite haunt of another kind of parasite—the fluke; here ‘they do most breed and haunt,’ producing dropsy, a condition well known in sheep, and called the ‘rot.’
“These, like the strongylus occasionally found in the kidneys, are most fatal to their bearers, and unfortunately beyond the reach of remedies.
“A great many remedies have been suggested for sheep suffering from their presence, but the chief difficulty consists in the fact that any remedy, in order to affect the parasite, must enter first into the circulation of the bearer, and the turpentine which would kill the fluke would first kill the cat; and again, the salt, which ruminants enjoy, could not be given to the cat, because vomition is so easily excited, and so much would be required.
“Fortunately for cats and dogs, the kind of worms to which they are most subject are generally situated in the stomach and bowels, and are to be dislodged without much difficulty. It may be taken as a general rule that round worms can be expelled by santonin, andflat worms by areca-nut; but some care should be exercised in the administration of these drugs.
“If a cat is found to be very thin, and her coat is stiff and harsh, accompanied with vomiting of round worms, or they are observed in the excrement, a pill should be made of half a grain of santonin, and ten grains of extract of gentian, and two or three grains of saccharated carbonate of iron, and given fasting, at intervals of two or three days. The best way of giving a pill to a cat is to stick it on the end of a penholder, and, having opened her mouth, push it back on the tongue without any fear of its going the wrong way, and withdraw the penholder suddenly. The pill will almost certainly be swallowed,as the rough, papillæ on the cat’s tongue will have prevented the pill being withdrawn with the holder, and it should have been placed too far back for the patient to do anything with it but swallow it.
“If tape-worm has been observed, from one to three grains of areca-nut (freshly grated) should be given in the form of a pill, mixed with five grains of extract of gentian, and two grains of extract of hyoscyamus. Areca-nut will probably produce the desired effect given alone, but it too often produces acute colic, and even fits, if not mixed with some sedative.”
There is a worm peculiar to the feline race only, and known asAscaris mystax, or the moustached worm, so called fromthe four projections at the head. This worm more generally infests the intestines, but often lodges in the stomach, and grows to a considerable length, and is then usually vomited up, to the relief of the poor cat.
“The presence of this or other guests within the stomach is often a cause of gastric derangement, and the cat will be at times voracious, and at others ‘very dainty,’ no doubt feeling faint and nauseated by the irritating presence of the worms, and desperately hungry sometimes from being robbed of its nourishment; for it must be remembered that worms do not simply eat the food as it reaches the stomach from time to time, but they live on the all but completely digested food, or chyle, which is justready to enter the circulation, and contains all the most nutritive part of the food in a condition fit for building up the animal structures, and replacing the waste which is always taking place. It is only by the consideration of this fact that we can understand how a few small worms can so rapidly cause the bearer to waste away.”
And now, in concluding, may I suggest that there is “a time to kill, and a time to heal,” and that when a favourite cat is really ill, in pain, or has met with a serious accident, it is often both wise and merciful to drown or shoot the poor animal effectually, and without delay. Drowning, as I have before observed, is, perhaps, the simplest and the least painful of the ordinary methods ofdestruction. Shooting must be resorted to with care and forethought, and no possibility allowed of the cat escaping but only wounded. Poison is at all times to be avoided.
I.
Mitis and Riquet are two tom-cats saved from a litter of five; their mother is an Angora, slate-coloured, with the neck, breast, and tips of the paws white. Mitis has a large head and limbs, and a coat which promises to be Angora and the same colour as his mother’s, a white muzzle, and white underneath his eyes, while his lips and the tip of his nose are bright pink. Riquet’s body and tail are black, with grey marks; his head, which is smaller than his brother’s, is grey, with zebra-like bands of black crossing longitudinally and laterally; two white streaks branch out from the upper end of the nose, and on the forehead two curved lines, starting from the corners of his eyes, surround a disc of black and grey.
No sooner has their mother licked them over than they set off whining and seeking for her teats. I made some observations of their movements on the first and second days; but as I am afraid of not recording them with sufficient accuracy from memory, I will beginwith the third day, when I took to writing down my observations.
12th May.—They are perpetually moving about, even when sucking and sleeping. Sleep overtakes them in the act of sucking, and then, according to what position they were in at the moment, they either remain ensconced in their mother’s silky breast, or fall over with open mouths into some graceful attitude. The little gluttons, Riquet especially, who seems to be delicately organised, are often troubled with hiccoughs, reminding one of young children who have sucked too copiously. It is curious to watch them when searching for a teat, turning their heads abruptly from right to left, and left to right, pushing now with their foreheads, now with their muzzles; tumbling and jumping one over the other, sliding between their mother’s legs, trying to suck no matter what part of her body; and finally, when they have settled down to their meal, resembling leeches, whose whole activity is concentrated on the work of suction, and who, as soon as they have thoroughly gorged themselves, let go their hold and fall back intoinertia.
Whenever their sensibility is unpleasantly excited, as, for instance, if their mother leans on them too heavily, or leaves them alone, or performs their toilet too roughly, they givevent to monotonous—I had almost said monosyllabic—plaints; sounds which can scarcely be calledmias, still lessmiaows; they are best described as tremblingmi-i-is. They also emit these plaintive sounds when they have been searching long for a teat without finding one, or if they annoy each other during the laborious search; or if I take them up too quickly, or turn them over in the palm of my hand to examine them. If I set them up in my hand in a standing position, they will remain motionless for a few seconds, as if enjoying the warmth of my hand; but very soon again they begin clamouring with loud whines for their home in the mother’s warm, soft stomach, which is at once their shelter and their dining-room, the familiar, and perhaps the loved, theatre of their nascent activity.
13th May.—This morning Mitis appeared to be ill. He was languid, did not whine when I took him up, and made no attempt at sucking; he had an attack of hiccoughs, accompanied by shiverings all over his body, which made me anxious. It only lasted an hour, however: there may have been some temporary cause of indisposition; or perhaps excessive sucking, or a very great need of sleep, had reduced him to a semi-inert mass.
Riquet’s head is prettier than it was yesterday; the white spot has increased in size, thegrey marks have spread and grown lighter, and the head and neck are rather larger; but Mitis has still by far the finest carriage.
Twelve o’clock.—The two leeches have been operating for twenty minutes without desisting. They are now brimful of milk, and settling themselves down, no matter where—one on the mother’s stomach, the other on her paws; no sooner have they placed themselves than they fall asleep.
Two o’clock.—They have no fixed position for sucking; any does that comes first.
When the mother leaves them alone for a moment they turn in rapid gyrations round and round, over and under each other, delighting in the mutual contact of their bodies and the warmth which it engenders. If the mother remains absent for some minutes, they end by falling asleep one over the other in the shape of a cross. If I lift up the top one, the other soon begins to whine: they are not accustomed to solitude, and it produces a painful impression of cold. Very young animals are easily chilled, and sometimes die of cold in a temperature which is not very low. This is owing to the smallness of their bodies and the feebleness of their respiratory organs.
Between four and five o’clock Riquet seemed to me very lively. He was searching for a teat which he could not find, and for tenminutes he crossed backwards and forwards over his brother’s body, giving him frequent slaps with his paws.
Riquet’s nose is a pink-brown, but tending to red-brown.
This evening (ten o’clock) I showed the mother a saucer full of milk; she left her kittens to go and drink it, and afterwards she took a turn at a plate of porridge; her absence lasted barely five minutes. The kittens, during this time, went through their usual manœuvres: Riquet turned three times running round his brother; the latter, who is more indolent, or perhaps has more need of sleep, stretched himself out full length on his side. Riquet, however, cannot rest till he has found what he is searching for—viz., the body of his mother. He is still in a state of agitation when the cat comes back, raises herself with her front-paws on the edge of the box, and drops quietly down by the side of her little ones without touching them. Instantly they start up, raising their little waggling heads; they know that their mother is there—the slight noise she made in getting into the box, and the movement she imparted to it, are associated in their memory with the idea of her presence.
The mother’s first care is to see to their toilet, and she proceeds to turn them over with twoor three strokes of her tongue, and then operates on them with the same natural instrument. Both have their turn; and at the end of the operation, which seems to worry them, they whine considerably, though not at all loud. A few minutes after, the melodious snoring of the mother informs me that the whole family is at rest. I take a peep at them: the mother is laid on her left side, describing a large and elegant curve; Mitis, half on his hind-paws, half on his stomach, is stretched across Riquet, and both are sleeping, or sucking—perhaps doing both at the same time.
14th May.—My kittens seem to grow as I watch them, especially Mitis’ head, neck, and back; he is a massive heavy kitten, but his forehead is broad and high: he will probably be an intelligent cat; his leonine chin, large and well developed, indicates energy and goodness. He begins to show more vivacity than during the earlier days; when he encounters his brother in searching for a teat, or if the latter disputes with him the one he has got hold of, he deals out at him rapid strokes with his paw, which remind one of a dog swimming. His mother has just been performing his toilet in the manner aforesaid, and has no doubt kept him longer at it than he liked; he shows his displeasure by strikingout his hind paws, one of which knocks against his ear, and uttering two or three impatientmis.
These very occasional and but slightly emphasised cries are the only ones which Riquet—even the brisk and lively Riquet—gives out, even when I take him in my hand. I have seen other cats that were more unhappy complain more: one, for instance, which was the only one I had kept out of a litter, and which died at ten days old, just as it was beginning to open its eyes; in her grief at having lost all her other kittens, the mother used to carry this one about from place to place, and even leave it alone for hours at a time; I believe it died from bad treatment and insufficient feeding; the poor little thing frequently uttered loud moanings. I cannot feel the slightest doubt as to the causes of its death when I see the mother so happy with the two that I have left her this time; she has not once called or searched for the other three which I drowned. Does this proceed from a want of arithmetical aptitude?Two, for her, aremanyas well asfive. However this may be, she is very happy, veryrepue, very attentive, and her little ones are habituated to comfort, ease, satisfied desires, and tranquil sleep and digestion. If they do not know how to complain I think it is because they have had no reason to learn to do so.
The colour of Riquet’s hair is changing sensibly: the grey-white now preponderates on his face. The velvety black of his neck, back, and sides is silvered with whitish tints, which have spread since the morning.
Often when they are alone, or even if their mother is with them, they will mistake no matter what part of their bodies for teats and begin to suck it, as a child of six months will suck its finger or even the tip of its foot.
15th May.—To-day I held Riquet on my hand for three minutes. I was smoking a cigar; the little creature stretched out its neck, poked its nose up in the air, and sniffed with a persistent little noise. A sparrow, whose cage was hung up over us, frightened at my smoking-cap, began to fly round the cage and beat at it with its wings. At the sound of this noise Riquet was seized with a sudden fit of trembling, which made him squat down precipitately in my hand. Movements of this kind are reflex ones, the production of which is associated in the organism with certain auditory impressions; but the animal is necessarily more or less conscious of them, or will soon be so. From five minutes’ observation I have thus learnt that Riquet is sensible to strong smells, and that he already goes through the consecutive movements of sentiment and fear.
Riquet’s head is visibly changing to silver-grey; the marks on his back are also assuming this shade.
I took Mitis in my hands, stretched them out and drew them up again. He does not seem to know quite what to make of it; he attempts a few steps, feels about uncertainly with his head, and comes in contact with my coat smelling of the cigar; he appears to be scenting my coat, but not with so much noise and vivacity as Riquet does. He waggles his head about, feels about with his paws, and tries to suck my coat and my hands; he is evidently out of his element and unhappy. The mother calls to him from the bottom of the box; this causes him to turn his head quickly in the direction from which the sound comes (what a number of movements or ideas associated in the intelligence and organism of a little animal four days old!); he starts off again, making a step forward, then drawing back, turning to the right and to the left, with a waddling movement. I give him back to his mother.
I thought I noticed once again this evening that the light of my lamp, when held near the kittens’ box, caused rather lively excitation of their eyelids, although these were closed. The light must pass through these thin coverings and startle the retinas. The kittens wereagitated during a few seconds; they raised and shook their heads, then lowered them and hid them in the maternal bosom.
The noise of carriages, the sound of my voice, the twittering of the sparrow, the movements imparted to the box by my hand—all throw them into the same kind of agitation. These movements may be coupled with the movements, unconscious no doubt, but determined by external causes, which are observed in the young.
16th May.—Mitis’ tail is thickening at the root; the hair of its head and neck is close and silky; he will no doubt turn out a considerable fraction of an Angora.
When I place the kittens on the palm of my hand they inhale strongly and with a certain amount of persistence; this is because their sense of smell operates no doubt with tolerable completeness, in view of the species, and in the absence of visual perception, and by reason of the imperfect operation of their touch.
This evening Mitis, having escaped from the constraint in which his mother holds him to perform his toilet, halfplantigradehalfgastéropode, dragged himself slowly, though as fast as he was able, along his mother’s paws, and at last nestled down in the soft fur of her stomach. While in this position his head,rolling like that of a drunken man, knocked against the head of Riquet, who was in the act of sucking. Instantly Mitis lifts a paw and brings it down on his brother’s head. The latter holds on, as he is very comfortably spread out on the bottom of the box, and is sucking a teat placed low down. A second attempt of Mitis’ fails equally. He then performs rapid movements with his head, searching vigorously for his cup, but not finding it. The mother then places a paw on his back, and his centre of gravity being thus better established, he at last accomplishes his object. Here we have several actions which are no doubt in some degree conscious, but which come chiefly under the head of automatism: the scent which helps in the search for the teat, the instinct to dispute the ground with another who is discovered to be sucking, the movements of intentional repulsion, of struggle, of combativeness. What an admirable machine for sensation, sentiment, volition, activity, and consciousness, is a young animal only just born!
17th May.—I have observed—or think I have observed—in Mitis, the more indolent of the two brothers, the first symptoms of playfulness: lying on his back with his mouth half open, he twiddles his four paws with an air of satisfaction, and as if seeking to touch some one or something. It is eight o’clock inthe evening, the window is open, the sparrow is singing with all its might in its cage, we are talking and laughing close to the cat’s box. Do all these noises in some way excite the sensoriums of the tworepuskittens? The fact is, that they have been in a state of agitation for more than a quarter of an hour, travelling one over the other and walking over their mother’s stomach, paws, and head. Mitis, the heavier of the two and soonest tired out, was the first to return to the teat. Riquet’s return to the maternal breast has been a long and roundabout journey from one corner of the box to the other, and round and round his mother.
At nine o’clock I went to look at them with the light. This threw them into dreadful consternation. I observe in them both something like intentions to bite, while rolling each other over, they keep their mouths open, and snap instead of sucking when they come in contact with any part of each other’s bodies; but it is all mechanical. Here we have an increase of activity produced by an accession of powers and temporary over-excitement.
18th May.—They are lying asleep on their sides, facing each other, with their fore-paws half stretched out against the hind ones. Riquet’s sleep is much disturbed; his mouth touches one of his brother’s paws, which heinstantly begins to suck. Is this a mechanical or unconscious action? Is he not possibly dreaming? After four or five attempts at sucking he lets go the paw, and sleeps on tranquilly for four minutes; but the noise of a carriage passing in the street, and perhaps the consequent vibration of the floor and the bottom of the box, cause violent trembling in his lips, paws, and tail.
The mother gets back in the box; and the kittens, instantly awake and erect, utter three or fourmisto welcome the joyful return.
In settling herself down the mother leans rather heavily on Riquet; the latter, who used formerly to extricate himself mechanically, and who already knows from experience the inconvenience of such a position, moves off brusquely, goes further away than he would have done formerly, and Mitis, on the lookout for a teat, hears close to him the noise of his brother’s sucking. He pommels his head with his hind-paws, rolls up against him, striking out with his fore-paws, and knocks him over with the weight of his body; he is now in possession of the teat which his brother had first tried, and, finding it as good as the one he was sucking before, he sticks to it.
18th May.—Mitis was trying to worry Riquet who was busy sucking. I hold out my handto make a barrier between the two; Mitis pushes it back with his paw, but soon perceives the difference between the two bodies which he is pushing against, gives over his excitement, and looks out for another teat. No doubt in this case there was no comparative perception of difference, but different sensations producing different muscular actions; that is all, I imagine, but this is nevertheless the germ of veritable comparison.
19th May.—Both the eyes of both kittens are about to open; the eyelids seem slightly slit, and are covered with an oozy film. At the external corner of Mitis’ right eye there is a little round opening disclosing a pale blue speck of eyeball, the size of a pin’s head. At the internal commissure of the left eye there is also a round opening, but much smaller, and showing no eye-ball through it. Riquet’s right eye is also opening slightly; the edges of the left eyelids are stopped up by a yellowish discharge.
I fancied that Mitis was playing in the box; I tumbled him over on his back, tickled his stomach, and stroked his head; he struck out his paws without attempting to pick himself up; this was evidently a more or less conscious attempt at play. His mother came to lick him in this attitude, and he performed with his fore-paws as previously. Riquet, too,shows a tendency to play, but not of such a pronounced nature.
21st May.—Riquet’s left eye is beginning to open at the inside corner.
I took them both up on my hand, and waved my fingers in front of their partially opened eyes; but I did not observe any movement from which I could infer the power of distinguishing objects.
Mitis, placed close to his mother’s head, nibbles at it and plays with his paws on her nose; the mother does not approve of this amusement; she lays a paw on her son’s neck and teaches him respect; soon he escapes from her grasp, and begins searching for a teat.
Some streaks of fawn-colour have mixed with the zebra-like black and grey on Riquet’s neck: he is now quadri-coloured.
Mitis is seated on my hand. I kiss him on the head, three times running, making a slight noise with my lips; he shakes his head twice. This is an habitual movement of the mother cat when one kisses her or strokes her head and it displeases, or if she is occupied with something else.
When I pass my hand in front of their heads, at about fourcentimètres’distance, they make a movement with the head and wink their eyes; I am not sure whether this meansthat they see, though their eyes have been more or less open since yesterday evening.
They have not yet begun to purr.
22nd May.—I went up to the box towards twelve o’clock. Riquet’s left eye, the light blue colour of which I can see, seems to perceive me, but it must be very indistinctly. I wave my hand at tencentimètresfrom his eyes, and it is only the noise I make and the disturbance of the air that cause him to make any movement.
Both Mitis’ eyes are almost entirely open; I hold my finger near his nose without touching it, I wave it from right to left and left to right, and I fancy I perceive in the eyes—in the eyes more than in the head—a slight tendency to move in the direction of my movements.
23rd May, 7P.M.—Their movements are less trembling, quicker, and fierce not only because of increased strength and exercise, but because intention, directed by eyesight, is beginning to operate.
The more I observe young animals, the more it seems to me that the external circumstances of their development—alimentation, exercise (more or less stimulated and controlled), ventilation, light, attention to their health and theiraffectivesensibilities, care in breeding and training,—are perhaps onlysecondary factors in their development. Actual sensations, it seems to me, serve only to bring to the service one set of virtualities rather than another; a sentient, intelligent, active being is a tangled skein of innumerable threads, some of which, and not others, will be drawn out by the events of life. This it is that marks out the precise work, limits the power, but at the same time encourages all the pretensions of educators. If all is not present in all, as Jacolot asserted, who can say what is and what is not present in a young animal or a young child?
I placed Mitis on a foot-warmer, the contact with which produced two or three nervous tremblings, somewhat similar to slight shiverings; he seemed pleased, however, and stretched himself out on the warm surface, with his eyes half-closed, as if going to sleep. Afterwards I placed Riquet there; he went through the same trembling movements, but then proceeded with an inspection with his muzzle—scenting or feeling, I do not know which, the article on which he had been deposited. He then gently stretched out a paw and laid himself down flat, the contact with the warm surface inducing sleep, by reason of the familiar associations between the like sensation of warmth experienced on his mother’s breast and the instinctive need of sleep.
When they trot about in their box, some of their movements appear to be directed by sight.
Their ears have lengthened perceptibly during the last two days, and so have their tails.
When any one walks about the room, if they are not asleep or sucking, they begin frisking about immediately.
The mother, whom I sent to take a little exercise in the courtyard, has been absent for half an hour. Mitis is asleep; Riquet, lying with his head on his brother’s neck, was awakened by the sound of my footsteps, all the more easily roused no doubt because he was hungry, and because his mother had been absent so long. I stroke his head with my finger, and he puts on a smiling look. I make a little noise with my lips to rouse the sparrow, and this noise pleases Riquet, who listens with the same smiling countenance.
They now attempt to climb higher; they do not knock their noses so frequently against the partitions of the box, they certainly direct their paws at certain points determined by their vision; eyes, noses, and paws now operate in concert on the teats or any other objects that come across their way; for they do not go much in search of objects as yet. Their field of vision does not stretch very far; what they see is matter of chance and accidentrather than of real intention. If I wish to attract their attention by waving my hand, I must not hold it further than fifteencentimètresfrom their eyes. I must go very close to them before they appear to distinguish my person. I am not sure that they see the whole of it; I rather think that only certain portions are visible to them,—amongst others my nose, because it stands out in relief, and my eyes, because they reflect the light vividly.
24th May, 9P.M.—The orbits of their eyes seem to me rather more expanded than this morning, possibly because the light makes their pupils contract. I placed a candle on a chair by the side of their box; the light evidently annoyed them, but it stimulated them to exercise their limbs. Mitis, after having promenaded and struggled about in a corner of the box, and grown accustomed to the lively sensations on his retina, directs his steps towards the most brightly-lighted point of the box. A band of light falls full on the upper part of the partition on the side facing me. Mitis, and Riquet after him,—more from imitation than personal excitement,—tries to climb up this luminous board; he does not succeed, but the attraction continues undiminished. I thought involuntarily of the plants which struggle up walls to reach the light.
Mitis, still somewhat disconcerted—though much less so than at first—when he looks directly at light, retires into a corner, and tired, no doubt, with the exercise he has just been taking, places himself, or rather falls back, on his mother’s tail. I take him up gently, and set him in front of his mother’s stomach, and by the side of Riquet, who had just finished his gambols also, and was sucking. Then began a scuffle, the front paws working away perceptibly like thebattoirsof a washerwoman. I come to the rescue, placing my hand between them, and this calms them down; they favour me, however, with a few ridiculous little taps. Mitis, meanwhile, has taken possession of the contested teat, and celebrates his victory by the firstpurrthat to my knowledge he has produced.
Riquet is now in a great state of agitation; he is lying in the dark, behind his mother’s back, and close to the side of the box facing me. I hold my finger to him; he lifts himself up and leans his head slowly forward to touch or scent my finger. He can now distinguish people, but more by touch, scent, or hearing than by sight, the latter sense being very imperfectly developed and little exercised. When I make a slight noise with my lips the little creature starts and jumps about, but does not lift up his eyes to my face, whichhe has seen close to him, has looked at with attention, but which he is very imperfectly acquainted with, and does not accurately localise with respect to my hand and my body.
Riquet is close to his mother’s head. He has stretched a paw over her neck, and is looking at some part or other of her head, I don’t know which, while playing gently with his little paw. Here we see an intelligent development of affection; he now loves his mother in a more conscious way; his visual and tactile perceptions are becoming co-ordinated, are amplifying his knowledge, and giving strength and precision to his sentiments.
I stretch out my finger to Mitis, who is still lying on the spot where I found him at first. In return, either from curiosity, or from instinctive impulse and movement, he holds out his little paw, which seems to enjoy the grasp of my finger, and sticks to it.
25th May.—I place my kittens, one after the other, in the hollow of my hand. Mitis squealed when I lifted him out of the box, and during the three minutes that I kept them in my hand they both seemed almost indifferent. The instant, however, that I put them back in the box they seemed quite delighted to get back again, or else they were stimulated to play by the varioussensations—muscular, visual, tactile, and thermal—which I had occasioned them. Standing and walking about on my hand had stimulated Mitis to an extraordinary display of strength. In his desire for prolonged exercise, and no doubt also wishing to renew the vivid sensations of light he had just experienced, he set to work to climb up the perpendicular wall of his dwelling, making all the time a great noise of scratching. All movement produces sensations; and all sensations produce movements.
26th May.—They both play with their paws and their muzzles, but frequently, as if by chance, only without very marked intention, and with very uncertain movements.
I seem already to distinguish in them two different characters. If one can go by appearances, Mitis will be gentle, patient, rather indolent and lazy, prudent and good-natured; Riquet, on the contrary, lively, petulant, irritable, playful, and audacious. Noise and contact seem to excite him more than his brother. But both of them are very affectionate towards their mother, or perhaps I should say very appreciative of the pleasure of being with her, of seeing, hearing, and touching her, and not only of sucking from her.
I hold Mitis up to the edge of the box; he evinces a desire to get back to his mother, but does not know how to manage it. His muscleshave not yet acquired the habit of responding to this particular psycho-motive stimulus; he crawls up to where my hand ends, advances first one paw, then another, and finds only empty space; he then stretches out his neck, and two or three times running makes an attempt with his paws at the movements which are the precursors of the act of jumping. He would like to jump down, but cannot do so; instinctive intention is here in advance of the adaptiveness or the strength of the muscular apparatus fitted to execute it. He retreats frightened and discouraged, and whines for help.
Riquet placed in the same position, goes through almost the same movements, but he is able to do more; he has managed to seize hold (chance perhaps assisting him) of the edge of the box, he sticks to it, leans over without letting go, and would have got down, or rather tumbled down, into the box, if I had let him.
27th May.Every day they get to know me better. Now, after I have taken them in my hands, or stroked their head, neck, or lips, they go back to their box quite excited; they walk about in it faster than before, snap at each other and strike out their paws with much more spirit. Play has now become a matter of experience with them, and growsday by day a little more complicated; they seem to be aware of their growth in strength and skill, and to derive pleasure from it. To-day, for the first time, Riquet scratched the piece of stuff on the bottom of the box, and he did it with playful gestures and an expression of delight; first he stretched out one paw, then the other, with his claws turned out, and, being pleased with the noise produced by drawing back his claws, he renewed the operation twice, but no more. It will be necessary to go through the same experience two or three times more, in order to fix the idea of this game in his little head.
They have already tried several times running (either by accident or with a vague idea of ascending) to hold on to, or climb up, the sides of the box; if they were not slippery, or were covered with a cloth, I think they would have strength enough to lift themselves up to the edge.
They lift their head and paws as high as they can, in order to see better. All the inside of the box seems to be sufficiently well known to them, but all the same they are constantly making experiments in it, either by touch, sight, hearing, scent, and even taste; for they frequently lick the board, and try to suck the cloth at the bottom. They would no doubt gladly extend the area of theirexperiences, but I shall leave them habitually in the box until they are able to get out of it by themselves; they can get quite enough exercise in it, and they have enough air and light, and I think the prolongation of this calm, happy, retired existence makes them more gentle. The mother prefers their being in the box, and I am of the same opinion, though not perhaps for the same reasons. They would become too independent if allowed to follow their caprices, and exposed to the dangers of adventure, instead of being accustomed to the restraint of the hand which they love and whichhumanises[4]them. I want them to become so thoroughly accustomed to my hand, that, when they receive their freedom, they will still recognise it from a distance, and come to it at my will. My hand is a very precious instrument of preservation and education for them.