City and Country Cats

1895

Many Curious Points of Difference Between the Two Animals.

An observer has noted that there exist many points of difference between country and city cats. The country cats, he declares, are larger and heavier than those of the city, no reference being made in this comparison to such civic cats as might come under the head of "pampered pets," but only to plain cats — the cats of the back yard and the housetop. This superior weight of the country cat, the observer says, is easily attributable to the diet of small field animals and birds which it enjoys. But there are other peculiarities of difference, he proceeds, which are not so easily attributable to diet. For instance, the color of the country cat is generally either gray or tortoise shell, the commoner color being gray. On the other hand, observes the cat expert, the preponderating color among city cats is black.

In the next place the color of the eyes in city and country cats is found to be very different, the latter leaning largely to gray and green, while the city cats' eyes are mostly yellow and having far more glitter in them than have their country cousins. In the matter of tails, too, there is a difference, the city cat's tail being much longer and carried more nearly on a level with the back than that of the country cat. The country cat's paws are much flatter, broader and softer than the town cat's, the pads of the former being like velvet, and those of the latter like rubber.

Altogether, between the big barreled gray, light eyed, velvet footed country cat, slipping noiselessly through the young wheat stalks, and the scrawny, long tailed, yellow eyed city cat pattering down an alleyway like a flying shadow, there are such differences as will, says the observer, result in time in the formation of two distinct species — Felis rusticus and Felis urbanis. — New York Sun.

You May Kill Cats

New York, 1895

Thomas P. Lally, of Morris Park, who was arrested for shooting cats, was acquitted of the charge of cruelty to animals before Justice Lott at Ozone Park Tuesday night. Lally swore that the feline disturbed his slumbers and he had shot it because his health was becoming impaired. Justice Lott said the man had done the community a favor, and discharged him.


Why Newman Went to Japan

Prof. Koppell Newman, who used to live at Northport, has gone to Japan. He ran away to escape appearing against John Hoffman, who assaulted him for paying attentions to the latter's married daughter.


Small Damages Awarded

More than a year ago a horse driven by Stephen M. Van Allen of Jamaica ran away and came in collision with a wagon in which Mrs. Frederick Ayres was riding. She was thrown out and claimed to have been severely injured. She sued Mr. Van Allen for $5,000. The case was tried before Judge Barnard and a jury on Monday, and Mrs. Ayres got a verdict for only $50. Counselor Gillen tried the case for Mr. Van Allen.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, April 26, 1895, p. 8.

Cockroaches Large As Mice

1920

Woman Catches Them With Mousetrap — May Try Cat.

TOPEKA, Kansas. — One Topeka housewife is offering a reward for some way to rid her house of cockroaches. She is wondering if any breed of cats will catch these pests. They have grown so large that she is catching them in mousetraps.

The other night she heard a suspicious noise in her kitchen. She set a trap. Next morning she found a cockroach which tried to steal the bait and met disaster. Thinking it was just a mistake on the part of the roach, she tried again, hoping to catch the mouse that had been keeping her awake.

The same thing happened, only the roach was twice as big — the size of a full-grown mouse.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Aug. 7, 1920, p. 4.

Dog, Chasing Cat, Is Stranded In Tree

1920

MIDDLEBORO, Mass. — Alphonse Provost had missed his dog Fido for three days when Chester Amsden stopped to inform him his pet was stuck in a hollow tree near the John B. Savage farm.

Fido had presumably chased a cat not wisely but too utterly regardless of consequences, and got wedged in, with a knot hole sufficiently large to admit of sticking his head out and barking for aid.

An ax enlarged the knothole and Fido was liberated, little the worse for his experience except being a bit hungry.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Aug. 7, 1920, p. 3.

An All-Embracing "Tabby"

1916

Dog, Rabbit and Chicken Are Part of Her Family.

PERRY, Maine — A black cat, Dinah by name, in the family of John Clark of Perry, adopts everything on the premises small enough for her to cuddle. Of her latest brood of kittens she was allowed to keep one, and a neighbor, coming into the house suddenly, surprised the maternal one in a clothes basket with her own jetty offspring, a gray kitten of another pussy's family, and a white rabbit. The assortment made quite a medley. Later on she added a puppy to her tribe, and she also cuddles an orphan chicken.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Sept. 16, 1916, p. 7.

Funeral is Held For Cat

1919

$6,000 Animal Is Buried on Estate in Metal Casket.

LENOX, Massachusetts — Funeral rites over a cat here were attended by all the employes on the Summer estate of Mrs. Carlos de Herodias of New York, and the feline's "remains" were buried on the estate in a metal casket. Hyacinth, a Persian cat, said to have cost $6,000, was greatly treasured by Mrs. de Herodias, and when it died at her home in New York the owner had the body borne here in a special automobile truck.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 7.

Memory Lost After Fall on Ice

1903

As the-result of falling on the icy sidewalk, Samuel A. Chapman, of Boston, a student at Annandale College, is suffering from a peculiar malady.

On the evening of January 20 Chapman, in company with two other students, called on friends near the college. On their return Chapman slipped on the icy path and, falling backward, struck the base of his spine. He suffered no immediate effects, and being helped up by his companions, walked on to the college. Next day he was unconscious, remaining so for two days. Upon regaining consciousness his memory was a blank. In about two weeks he made some progress, looking to the improvement of his memory. He is nineteen years old.


Cats' Eyes

Cats and other beasts of prey reflect fifty times us much light from their eyes as human beings.

He Made a Study of Mice

1900

And Concludes That They Have a Keen Sense of Humor

Few people understand the mystery of mice. I think I can, without immodesty, claim to understand mice, for I have made them a study for many years. I used to think that nature supplied mice, wherever there seemed to any call for them. For example, if you live in a house where there are no mice and in a rash moment provide yourself with a mouse trap or set up a cat mice will immediately make their appearance. To the superficial observer this looks as if nature, perceiving that you have a mouse trap, proceeds to supply mice for it, or, noticing that you have a cat, sends mice enough to satisfy the animal. But this is not the true explanation. In order to understand mice you must grasp the fact that the mouse is an animal with a keen sense of humor and a love of excitement. With this key in your possession you can readily unlock the mystery of mice.

That the mouse has a sense of humor is conspicuously shown by the way in which he will rattle a newspaper in your bedroom at night. The mouse does not eat newspapers, nor does he put them to any domestic use. He merely makes a noise with them, knowing that of all sounds the midnight rustle of a newspaper is the one which will most successfully banish sleep from your eyes. If a mouse finds an eligible newspaper in your bedroom he will settle himself down to a night of fun and jollity. He will rattle that newspaper till morning, and the only effect of throwing boots at him or of getting up and lighting the gas and searching for him with a poker will be that he will hide himself till you lie down to sleep and then resume his little newspaper game. If this does not show a sense of humor it would be difficult to say what it does show.

Then there is the well known fact that no sooner does a mouse trap or a cat enter a house than it is followed by a troop of mice. Cats and traps draw mice as the pole draws the magnet. The mouse loves the game of teasing the cat by stimulating the latter's hopes of capturing mice. It is considered the height of fun among mice to scuttle across a room, in the presence of a cat and to disappear in a hole just as the cat is ready to pounce. Of course, now and then a too reckless mouse pays the penalty of rashness by being caught by the cat, but accidents of this kind are more rare among mice than football accidents among men and in no way render mice shy of the game. — Pearson's.

Lifting Cats and Rabbits

1910

Mistake to Lift Animal by Nape of Neck Without Supporting Lower Part of Body

It is a mistaken idea that the proper way to lift a full-grown cat is by the nape of its neck without supporting the lower part of its body with the other hand, says Watchword.

It is true that the mother cat carries young kittens by grasping in her mouth the loose skin at the back of her offspring's neck, but a tiny kitten is a very different matter from a large cat, and, indeed, the only way to lift a kitten without squeezing or hurting its soft little body is to lift it by its neck; but after it has grown larger its own weight is too great to be supported by such a bit of skin and fur as is so grasped by the hand, and many a cat suffers perfect tortures by being held in this manner, and is quite helpless to run or struggle, as in such a position certain of its muscles cannot be controlled, and it is absolutely at the mercy of its unconscious tormentor.

The same rule should be observed in lifting rabbits by their ears. They should always be partially supported by the free hand and not allowed to dangle with their whole weight straining from their large but necessarily delicate ears

Cat Caused Much Trouble

1916

Family Pet Has Been Formally Cautioned that "The Cave" is Not Public Property

Out in Woodruff place a number of small boys have banded together and done what most boys have done if they were real-for-sure boys — built a cave, says the Indianapolis News. Approaching this cave is a long underground tunnel about two feet square. What there is in this tunnel in the way of side chambers and the like, the fathers and mothers never will know, but at the inside end of the tunnel is the den, about five feet square, built in a side hill and as dark as the most cavernous depths of a Wyandotte cave.

One of the youngsters belonging to the band of cave dwellers hurried home from school the other afternoon, donned his cave outfit, and made for the tunnel. Crawling in flat on the ground, he made his way toward the den. Arriving there, he heard a scrambling noise just ahead and two fiery spots loomed up in the darkness. His teeth chattered with fright. He couldn't back away, he was too frightened to go forward, and there was no chance of escape at either side. The fiery spots became active and the boy became panicky.

Just what happened in there the outside world will never know, but when the cat — it was the family cat — came out of the tunnel it was going some. No cat ever moved faster, and it didn't stop until it had reached a barn three lots away.

And the boy — when he emerged his face was as white as the arctic snow and he was moving rapidly for the open. The next afternoon the boy painted a sign on which were the words: "The Cave" in white paint, on a blazing yellow background. Gazing proudly at the sign he explained: "Now, if that fool cat can read, he'll keep out of there."

—The Edwardsville Intelligencer, Edwardsville, IL, Sept. 19, 1916, p. 4.

Big Tarantula in Prison

1905

Interesting Pet Prisoner in Ohio State Penitentiary

Besides the big yellow rat catcher Tabby and the Maltese Dan, which will do all the tricks commonly done by dogs, such as jumping through the hands, sitting up to "say his prayers," etc., the Ohio penitentiary boasts another interesting pet.

He arrived recently from the sunny south in a bunch of bananas and is a great tarantula, which looked so ferocious they put him in solitary confinement on sight, although no misdemeanors can be proved against him. When standing with his legs spread out he just fills the bottom of the pint milk bottle in which he slept last night. A hole was cut in the cover for air and Mexico Pete, as the guards have named him, did very well last night, but will require larger quarters when he desires to exercise.

His chief amusement was tying into bundles the numerous flies which by some odd song or perfume were attracted into his bottle. Those he couldn't eat he spun a chain around and laid by for future provisions. Pete is dark red and very hairy — for his covering is too long and coarse to be simply "fuzzy" — and although he has ten legs, like any tarantula, his body is larger, and he has a head something like a turtle's. He is also blessed with a ravenous appetite and his mouth could be plainly seen opening and closing last night, already in anticipation of his morning breakfast of bananas.

What "Decimated" Means

1915

The French communique described the attacking Germans east of Rheims as having been "decimated." Many persons wonder whether the word was used in its strict sense, or in the looser fashion now too common, as signifying very heavy loss.

"Decimated" is, in fact, a much weaker word than many who employ it realize. It means only the loss of one in ten. The original "decimation" was the Roman military punishment of a number of soldiers who had been guilty of some joint crime. One-tenth were chosen by lot to be punished with death or some other penalty, the rest getting off with the substitution of barley for wheat in their rations.

That the punishment was not common in early Rome is shown by the fact that the verb "decimare" is post-Augustan; but an instance of the practice occurs as early as 470 B. C.


Rabbits Adopted By a Motherly Cat

1905

Glen Mallory of Athens, New York state, has a handsome cat which has mothered eight baby rabbits. She had recently raised a number of kittens, having had them, in a comfortable box in the cellar of the house.

When they were weaned and given away the cat, which has long been a great favorite in the house, owing to its sagacity, was restless and ill at ease. A few days ago she disappeared and in a couple of days returned. When she was found there were in the nest eight little bunnies, apparently well contented with the great care which she bestowed upon them.

Where she got them is a mystery, and her owner is curious to know whether she stole them from the nest of some rabbit or whether their own mother was recently bagged by some enterprising hunter.

Parrot Stories

1896

There was an old factotum in our family who used to sew for us, and who occasionally spent several weeks at a time at the house. She was somewhat of a character, had been married three times, and to distinguish her second dear departed was in the habit of calling him "my middle husband;" old maids she naturally did not approve of, remarking that they were the only things not prayed for in the Litany. The old woman was very deaf, and much shouting was needed to make her hear. One day many vain efforts were made to induce her to do a piece of work in a particular way, but she could not or would not see what was wanted, and at last, in despair, the lady of the house remarked to the nurse, "Oh, never mind; when she is gone, it must be altered." "Ah," remarked the parrot, in a loud, clear voice, "there's no fool like an old fool."

The parrot had on one morning been given a bath, or in other words, the garden watering can had been turned upon him, and he was placed in front of the fire to dry. There were two small kittens who also liked the warmth of the fire, and who were sitting one on each side of the cage. The bird walked first to one side, and looking down out of the corner of his eye, inquired, "Are you a good boy?" Then he sidled across to the other end of his perch and said to the other kitten, "And are you a good boy?"

One day two children of our family visited the house, and when alone amused themselves by mischievously pulling up some tulips, which grew in a pot in the room, by the roots, afterwards carefully replacing them. A little later Polly's master, to whom the plants belonged, came into the room, and immediately exclaimed, "Oh, look at my tulips; see how they are growing." Polly at once uttered two words, and only two; they were, "You ass!" I need hardly say that some time elapsed before the owner of the tulips was made acquainted with all the particulars of what had happened. — Chambers's Journal.

Editorial Remarks — "The Balmy Days of January"

1911

Next June we all may long for the balmy days of January.

Possibly the pet in the cat show would enjoy more keenly life in the alley.

Some people can find a typographical error who never find an idea of their own.

We have yet to discover an egg that has been improved by the cold storage treatment.

"Gaseous imbecility" has taken its place in the hall of fame beside "Innocuous desuetude."

Higher education, too, has its dangers. An Illinois girl started for college, but got married on the way.

Chicago is to have grand opera in English next season. If Chief Steward has his way it will also have it in clothing.

In the Boston high schools 3,000 girls are taking the commercial course. The boys will have to go west or south.

A Denver surgeon was stricken with appendicitis while operating on a patient for that disease. Maybe it is catching, after all.

That Jersey architect who failed to provide a stairway for a new schoolhouse must have realized that this is the age of aviation.

Three and a half billions was the value of the foreign trade of the United States last year. Pretty big country this, isn't it?

Russia affords a big market for American typewriters. To judge from the cartoons we see, Russia is not a big market for American safety razors.

Puss Sailed Away

1900

Went Aboard a Steamship and Made Herself Quite at Home

If there is anything in the popular superstition among sailors that "a cat brings good luck," the voyage of the British steamship Thalia will be a pleasant one, says the Savannah News.

A fine, large Maltese cat went aboard the day before she sailed, and composedly curled herself up on the heavily upholstered crimson sofa in the officers' saloon, and when the vessel sailed she was a contented passenger. "She is an old traveler," said the steward, as he stroked her soft fur "and this is not her first voyage. Cats like a change, and they will visit one vessel and then another in port until they find one that suits them; and they are knowing animals, and seem to have some intuition when a vessel is going to sail.

"Do I think a cat brings luck? Oh, yes. It's good luck to have a cat come to you. Why, that's not a superstition of sailors alone. Did you ever see a landlubber that didn't believe it? That cat will have the best treatment on board; besides, there's no end to the rats on board, and the cat will be useful as well as lucky for us."


Friends Are Discovered

Friends are discovered rather than made; there are people who are in their own nature friends, only they do not know each other; but certain things, like poetry, music and painting, are like the Freemasons' signs — they reveal the initiated to each other. — Mrs. Stowe.

Farmer Charges Cat Sucked Breath From Children

1908

Gladstone, Michigan — Two children of Clarence Stearns, a farmer living near this village, are dying and three others are seriously ill, due to a cat having "sucked their breath" when they lay asleep in bed.

The father, in the dim light, saw the family cat sitting on the child's breast, its nose close to the babe's lips. The cat's claws scratched the child's breast as the father drew it away.

Going to the bed of the other children he found, he says, that the cat had sucked the breath of all and that two were so ill it was necessary for him to hitch up his horses and drive to the village for a doctor.


Goat and Man in Duel

Kansas City, Missouri — Bruised and battered on all four sides and with all of his corners knocked off, Frank Schleich lies on a cot in the emergency hospital as the result of a battle in the dark between him and a goat. The goat invaded Schleich's room in the barn and, as the man was unarmed, the goat might have killed him had it not been for the arrival of another barn man, who subdued the horned and whiskered beast by throwing a horse blanket over its head.


Baby Born with Brand

Peoria, Illinois — A letter "H" as distinct as though branded with an iron shows on the forehead of the two-months-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hartman of Alton.

Neighbors gather daily at the Hartman home to view the unusual birthmark, which is exactly in the middle of the forehead and which has become more plainly visible within the last few weeks.

Physicians say the birthmark will disappear within two or three years.

A Pet Cemetery

1908

Where Pet Dogs and Cats Are Buried In State

New York. — In a picturesque little spot situated on one of the most beautiful of the Hartsdale hills lies one of the oddest of cemeteries. The casual visitor here, inspecting the inscriptions on the tombstones, would expect to see records of long forgotten generations, perhaps the history of the village in the lives of its citizens, but instead the stones contained nothing but inscriptions to dogs, with an occasional cat epitaph here and there.

"Fido, asleep," "Our beloved fox terrier, Flossie," "Dedicated to the memory of our pet cat, Smutty." Such a jumble of inscriptions meet the eye that the visitor begins to wonder whether the souls of Fido and Smutty now rest peacefully side by side or whether they arise at the witching hour to fight out once more their lifelong battle. In that case even the back fences of Harlem would be preferable to the rural peace of Hartsdale.

This cemetery, moreover, contains French dogs and French inscriptions and German dogs. And just as human tombstones have little angels on them so these dog tombstones have little puppies carved on them playing with toys. Next to one of the graves the owner has erected a big rustic mourner's bench so that he may grieve for his pet in comfort.

The most elaborate grave is that of a bulldog that once belonged to a family named Willson. Besides having a big granite stone at the head, it has two little bay trees on either side, and at the foot is a little marble trough with three little marble canaries drinking out of it. The canaries would be more easily explained if it were a cat grave, but perhaps this particular bullpup had feline predilections.

For six months after he was buried tali dog had fresh violets or roses placed upon his grave every day, it is chronicled. The burial cost the bulldog's owner over $500.

The grave digger of the cemetery also tells of dogs buried in rosewood or mahogany coffins, some with gold handles, and gold, jewel-studded collars around their necks.

"You have no idea," he will wander on, "how much money some undertakers make on the side in these dog coffins. Often the coffins are lined with plush or velvet and cost large sums of money.

"And then some people insist on having their dogs embalmed before they are willing to bury them. Of course the undertakers keep that part of their business very secret, but they do it just the same."

Many of the dogs that were prize winners in their lively days have all their trophies, ribbons, silver mugs and such things buried with them. Others have all their old collars, whips and playthings, and one woman actually buried a Bible and rosary with a dog.

"Of course I know it must seem very silly," she said in explanation, "but it just makes me feel better, so why shouldn't I do it?"

"And do they have real funerals for dogs, with services and so on?" asked the seeker of information of the digger of graves.

"Well, no; no real services," he explained, "though some of them would like to, I guess, by the way they act.

"Sometimes they bring the body up from New York in an automobile, sometimes they ship it up as freight and meet it at the railway station with carriages. Only family and friends, you know. There are never very many of them.

"But the way those people act when it comes to covering up the box is — well — just about the limit. And the men are not much better than the women, either. I've got a pretty interesting job, I can tell you.

"And most of them come up regularly and see to it that I'm keeping the grave in OK condition. And on the day of the dog's death they usually decorate the grave with flowers. I can tell you I wouldn't mind being some dogs."

There are now 450 dogs and about 20 cats buried in the cemetery. Plots cost from $15 to $25 each, including a zinc lined box which is hermetically sealed for shipping. This, however, is only the minimum expense for a dog funeral, and from this point the price goes up far into the hundreds.

Cat Mummy Found in Ceiling

1900

Body of Inquisitive Cat Found After Many Years

Egyptian mummies are not so much of a rarity nowadays as they once were, in fact they may even at present be looked upon as an article of commerce, but the body of a mummified cat found at Germantown has claims to be regarded, as a curiosity. The mummy is now to be seen in the window of 14 Chelten avenue, Germantown. The preservation of the body is perfect, the ears and even the tail being in good condition.

The house indicated is occupied by the family of J. S. Pryor. Mrs. Pryor says that when the ceiling of the Methodist Episcopal church, on Haines street, was being torn down for repair Oct. 24, 1877, the workmen came across a hard substance embedded in the ceiling. On being dug out the substance was cast aside. Mr. Pryor, who was watching the repairs, brushed the accumulated dust and dirt from the castoff object, and the mummified body of a cat appeared.

How the quadruped got into the interior structure of the ceiling, there to die, is a mystery. The church was built in 1858. The only plausible theory so far presented is that the cat, by some means, got into the ceiling while the original plastering was in progress and tarried until sealed in. The plaster on hardening became air-tight and the cat by exhausting the air in its adopted prison cell unconsciously preserved its body intact.

The Pryors intend to give the curiosity some day to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. — Philadelphia Times.


Love

Love is one part instinct and nine parts imagination.

An Extinct Animal — Saber Toothed Tiger

1907

The Saber Toothed Tiger Was a Formidable Creature

The most remarkable of all the extinct feline animals are those known to naturalists as the saber toothed cats or tigers, a group comprising the greater part of all the fossil forms. They date back to the earliest times of which we know anything about the family in North America and reach down to the time of man himself.

A large and powerful species described from the Indian Territory by Cope lived contemporaneously with the hairy mammoth, as evidenced by the commingling of their skeletons. There can be little or no question but that the hairy mammoth was contemporaneous with man in North America as well as in Europe. Its geological range is from the close of the Eocene to the latter part of the Pleistocene.

The chief peculiarity of the animal is the extraordinary elongated canine teeth. The tail is of unusual length and the legs are short. The animal measures about seven feet in length aside from the tail. The lower jaws have a downward projection in front, due to a flange-like widening of the jawbones, which doubtless served as a protection to the teeth, preventing their injury or loss. In some of the larger forms from South America this flange was not present, while the canine teeth were even more elongated than is the case with this species, attaining a length of over six inches and protruding far below the jaws when closed.


A Chinese Solomon

Two Chinamen, brothers, well advanced in age, quarreled over a piece of land which they had jointly inherited from their father and went to law. The native magistrate heard the testimony on both sides and determined that both were wrong and both right, according to the different points of view. Therefore, instead of rendering a judgment in favor of either, he ordered that both be locked up in a cangue with their heads fastened face to face and kept there until they settled their quarrel. The cangue is a sort of cage in which prisoners are placed with their necks locked into a hole in a board. It resembles somewhat the stocks which were used for the punishment of malefactors in olden times. When the brothers were placed in the cangue, they were both very stubborn and indignant, but toward the end of the second day they began to weaken and on the third day reached a satisfactory settlement and were released.

Why a Cat Lights on Its Feet

1896

An experimenter recently undertook to discover why a cat invariably fell on its feet. He finds that a cat always falls on its feet providing it has a distance of a yard to fall in and enable to make a half turn in the air, so as get its feet undermost. It holds its paws vertically and manages to preserve this position during the rest of its fall, in spite of the initial movement of rotation taken by its body.

The mechanical explanation is simply that the animal, by thrusting forward its left limb, shifts the center of gravity of the whole body so as to make revolve upon the axis of the spine until the feet reach the ground. Moreover, a cat does not hurt itself by all from a height, not because it invariably falls on its feet, but because the structure of a cat's back and spine is extremely flexible. The muscles of its legs are extraordinary strong and numerous, and, further, it has elastic pads or cushions consisting of a mass of fibrous tissue and fat on all its feet, seven in each forepaw and five in each hind paw. — Chicago News.