Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 December 1895 — Peculiarities of Cats. [ARTICLE]

Peculiarities of Cats.

I was talking to a veterinary surgeon who makes a specialty of dogs and cats, and learned something about the latter animal that I never knew. Now that cats have become a fad, the information is of value. He says that the feline race, instead of having less affection than dogs for human beings, have more. Not only do they become strongly attached to places, as is generally known, but to persons. Deaths from homesickness are very common among cats, and, of course, this ailment is incurable, and not only do they die because removed from the loealities they love, but frequently the result of separation from people they are attached to proves fatal. A cat is not a friend to every person it allows to stroke it. A cat makes few friends, and those are very strong ones. It may live with a family for years and be thoroughly domesticated and yet have no love for the people. But when a cat really loves its master or mistress, separation will 'frequently cause the death of the animal, while a dog will become used to new masters.