Abstract
MR. THOMSON'S communication in NATURE, vol. xxi. p. 324, has reminded me of an incident which may be of interest to your readers. I have a well-bred and gentle tortoiseshell cat, a feline lady. It is her habit not to steal food from dishes which the family is using; in cold weather, if a dish is placed in the fender to keep warm, its contents are safe from pussy. She has a kitten by no means so refined as herself, one, in fact, that takes after the other parent, a half-wild cat of the gardens. One morning recently the old cat was lying at our breakfast time upon the hearthrug; the kitten was playing about. It was a very cold morning, and a plate of herrings was put into the fender to be kept warm until they were to be eaten. The kitten smelling the fish, stepped gaily forward, with tail erecting itself, towards the fender. An angry growl from the old cat attracted the notice of all in the room, and to my intense amusement and surprise, I saw her strike the kitten a violent blow in the chest, strong enough to overturn the little creature, which retired humiliated to another part of the room.
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MACKENNAL, A. Intellect in Brutes. Nature 21, 397 (1880). https://doi.org/10.1038/021397c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/021397c0
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