Part 6

HOW THE CAT EATS.

1. This time, Jessie, I wish you would tell us something about the mouth of your cat, if you are not afraid she will bite you.

2. No! my kitty will not bite me; she knows I will not hurt her. Come, pussy, open your mouth and let me take a good look at it.

3. I see four long teeth in the front part of her mouth. The two on the upper jaw are the larger, but the two on the under jaw are the sharper.

4. When she shuts her jaws, these teeth would easily go through the skin and flesh of a rat or mouse, and very likely would break its bones.

5. Between these long teeth in front I can count six funny little teeth on each jaw. They are too small to be of much use. Back of her long teeth I can see three or four on each jaw, and these are sharp and stand up like saw-teeth.

6. When pussy licks my hand, I can feel that her tongue is rough, and this is what I read about it in my cat-book:

7. “The cat’s tongue is covered with little hooks, all pointing backward, so that when the food is in her mouth, the rough tongue helps her swallow it. With this rough tongue she laps up milk, licks the plate clean when she is fed, and licks the meat off from bones.

8. “The dog’s jaws are strong, so he crushes bones and eats the meat, bones and all; but the cat’s jaws are not strong enough for that, so she gets the meat off with her rough tongue.”

9. My pussy keeps clean by licking her fur, the hooks on her tongue brushing the dirt off. It is funny to see her wash her neck. She first licks her paw and makes it wet, and then she reaches up to her neck and uses her paw like a brush.

10. The old mother-cat licks her kittens all over, and keeps them clean before they can do it for themselves. She uses her jaws to carry her kittens about before they can walk. She takes them up carefully by the nape of their necks.

LESSON VIII.

OLD TOM AND THE EAGLE.

1. I will now tell you a story of a cat that made good use of his claws and teeth.

2. In a country place by the sea-shore an old eagle used to sail around in the air looking for something to eat.

3. If she saw a rabbit or a hare, or a little lamb or kid, she would pounce down and seize it in her strong claws, and fly away with it to her nest high up among the rocks.

4. The eagle became so bold at last that she would swoop down and carry off a chicken from the farm-yard close by the house.

5. One day old Tom, the house-cat, a big old fellow, went out to take a walk, and, as the weather was warm, he lay down in the sun to take a nap near by where the rabbits lived.

6. This old cat had done a great deal of hunting on his own account, and was not afraid of anything he had ever met.

7. The eagle saw Tom as he lay there asleep, and thinking she had found a nice, fat rabbit, she pounced down upon him and carried him off.

8. Tom awoke and found himself sailing through the air at a great rate, while something pinched him very unpleasantly in the back.

9. He turned and struck his sharp claws and teeth into the eagle, tore out her feathers, and then tore into her skin and flesh.

10. The eagle thought she had found a queer rabbit, and tried to let him go; but Tom held on and still tore and bit.

11. Soon the eagle began to lose strength and flapped slowly downward. At last she reached the ground so badly torn that she soon died, while the cat ran off with only a few scratches.

LESSON IX.

HOW THE CAT SEES.

1. Now, Jessie, will you please tell us all that you have found out about your kitty’s eyes?

2. Yes! When I looked at my pussy’s eyes, in the bright sunshine, I saw that they are round and yellow, with a black streak in the middle running up and down.