The cat

{"text":"\nThe Cat\nBanjo Paterson\nMost people think that the cat is an unintelligent animal, fond of ease, and caring little for\nanything but mice and milk.

But a cat has really more character than most human beings, and\ngets a great deal more satisfaction out of life.

Of all the animal kingdom, the cat has the most\nmany-sided character.\nHe\u2014or she\u2014is an athlete, a musician, an acrobat, a Lothario, a grim fighter, a sport of the first\nwater. All day long the cat loafs about the house, takes things easy, sleeps by the fire, and allows\nhimself to be pestered by the attentions of our womenfolk and annoyed by our children. To pass\nthe time away he sometimes watches a mouse-hole for an hour or two\u2014just to keep himself\nfrom dying of ennui; and people get the idea that this sort of thing is all that life holds for the\ncat.

But watch him as the shades of evening fall, and you see the cat as he really is.\nWhen the family sits down to tea, the cat usually puts in an appearance to get his share, and\npurrs noisily, and rubs himself against the legs of the family; and all the time he is thinking of a\nfight or a love-affair that is coming off that evening.

If there is a guest at table the cat is\nparticularly civil to him, because the guest is likely to have the best of what is going.

Sometimes,\ninstead of recognizing this civility with something to eat, the guest stoops down and strokes the\ncat, and says, \u201cPoor pussy!

poor pussy!\u201d\nThe cat soon tires of that; he puts up his claw and quietly but firmly rakes the guest in the leg.\n\u201cOw!\u201d says the guest, \u201cthe cat stuck his claws into me!\u201d The delighted family remarks, \u201cIsn\u2019t it\nsweet of him?

Isn\u2019t he intelligent? HE WANTS YOU TO GIVE HIM SOMETHING TO EAT.\u201d\nThe guest dares not do what he would like to do\u2014kick the cat through the window\u2014so, with\ntears of rage and pain in his eyes, he affects to be very much amused, and sorts out a bit of fish\nfrom his plate and hands it down. The cat gingerly receives it, with a look in his eyes that says:\n\u201cAnother time, my friend, you won\u2019t be so dull of comprehension,\u201d and purrs maliciously as he\nretires to a safe distance from the guest\u2019s boot before eating it.

A cat isn\u2019t a fool\u2014not by a long\nway.\nWhen the family has finished tea, and gathers round the fire to enjoy the hours of indigestion,\nthe cat slouches casually out of the room and disappears.

Life, true life, now begins for him.\nHe saunters down his own backyard, springs to the top of the fence with one easy bound, drops\nlightly down on the other side, trots across the right-of-way to a vacant allotment, and skips to\nthe roof of an empty shed.

As he goes, he throws off the effeminacy of civilisation; his gait\nbecomes lithe and pantherlike; he looks quickly and keenly from side to side, and moves\nnoiselessly, for he has so many enemies\u2014dogs, cabmen with whips, and small boys with stones.\nArrived on the top of the shed, the cat arches his back, rakes his claws once or twice through\nthe soft bark of the old roof, wheels round and stretches himself a few times; just to see that\nevery muscle is in full working order; then, dropping his head nearly to his paws, he sends\nacross a league of backyards his call to his kindred\u2014a call to love, or war, or sport.\nBefore long they come, gliding, graceful shadows, approaching circuitously, and halting\noccasionally to reconnoitre\u2014tortoiseshell, tabby, and black, all domestic cats, but all\ntransformed for the nonce into their natural state.

No longer are they the hypocritical, meek\ncreatures who an hour ago were cadging for fish and milk. They are now ruffling,\nswaggering blades with a Gascon sense of dignity.

Their fights are grim and determined,\nand a cat will be clawed to ribbons before he will yield.\nEven young lady cats have this inestimable superiority over human beings, that they can\nwork off jealousy, hatred, and malice in a sprawling, yelling combat on a flat roof. All cats\nfight, and all keep themselves more or less in training while they are young.

Your cat may be\nthe acknowledged lightweight champion of his district\u2014a Griffo of the feline ring!\nJust think how much more he gets out of his life than you do out of yours\u2014what a hurricane\nof fighting and lovemaking his life is\u2014and blush for yourself. You have had one little love-\naffair, and never had a good, all-out fight in your life!\nAnd the sport they have, too!

As they get older and retire from the ring they go in for sport\nmore systematically; the suburban backyards, that are to us but dullness indescribable, are\nto them hunting-grounds and trysting-places where they may have more gallant adventure\nthan ever had King Arthur\u2019s knights or Robin Hood\u2019s merry men.\nGrimalkin decides to kill a canary in a neighbouring verandah.

Consider the fascination of it\n\u2014the stealthy reconnaissance from the top of the fence; the care to avoid waking the house-\ndog, the noiseless approach and the hurried dash, and the fierce clawing at the fluttering\nbird till its mangled body is dragged through the bars of the cage; the exultant retreat with\nthe spoil; the growling over the feast that follows.

Not the least entertaining part of it is the\ndemure satisfaction of arriving home in time for breakfast and hearing the house-mistress\nsay: \u201cTom must be sick; he seems to have no appetite.\u201d\nIt is always levelled as a reproach against cats that they are more fond of their home than of\nthe people in it.

Naturally, the cat doesn\u2019t like to leave his country, the land where all his\nfriends are, and where he knows every landmark. Exiled in a strange land, he would have to\nlearn a new geography, to exploit another tribe of dogs, to fight and make love to an entirely\nnew nation of cats. Life isn\u2019t long enough for that sort of thing. So, when the family moves,\nthe cat, if allowed, will stay at the old house and attach himself to the new tenants. He will\ngive them the privilege of boarding him while he enjoys life in his own way. He is not going\nto sacrifice his whole career for the doubtful reward which fidelity to his old master or\nmistress might bring.\nDownloaded from www.libraryofshortstories.com\nThis work is in the public domain of Australia. Please check your local copyright laws if you live\nelsewhere."}