HOW TO TAKE CARE OF CATS.

“Mamma!” cried Philip, coming in one day with something in his arms, “see this poor kitty I found in the street!  A dog was barking at her and she ran straight into my arms.  May I keep her for my own?”

Mrs. Grant looked up from her work.  Such a rough-coated, dirty little cat as she saw!  But there was something in the tired, frightened eyes that touched her.

“Are you willing to take a good deal of trouble, Philip?” asked his mother.  “If not, it would be kinder to kill the poor thing quickly.”

“I am willing; indeed I am!” cried the boy.  “Please tell me what to do.”

“You should give her a saucer of warm milk, with a little bread crumbed in it first; for the poor kitten must be very hungry.  Then she will know you mean to be kind to her.  After that she had better sleep.  When she wakes up she will begin to feel at home, and then I think we must sponge her gently with warm water, because she is so very dirty.  You must not do that alone, but you may hold her and stroke her softly, and if you think she will scratch you I will get you a pair of old gloves.”

“Can we not put her in a little tub and bathe her?” asked Philip.

[Illustration:  Gentle kitty gray.]

“It is not best to do that if you can get her clean any other way.  Cats do not like water, and it frightens them very much, to be put into it.  Once in a great while we hear of cats that will be patient if put into a bath, but usually they will struggle and cry and act very much frightened.  As soon as this kitten has been fed and begins to get over her fright at being homeless, you will see her wash herself.

“Then you must make her feel at home,” said Mrs. Grant.  “You can take her in your arms and carry her about the house, talking softly to her, so that she may feel that you will be good to her.  It is fortunate that it is growing dark.  She can see better in the twilight, and is not so easily startled.”

The kitten lapped up the milk hungrily, and then came purring about the boy’s feet.

“Where may she sleep?” asked the boy, pleased to see that the kitten was not at all afraid of him.

“A low, wide basket half full of shavings will make a soft bed,” said Mrs. Grant.  “Over the shavings I will spread a piece of old flannel.  Cats like a warm, cosy bed, and it is always best to keep them in the house at night.”

To their delight, the kitten did not object at all to the warm bath.  She stood quite still while Mrs. Grant washed her gently and dried her in an old blanket.

“You can easily teach her to be clean if you are kind and patient,” said Mrs. Grant.  “She will not need a bath again, for she will learn to take care of herself; but it would be very good for her to be brushed every day, and I will give you a small brush for that purpose.  If you put a pan of dry earth where she can always get at it, she will give no trouble when she cannot go out of doors.”