“I think she likes me already, mamma,” said Philip.

“I am sure she will like you if you are kind to her,” said his mother.  “If you hurt her, she will never forget it.  Dogs forgive many cruel blows, but a cat’s nature is different.  She is very brave in bearing pain, and she rarely cries out when she is hurt; but she is very sensitive, and that ought to make us careful how we handle her.  Don’t let the baby have the kitten to play with.  He could not understand how his clumsy little fingers hurt her.  He does not yet know the difference between a plaything and a playmate.  But you can teach him to feed her and to be kind to her.”

“What else must I do?” said Philip.

“You must keep a dish of water where Kitty can find it, and you must not forget to fill it every day with fresh water.  Cats are more dainty than dogs are.  They like clean dishes and fresh food.  They must have plenty of warm milk, and brown bread and milk.”  “May she eat meat and fish?” asked Philip.

“Not yet,” said his mother.  “She is too young.  When she is older she should have meat cut up and mixed with bread or vegetables.  The fat and tough fiber should be removed.  When raw meat is given, boiling water should be poured on it to cleanse it.  Fish may be given once a week.  That should be boiled and all the bones removed, as cats have sometimes been badly choked with fish bones.  Meat and fish should be fresh.  Dogs and cats have been poisoned by eating pieces of old meat and fish.”

“I thought cats lived on mice,” said Philip.

Mrs. Grant smiled.

“I am afraid that your kitty will starve if she has no food but the mice she finds here,” she said.  “Perhaps there are a few in the barn.  Never let her tease a mouse, Philip.  If you take the mice away from her when she plays with, them, she will learn, in time, to kill her prey quickly.”

“Fred’s cat eats asparagus,” said Philip.

“Yes; cats need some vegetable food.  They usually like corn, string beans, boiled rice, potatoes, cabbage, and even carrots.  Oatmeal, very thoroughly cooked, is an excellent food for them.  If you give your kitten corn to eat, you must scrape it carefully off the cob in such a way that she will get only the inside of the kernel.  I cut it for you, you know, so that the empty hulls are left clinging to the cob.”

“May she have all the milk she wants?” asked Philip.

“I think so,” said Mrs. Grant, “if you feed her regularly and not too often, and if you are sure that the milk is fresh and good.  In summer it is well to scald the milk, and it is safer to do this in winter also, if there is any doubt about its freshness.”

“What else may she have, mamma?”

“Corn bread and graham biscuits will be good for her, and perhaps she will like them crisp and dry better than if they are soaked.  You can raise some catnip next summer.  Kitty will like that dried quite as well as the green herb.  It may be kept for a special treat or for medicine, although a cat that can find plenty of grass rarely needs medicine.  In the winter you can have some grass growing in a pot or box of earth.”