[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] SIR, —I read
with interest the letter in the Spectator of November 10th on the fisher-cat of Carisbrooke. I know of a cat, whose home was in Westmorland close to a stream, who was a regular and accomplished fisher. She was a half- Persian. Her daughter belongs to friends of mine, and I have myself seen this latter watching the goldfish in the children's aquarium (which at that time was open at the top and on a broad window-seat). Puss put in one paw, and stirred the water violently ; then sat down to watch with apparent satis- faction the terror of the fish, which she could not on that occasion reach. Once the family found she had caught one
and killed a second, so the aquarium was afterwards always covered by wire or net. One of this cat's kittens belonged to me, and was, for her short life of under a year, very dependent on human companionship. She came up to my bedroom frequently the first thing in the morning, and always took great interest in the washhand-basin, from which she would fish out the sponge or soap, and liked to have her paw in the water. She bad to be kept out of the bathroom, as more than once she deliberately jumped into the bath when it had in it a depth of two or three inches of water. If this daughter and granddaughter of the original fisher had lived near water, I think the fishing instinct would have developed, as the three generations all showed a fondness for this element, which cats as a rule are supposed to avoid.—I am, Sir, &c.,
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