CATS.
[To THE EDITOR or THE " SPECIATOR."] Sin,—I must take exception to your statement that cats are no good at catching rats and mice unless they are " half starved." Many cats have a hard enough life as it is, and for the Spectator, with its reputation as a lover of animals, to encourage " half starving " should not be allowed to pass without protest. I have lived with cats all my life and always keep three, and I can state positively that a properly fed cat is as good a mouser as a half- starved one. Cats have a strong instinct for sport, and catching mice and rats by them, as by dogs, is not solely for getting food. I have seen my cats after finishing their midday meal rush off after " sport," be it birds or mice. A half-starved cat will steal in the larder, and may often eat more mice than is good for it, but any one who really knows cats will, I am sure, agree that a cat in good condition, like any other animal, or any man, will work better than when underfed.—I am, Sir, &c.,
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