AN INTELLIGENT CAT

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVII, Issue 20, 20 May 1909, Page 37

AN INTELLIGENT CAT

Baron Von Gleichen, a German diplomat, used to tell a story of a favorite cat as a proof that feline race can think and draw practical conclusions. The cat was very fond of looking in mirrors hung against the walls, and would gnaw at the frames, as if longing to know what was inside. She had, however, never seen the backside of a mirror. One day the baron placed a cheval glass in the middle of the room, and the cat instantly took in the novelty of the situation.

Placing herself in front and seeing a second cat, she began to run round the mirror in search of her companion. After running round one way several times, she began to run the other, until fully satisfied that there was no cat beside herself outside of the glass. But where was the second cat? She sat down in front of the glass to meditate on the problem. Evidently inside, as she had often before imagined. Suddenly a new thought occurred to her. Eising deliberately, she put her paws on the glass in front and then behind, walked round to the other side, and measured the thickness in the same way. Then she sat down again to think. There might be a cavity inside, but it was not large enough to hold a cat. She seemed to come to the deliberate conclusion that there %vas a mystery here, but no cat, and it wasn't worth while to bother about it. From that time the baron said she lost all curisoity about looking-glasses.