The Cat At The Play

From the moment it opens its eyes and moves away from its mother, the kitten begins to play. It teases its brothers arid sisters, pushes and chases them and looks absolutely enchanting as it does so.

Mother cat keeps an eye on them but only intervenes if she thinks the game is getting too rowdy. She knows that the leaping and chasing and mock fighting builds up the kitten's strength, resistance and liveliness. And as the kitten grows, even when it is alone, it will still play.

It tries to catch everything that moves within its reach: the feather carried by a draught, a cork dancing on me end of a piece of string or a rolling ball, and it also chases insects and later on mice Much has been written about the cruelty of the cat. But the truth is that the cat, as it catches the mouse and then pretends to let it go, only to catch it again, is simply playing a game.

The prey has become a live cork on a string or a ball that runs instead of rolling. Observers of the cat believe that the movement of anything small that slides, rolls, or above all runs away, triggers off an automatic series of coherent movements in response. One only has to look at the face of a cat playing with a mouse -who can honestly say there is the least hint of cruelty in its eyes?