THE GREAT SMALL CAT
AND OTHERS

JIMINY CHRISTMAS: HIS FIRST
APPEARANCE
He Was Probably a Graceless
Vagabond, Born in the Gutter, With no
Pretensions to Breeding or Even
Good Looks

THE GREAT SMALL
CAT · AND OTHERS
Seven Tales

BY MAY E. SOUTHWORTH

ILLUSTRATED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS AND
DECORATED BY PEDRO J. LEMOS

PAUL ELDER AND COMPANY
PUBLISHERS · SAN FRANCISCO

Copyright, 1914
Paul Elder and Company
San Francisco

IN LOVING
MEMORY OF THURSDAY
MY OWN

[v]

INTRODUCTION

Everyone knows that there are all kinds ofpeople; also there are all kinds of cats, worthyand unworthy. No two are exactly alike, and bythose who do not class them in a bunch, but studythem as individuals, they are found to have decidedcharacteristics all their own, ever presentingstrange surprises in a mixture of the unexpectedhigher qualities of civilization and the evils oflowest barbarism. The appeal of the kitten is almostuniversal, as there are few men, women orchildren, even those who "shudder" at a real cat,who can resist the subtle charm of these fuzzylumps of playfulness. But cats, the alley cat, yourcat, my cat, anybody's cat, all cats are in need ofsome brave champion, someone who will endeavorto portray their better side and be able to soincrease for them the appreciation of mankindthat they will come to what is only rightfully theirown. Whatever your faith or practice may betouching cats, you are bound to admit that theymust surely have some kind of mission here onearth. The trend of modern beneficence showsthe day of even the cat is on the way, the daywhen they shall be better understood, making theworld kinder to them in recognizing that theseoften sadly abused little creatures, have the feelingscommon to flesh and blood and are timeswithout number, actuated by human thoughts andimpulses. Recent years have done much in theway of atonement for persistent error in regard[vi]to their nature, by thrusting upon them a balancelong their due in the form of many happy literarytributes, proving, in spite of much withering scorn,that environment has much more to do with theirlack of worth than has original sin.

The lowly state of the average cat, just toleratedfor its usefulness as a natural rat executioner,is unworthy of its better capabilities, andto the heart of a lover of the species, a cruelty.It is companionship which counts the most withcats, and when, instead of being a comfortablefamily institution as was intended, their naturebeing of the warmest and most sociable kind, theyare mercilessly relegated to the cold cellar orouthouse to battle for