“ It is a far too common thing for a cat, after lighting a cigar, to throw a wax vesta or a deadly fusee upon the carpet or the bare boards. These animals will leave candles in immediate proximity to curtains, and forget all about them in an exciting chase after mice that have as much right to live as themselves. ”

“ A merciful Providence is metaphorically said to have made the back of the domestic cat exceeding broad, in exquisite adaptation to the moral load which that anatomical structure has to carry. We all know that most fires are due to cats. Cats are culpably careless in the use of matches. ”

“ The Standard treats the painful subject in a reprehensibly frivolous spirit, even suggesting that cabs, railway carriages, bank-notes, and library books are as bad as cats. The germs of infection are, it is to be feared, everywhere, and life would become impossible if we were always speculating on the chances of coming within the grasp of disease. Meanwhie it is desirable that criminal cats should be brought to justice, and that contaminated articles — edible, potable, or otherwise — should be destroyed. ”