Catnip

“ To the west is a beautiful but weirdly bacchanalian park, with long groves of catnip, where young super-cats have their fling, and where a few crazed catnip addicts live on till they die, unable to break off their strangely undignified orgies. ”

“ Kittens begin to tumble and play before they are two weeks old. They will roll and toss a ball, hunting it from the dark corners, lay in silent wait for each other, and suddenly spring upon an unsuspecting fellow-cat-baby's back, just as they will do later in life, when seeking their prey. I have seen them play with a catnip mouse for hours at a time, just as the mother cat plays with a real mouse. ”

“ Cats of all sizes and all kinds, cats of all ages, from tiny furry babies wheeled in perambulators by their mamas to gray old grandpas hobbling along by the aid of canes or crutches—all the cats of Catnip Island had trooped down to the shore to watch the landing of the Merry Mouser. Captain Mittens, decked out in the False Hare's jewelry, was the first to leave the pirate ship. He stepped along jauntily, nose in the air and the haughtiest kind of expression on his whiskered face. After him came Growler leading Rudolf, then Prowler with Ann, then the Maltese pirate with Peter by the hand. ”

“ Traps set along a trail and near an obstruction meant to divert the mountain-lion close to a scratch hill, are only partly successful. The trapper may, however, take advantage of the mountain-lion's « 5 » keen sense of smell by dropping a few drops of oil of catnip in the center of the undisturbed scratch hill, as a lure.
Why catnip is so attractive to members of the feline family is not yet fully known. Experiments have indicated that it produces sexual excitation and also that it has a soothing effect on the nervous system, similar to that of opiates on man. ”

“ It is sore as a bile, and anarky don’t seem to relieve it a mite. If I had some good lobely and catnip,” sez I, “I believe I could make a poultice that would relieve it; but where would I git lobely and catnip here?” sez I.
“Wall,” sez he—willin’ creeter always when I am sick—“Martin and I had made a agreement to ride to Hyde Park this mornin’, and I shouldn’t wonder a mite if I could find some lobely and catnip growin’ there idegenus. I will look for some, anyway.” ”

“ But think how much more pleasure it will give; for cats can enjoy and dolls can't. These presents are useful and instructive; for we have not only food and drink, but catnip and cataplasms for the poor darlings, if they have catarrh or any other catastrophe of that sort; but here is a little catechism for the kits, and string for cats' cradles when they have learned their lessons. ”

“ An' that's what's called Catnip; sure Oi moind well the day Oi furst larned about that. It warn't a Injun 205 nor a docther nor a man at all, at all, that larned me that. It was that ould black Cat, an' may the saints stand bechuxt me an' his grane eyes! Bejabers, sometimes he scares me wid his knowin' ways, but I hev nothin' agin him except that he kills the wee burruds. He koind o' measled all wan winter an' lay around the stove. ”

“ Cats are fond of catnip, and we know of instances where kittens, displaying a violent resistance to being carried in a basket, have been quieted by being given some leaves of this herb. Animals no doubt receive pleasure from the gratification of their sense of smell, but there is about as much reason in conquering an unruly school-boy by giving him a sniff of cologne water, as in taming a colt by causing him to smell that or any other perfume. ”

“ There, they pull off their red breeches, or their long slip of Stroud cloth, and wrapping it round their arm, so as to reach to the lower part of the palm of their right hand, they dive under the rock where the large cat-fish lie to shelter themselves from the scorching beams of the sun, and to watch for prey: as soon as those fierce aquatic animals see that tempting bait, they immediately seize it with the greatest violence, in order to swallow it. ”

“ He was afraid to stop any one, afraid to go into the store and ask for help, so he sat wringing his long sleeves and looking up a telegraph pole beside him, whimpering, "My kitten, oh, my kitten! Her will fweeze!" At the top of the pole crouched a shivering gray kitten, mewing faintly and clinging desperately to the wood with her claws. The boy had been left at the store while his sister went to the doctor's office, and in her absence a dog had chased his kitten up the pole. The little creature had never been so high before, and she was too frightened to move. ”

“ This is done by a most beautiful bit of mechanism, somewhat on the principle of what are called `lazy tongs.' The cat-fish possesses a like feature, but on a much larger scale, the front part of the mouth being capable of being protruded between two and three inches when seizing prey.'"
Cat, Native, n. a small carnivorous marsupial, of the genus Dasyurus. The so-called native cat is not a cat at all, but a marsupial which resembles a very large rat or weasel, with rather a bushy tail. ”

“ Catkins are imperfect flowers hanging from trees in the manner of a rope or cat’s-tail.
Cat’s-meat, Cat-thyme, and Cat’s-foot are the names of herbs; Cat’s-head of an apple, and also of a kind of fossil. Cat-silver is a fossil. Cat’s-tail is a seed or a long round substance growing on a nut-tree.
A Cat-fish is a shark in the West Indies. Guanahani, or Cat Island, a small island of the Bahama group, in the West Indies, is supposed to be so called because wild Cats of large size used to infest it, but I can find no particulars upon the subject in the works of writers on the West Indies. ”

“ The hair of the Wild Cat is soft and fine, and of a pale yellow colour, mixed with grey; a dusky-coloured line runs along the back, from its head to its tail; the tail is thick, and marked with bars of black and white. It is larger and stronger than the tame Cat, and its fur much longer. It inhabits the most hilly and woody parts of this island, lives in trees, and hunts for birds and small animals, such as rabbits, hares, rats, mice, moles, &c.; and it is also very destructive among poultry. The Cat seems to possess something like an additional sense, by means of its whiskers. ”

“ Jule put in.
“Sure it will!” continued Case. “And catfish are never found at the bottom of the river. They call them catfish because they climb up on things.”
“You’re the wise little fisher boy,” laughed Alex. “A catfish couldn’t climb to the surface of the river if they had an electric elevator. They live in the mud and eat in the mud. After they get a square meal, they stretch out on a bed of silt like a cat on a sitting room floor. Now get these lines over and I’ll show you what a real catfish looks like.”
The boys took the lines into their hands and leaned over the stern. ”

“ For when the basin of water is thrown in her face she “shakes her ears” just as a cat would. Again, before putting on her magic dresses she bathes in a pellucid pool. Now, Professor Child has pointed out in his notes on Tamlane and elsewhere (English and Scotch Ballads, i. 338; ii. 505; iii. 505) that dipping into water or milk is necessary before transformation can take place. It is clear, therefore, that Catskin was originally transformed into an animal by the spirit of her mother, also transformed into an animal.
If I understand Mr. Nutt rightly (Folk-Lore, iv. 135 seq.) ”

“ Cat’s numerous family is like the newcomer. This kitten has only two feet and walks or hops about like a kangaroo. There are only tufts of fur where the front legs ought to be. In hopping about, the kitten balances itself with its tail, which it uses as a sort of rudder. ”

“ Several species or varieties of Cat-fish are found in the Ohio, namely the Blue, the White, and the Mud Cats, which differ considerably in their form and colour, as well as in their habits. The Mud Cat is the best, although it seldom attains so great a size as the rest. The Blue Cat is the coarsest, but when not exceeding from four to six pounds, it affords tolerable eating. The White Cat is preferable to the last, but not so common; and the Yellow Mud Cat is the best and rarest. ”

“ Catissou could see nothing, but she guessed what was taking place, and she uttered a scream. Bang! A blow from a fist like a hammer on her head, and she fell senseless. The man must have had cat's eyes; he could see everything, and took good aim. If Catissou was not killed by the knife, it was because it had broken off short; still the fist was enough for the man's purpose in her case. ”

“ I said to it. “I’ll bet that right this very second one of your nearest relatives is in that great big yellow-stomached catfish I caught a half hour ago at the mouth of the branch.”
Anybody knows that one of the best baits in the world to use to catch a catfish at night is a juicy grub worm, which is a little C-shaped larva which hatches out of an egg of a scarab beetle, such as a June beetle or some other kind. ”

“ The two had been thrown unceremoniously into a small summer house at the end of the Queen's garden. It was surrounded by cat guards, so their chances for escape were cut off on every side.
"Maybe something'll happen," sighed Snip, pressing his nose against the slats. It had been late afternoon when they reached Catty Corners and in the gathering gloom the giant cats, parading up and down, looked like some dreadful sort of goblins. Turning back to Pajuka for comfort, Snip was horrified to see that the goose had drawn up one foot and closed his eyes. ”

“ I want to tell you about two little Persian kittens called Tompkins and Minette. They were the prettiest you have ever seen with their long fluffy fur, their small ears and little impudent stumpy noses. They looked such innocent darlings, you felt you must kiss them, but like most kittens, they dearly loved a little fun, and as for mischief—well, you shall hear all about them.
Their mother was a very handsome Persian cat Salome, with a proud walk and very dignified ways. ”

“ Slowly, digging his claws into the dirt, biting at the rope that held him fast, the cat was drawn toward the pinyon tree despite all his struggles. Tad's object was to pull the beast off its feet, in which position it would be unable to do very much damage.
Perhaps the cat realized something of this, for all of a sudden it sprang to the base of the tree and with a roar landed up among the lower limbs.
Ere the beast even felt the touch of the tree limb under its feet, the brave Chunky was several rods away peering from behind a rock, howling like a Comanche Indian. ”

“ The catbird is a clever imitator and many a woodsman has been misled by thinking he was on the trail of a bird he much hoped to secure, or watch. Suddenly, when he nears the place where he heard the note of the rare bird, the disappointed human will hear the catbird give a mocking laugh. It also mews like a cat, so naturally that it derives its name from the habit. I may add that Woodcraft Indians should offer an honour to every catbird that overcomes the disagreeable habit of hoarse mewing. ”

“ As in structure so in habits, the cat may be considered the most specialized of all Carnivora, although they exhibit many features connecting them with extinct types. All the members of the group feed almost exclusively on warm-blooded animals which they have themselves killed, but one Indian species, Felis viverrina, is said to prey on fish, and even fresh-water molluscs. ”

“ In Welsh and Cornish the name is cath. If Martial’s cattae refer to this animal, the earliest Latin use of the name dates from the 1st century of our era. In the work of Palladius on agriculture, dating from about the year a.d. 350, reference is made to an animal called catus or cattus, as being useful in 488 granaries for catching mice. This usage, coupled with the existence of a distinct term in Gaelic for the wild species, leaves little doubt that the word “cat” properly denotes only the domesticated species. ”

“ Now for the bait!
It was the month of May. Nature had brought abroad myriads of living beings; they covered the earth, glided through the water, and swarmed in the air. The catfish is a voracious creature, not at all nice in feeding, but one who, like the Vulture, contents himself with carrion when nothing better can be had. A few experiments proved to us that, of the dainties with which we tried to allure them to our hooks, they gave a decided preference, at that season, to live toads. These animals were very abundant about Henderson. ”

“ Its spines are capable of inflicting painful wounds. Salt mackerel, worms, or live minnows are good bait. Another thing it is well to remember is that the cat-fish never bite when an east wind is blowing. Professor Jordan, of Indianapolis University, says: "Cat-fishes are vivacious and indiscriminate feeders, any of the animal substances, living or dead, being greedily swallowed by them. They are also extremely tenacious of life, living for a long time out of water and being able to resist impurities in the water better than any other of our food fishes." ”

“ Their exquisite fish, oysters, crabs, and foreign fruits upon the whole bring them upon a value with us.
Their fish differ from ours, even some species. Their catfish is the only sort in which we excel; they have none that answer to our blue cat, either in size or flavor, and nothing like our mud-cat. ”

“ But the biggest of them all are the catfish. These are monstrous creatures, these catfish of Reelfoot—scaleless, slick things, with corpsy, dead eyes and poisonous fins like javelins and long whiskers dangling from the sides of their cavernous heads. Six and seven feet long they grow to be and to weigh two hundred pounds or more, and they have mouths wide enough to take in a man's foot or a man's fist and strong enough to break any hook save the strongest and greedy enough to eat anything, living or dead or putrid, that the horny jaws can master. ”