A lady in France possessed a cat which exhibited great affection for
her. She accompanied her everywhere, and when she sat down always lay
at her feet. From no other hands than those of her mistress would she
take food, nor would she allow any one else to fondle her.
The lady kept a number of tame birds; but the cat, though she would
willingly have caught and eaten strange birds, never injured one of
them.
At last the lady fell ill, when nothing could induce the cat to leave
her chamber; and on her death, the attendants had to carry away the poor
animal by force. The next morning, however, she was found in the room
of death, creeping slowly about, and mewing piteously. After the
funeral, the faithful cat made her escape from the house, and was at
length discovered stretched out lifeless above the grave of her
mistress, having evidently died of a broken heart.
The instances I have given--and I might give many more--prove the strong
affection of which cats are capable, and show that they are well
deserving of kind treatment. When we see them catch birds and mice, we
must remember that it is their nature to do so, as in their wild state
they have no other means of obtaining food.