Untitled

^hEels"e sp,Wwwt Bffiqpd;&e,@trsThe review in our Marcla issue of Miss Frances pitt's enthralling work," Friends in Fur and Featherr" was so enthusiastically received thatrt'e have had to bow to demands for an enco,re. Further extracts andpictures appear by kind permission of the pullishers, country Life Ltd.A LL cats, asserts Miss pitt, areAmotherll' creatures. Thev^ 'rend their kitrens u.irh fonde,tc!--ncern and are easily persuaded toadopt strange foundlings. But theyneler give their full allegiance tomankind, reserving the right to r.valkbv themselves when they feel soinclined.Her Granny Cat, a Shorthairedtabby and white personage, had un_usual instincts in this direction. Sheadopted and brought up a smallfarmvard rat na.med SamuelWhiskers and the story of this quaintassociation is something to read andmarvel at. After Samuel had met anuntimely end through, it wasthought, a fight rvith an intruderrat, Granny took on the job ofmothering some tiny rabbits, whichrvas all the more remarkable becauseshe rvas a great hunter and lovednothing better than a. nice plumpvoung rabbit. Indeed, she o{tenbrought one home after a night o{hunting in the near-by u,oods as anoffering to Samuel Whiskers ! Akitten rvould have accepted the foodgift gladly, so I'hy not her belovedrat ?Truant RabbitsYet, despite Granny.s poachingprociivities, NIiss Pitt had no troublein getting her to adopt some babyrabhits, trro of rrhich uere insinu_ated amongst Granny,s ou.n litter.A picture of the family groqpappears on page 17. The rabbitsacc"pr ed the cals ancl Granny,though often u'orried by their anticstoand activity, bestorved on themevery care. The rabbits uould tanaboul and venture too Ia.r aivay.Granny would race a.f ter the runalvay,capture it and carry it backto the basket. A kitten, when carriedb5r its mother, knows betterthan to struggie and just hangslimply. But the litt1e rabbits rvouldprotest vigorously.Horrible TngedyHere is \,Iiss Pitt's prologue to thestory: " The kittens and the rabbitsplayed prettily together, but it u,asrather the kittens that played thanthe young rabbits. Hou.ever, I didnot anticipate trouble for the bunnieswere quick and 1ive1y and seemedwell abie to take care of themselves.Yet trouble did come, horribletragedy, Jor which the o1d cat was inno \yay responsible. I ought to haverealised that there u'as danger in therough ganubols of the mischievouskittens; I ought also to have rememberedthat it takes very 1iftle topull the trigger of instinct in theyoung predatory mammal. \\rhen Icame dorvn one morning there u,asoniv a bit of fur left ! ,Anotherquaint stcry of a cat,smothering instilct concerns peggy,u.ho brought up Felix Squirrel rvithher kitten Toby. peggy was akindiy, black-and-u.hite cdt and hernatural olTspring r,vas a Jat roly polyblue kitten. Felix was quicksilver!The three of them are also picturedon page 17. They rvere sent to l,IissPitt by an agitated ol,ner r,,ho wasalarmed that the young squirrel