"That even the domestic cat is of a mixed nature; that is to say, a creature which is partly wild, and which must ever remain so, by reason of its destiny and purpose."
The decision further asserts that no citizen is justified in taking the life of a neighbour's cat, because of any depredations it may have committed; but the interesting clause is that which frankly acknowledges Pussy's independence of restraint. It is precisely because the French have always admitted this independence, and ungrudgingly granted to the cat her freedom, that they have learned to know her so well, and to cherish her so fondly. Buffon says she is the only brute which accepts the comforts, but rejects the bondage of domesticity; the only one which is tamed without servitude. M. Flourens maintains that she is not really domesticated at all, because she neither serves us nor associates with us, save capriciously, and as her own whims dictate. M. Fée, in his delightful book, "Etudes philosophiques sur l'Instinct et l'Intelligence des Animaux," defines domesticity as that change in the habits of a bird or beast which brings it within the scope of our influence, so that it lives contentedly, and without severe restraint, amid whatever surroundings we provide. According to this definition, the cat is truly domestic. No animal enjoys more keenly the luxury it is in our power to
