All around
the sides of the cat-house are shelves or bunks, which are kept supplied
with clean hay, for their beds. Here one may see cats of every color and
assorted sizes, contentedly curled up in their nests, while their
companions sit blinking in the sun, or run out in the yards. Cooked
meat, crackers and milk, and dishes of fresh water are kept where they
can get at them. The cats all look plump and well fed, and, indeed, the
ordinary street cat must feel that his lines have fallen in pleasant
places.
Not so, however, with pet cats who may be housed there. They miss the
companionship of people, and the household belongings to which they have
been accustomed. Sometimes it is really pathetic to see one of these
cast-off pets climb up the wire netting and plainly beg the visitor to
take him away from that strange place, and give him such a home as he
has been used to. In the superintendent's house there is usually a good
cat or two of this sort, as he is apt to test a well-bred cat before
giving him away.
Somewhat similar, and even older than the Ellen Gifford Sheltering Home,
is the Morris Refuge of Philadelphia. This institution, whose motto is
"The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his
works," was first established in May, 1874, by Miss Elizabeth Morris and
other ladies who took an interest in the protection of suffering
animals. It does not limit its tender mercies to cats and dogs, but
cares for every suffering animal.
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