INTELLIGENCE IN ANIMALS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 1943, 19 March 1885, Page 3

INTELLIGENCE IN ANIMALS.

A correspondent in Nature gave a very • interesting account of "intelligence" in-a cat, He says :-Ono night a loud knock .-'. was heard at the back door, and as the door could not be reached by anyone out- :.. aide t!)e house except by getting over the ' garden wall, some alarm was caused, On , the knock being impatiently repeated, the door was opened, and.the cat ("Mrs r. Muffins") walked in with great dignity, ■"_ ': Since ■ then she -has never failed to make t- . : known her presence in the same way, ;\..v' always; waiting after the first, knock, •'".■ .-. Some .weeks elapsed before it was ascer- ' • tained how the knocking was produced but at length it was discovered that a . slip of wood which runs down the side of - ' : . the door was loose at the bottom; this ■ ' ,\ slip she pulls out with her paw, and then allows it to rebound. She is a very affec- . tionate mother, Some time ago her mis- . tress, by accident, hurt her kitten. ",," Mrs Muffins walked up to her and gave her two or three sharp slaps on the dress, .., The same thing occurred again soon after-

wards, but on the last occasion, as the servant was the offender "Mrs Muffins" followed her into the kitchen to chastise her. I m,iy also add that she has shown great intelligence in making her wants known to her friends.