Part 1 of 2
WINNING the friendship of a cat is a difficult business. The cat is a philosophical creature, methodical, quiet, tenacious of his habits, fond of order and cleanliness, who does not scatter his affections about indiscriminately.
He is quite ready to be your friend, should you prove worthy, but not your slave. In the midst of his tenderness he maintains free-will, and he will not do for you anything that he deems unreasonable.
But once he has given himself to you, what absolute confidence! what felicity of affection! He makes himself the companion of the hours of your solitude, melancholy, and toil.
Précis
French writer Theophile Gautier said that although gaining the friendship of a cat is a ticklish business, for it has very fixed ways and clear ideas of what it wants, anyone who does so will find that a cat is a faithful companion in good times and bad. (48 / 60 words)
Part Two
HE spends whole evenings on your lap, letting his purr run on, happy to be with you and forsaking the company of animals of his own species.
In vain do mewings wail upon the roof-tops, summoning him to one of those night-gatherings of cats in which a kipper takes the place of tea. He will not be tempted, but prolongs his vigil in your company.
If you put him down onto the floor, he will clamber back at once to his accustomed spot, with a sort of coo that is a gentle reproach.
Sometimes, as he stands before you, he will look at you with eyes so melting, so mellow, so caressing and so human, that it is almost scary: for it is impossible to suppose that there is no thinking mind behind them.
Précis
Gautier notes that a cat who has accepted you as a friend will demand exclusivity. He will no longer seek the companionship of other cats, preferring to spend all his time around you; but equally, he will expect you to spend your time with him, and such is his almost human intelligence and affection that no one could refuse. (59 / 60 words)