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FELIS DOMESTIC
Tie Cats ps 4) ereae val) was so (upon ls Caf (wnt an eats fra ips
yy one who Killed this animal, the compensation being as much wheat cient to cover the
Domestic Cat eros
animal to the tip of its tail when held vertically with its muzzle retin
readily with any or all of the wild species with which it m
are fertile, Such erosses are always to be met with in countries where neste Cats are found and
they have at times been the enuse of no litle diffcuty to naturalists, and of much confuion ie deeeanns
species and in the synonymy. Generally, however, they carry in their appearance the iden oft
ferent hybrids usually
mn are those produced by the Domestic Cat breeding with F. eatus in E F. chavs and F. eafia
descent n be detested by any one who hes studied these
and F. orate, F. claus, and F. rubiginosa in India. The Domestic Cat. alo probably interbreeds wie
ity of London, 1863, p. 184
by Dr. Kelaart that he had seen a hybrid between the Domestic Cat and’
Asin, In Ceylon the late Mr. Blyth (Proceedings of the Zoologieal S\ a
translated by W. P. Hunter, p. 173)
jough not on his own authority, that the Cat has crossed with two of the native wild
cerrina. In Paraguay, Azara. states
(Natural History of the Quadrupeds of th River La Plata
Peauant (History of Quadra ? ates that the spesimen describe iy” him a
Sete ees i which is suposed to have been F sien
The Bema ets, which tice ite one of the offspring, which was mar
in the same manner as the male parent, but the ground-colour was cinereous.” E, L 1 ard (Catal f the
SouhrAiean Mem, 1862) abo remus tht “F. cara interning fely wth Whe denne nee, te
Eereeienee tes, and the mised progeny: pes all Uh femity and eekly
ee faa lee eee cena ee eevee
fib eo an thwe with treesed tai ex mentioned by Darwin (cima ed lana made Tenet
p47), iabiting the Malayan and Burn; eats with droping cam fom Chi
Faces azo are note for lenge : Persian tri, supposel by some to. be dere rom
ieee
Captain Owen (Narrative of Voyages, vol. fi, p. 180) states that at Mombas, on the east coust of Aiea, all the eats
th short stiff hair instead of fur. ‘The Domestic Cat differs from some of € "
covered wit rh f fur. "The D xe of the wild species in the first
nd T have seen a race of this anin
without any tecth at all, which fact did not seem to r ats incapable of mastieating their food without
212) says that the
years in Paraguay is onc fourth smaller than the European ca, hi
Ties close especially on the tail. In another part of South A
Aificlty. Rengger (Siugethiere von Paraguay, 1880, wstic eat which Ins bred for 300
re lanky body, and short, shiny, seanty beth
; i ere Roulin (Comptes Rendus de TAeadémi
Royale des Sciences, tome vi. p. 346) the introduced ext utters no reso aoa
is a pity
that this race eannot exterminate and supplant f the domestic breed. Near Mald
(Zoology of the Voyage of the ‘Beagle,’ Mam 20) shot a Dome
specimen was eareflly examined by Mr. Waterhouse, who o1
ado in La Plata, Darwin
ie Cat which seemed perfectly wild; and this
found it remarkable for its great
are numerous, consisting of black, white, striped Black
and brown. Black Cats generally have yellow eyes; white ones hare
an ae sometimes their eyes are different in eolour—one blue, d
shell cats ly females, a male of this hing a great rarity. Cats from Siam are of a fiw
ceolour. ‘The Angora cat is noted for its great size and its long js
soft far. This race presents various
individuals, such as white, greyish, a mixture of these twos and I have scen a remarlably fine male of na
rmouse-colour. It scoms that this race is not characterized by any particular lve forthe fur, "The tails of Dorenre
atly in lengths and some have a lengthened tuft of hair on the tip of theit ean. ths
and distinguishes those in India, at
is exhibited by individeals in other countries, Occasionally the
from their ancestor, such as F, chaws sometimes
Points by which a race isk
from an accident which hus happened to a parent; and Mivart (The Cat, Sane
P- 7) records ance of a female
FELIS DOMESTICA.
eat having her tail so much injured by a cartavhecl passing over it, that it was deemed best to cut it off
near the root. Afterwards she nd two litters; and in each, one or more of the kittens had merely stumps of
tails, the others having tails of the usual length.
Domestic Cat bogins to breed when about a year old, and has from five to eight yo
n is fifty-five days. Birds and small quadrupeds constitute the usual prey
mely fond of cow's milk and fish, which must be considered an acquired taste; for
bo obtained by the wild ancestor, and the second could but rarely be procured, althou
at exists at the present day, whose diet does mainly consist of fish, The’ sense of smell in the Cat is
well developed ; and its chief reliance in catching prey is quick sight, astonishing rapidity of movement, together with
sharp claws and tee
The actions of the Domestic Cat in approaching, springing upon, and sci
reduced scale, those of its large relative the ‘Tiger when attacking its prey in the jungle
f the lithe body are seen in both creatures; and the stroke from the armed paw is delivered by both animal alike
Heat is much enjoyed by the eat; and the fireside in winter, and the sunny side of buildings are its coveted rex
Water, as a rule, is avoided; and it is only with the greatest reluctance that the eat permits any portion ofits body
to become wet. ‘The Domestic Cat is subject to the attacks of various parasites, which exist in the stomach or its
Tining membrane, and also in the liver and lungs. ‘These parasites are the eanses of diferent forms of sickness, such
as colic darrhce, inflammation of certain organs, convulsions, and general wasting avvay. De. Cobbold, in his work
fon the Internal Parasites of our Domesticated Animals, gives a long list of the worms inhabiting the Cats body
and their effect upon its health and manner of death. ‘Tapeworms of various species, procured by the eat from
the livers of mice, which contain the larve of the parasite, are very frequently present in the animal's stomach
and cause its death. Cats are also subject to mange, consumption, and other disorders, and are often infested
with fleas similar to those found upon the dog, but swaller.
As a rule, the Domestic Cat is more attached to buildings or certain localities than to persons; but it is frequently
whom it-has received. Kindness, evineing
its pleasure by loud parring, and with clovated tail endeavouring to rub itself
possessed of an aiffetionate disposition, and quickly recognizes any one fi
against the individual whose attention
it solicits. Tn its Iubits the cat is cleanly, and passes much time in licking and smoothing its fur with its tongue
‘This member is rough, caused by numerous conical papilte whose points are set backwards and make the tongue feel
something like a rasp when drawn across the finger.
The utility of the cat to man is exemplified in many ways, but in none more curious and striking than the
fact that if there were no cats there would be no clover. At fist sight there would seem to be no relationship
whatever between these widely divergent forms; for the quadruped does not exte for clover, and) this
not appear, to a casual observer, to be in any way dependent upon the cat. But Darwin explains iin. this
way (Origin of Species,’ 6th ed. p. 57):—Clover, in England, is fertilized by humble-bees. Field-mice are very fond
of the nests and combs of these insects, and destroy many of them. Cats in their tum prey upon fied-mie and
keep tem from undue increase; so that if there were no cats, fickLmice would multiply so greatly that they
would destroy all the humble-bees, and consequently clover (rom want of fertilization) would become extinct
The animal described by Miller (l. .) as Folin megalotis i undoubtedly a hybrid, probably between F. chew
1nd a Domestic Cat. ‘The habitat, Timor, may be questioned, as no Wild Cats are known to inhabit that island,
The following description I took from the type in the Leyden Museum :—Colour light buff with greyish spots,
the back and hind quarters. Legs barred with blackish brown. Top of head blackish brown,
with a yellowish streak in the centre. ‘Two reddish stripes on check, and two reddish bands across the breast,
Vlackish in the centre, the upper band very indistinet. Around the body are imregular indistinet bars of reddish
buff, darkest on the back, where they are broken into spots. Tail nearly as long as the body, dark grey, raf
‘on top, with two or three dark brown bands near the tip, this last being also dark brown, Underparts bufl. 2
rot alike: Uft one Blac, with a band of rufous in centre; right one nearly all rons motlled with Black
There is @ specimen of Cat in the Paris Museum to which Prof. A. Milne-Kawards hs given the MS, name of
Felis bower. It was said to have come from the Island of Cap Vert, near Senegal. 1 believe it to be merely a
Domestic Cat run wild, and have therefore placed this MS. name among the synonyms of the Domestic Cat. |
