student. Such an animal is the common Cat. In it wo, 

 have a convenient and readily accessible object for refer- 

 ence, while the advantages which would result from the 

 selection of Man as a type will almost all be obtained 

 without the disadvantages of that selection. The study 

 of the zoology of the Cat, as here treated, will also give the 

 earnest student of Biology the knowledge of anatomy, 

 physiology, and kindred sciences, which is necessary to 

 enable him to study profitably the whole class of animals 

 to which it belongs and to which we belong — the class of 

 Mammals. The natui-al history of that entire class will be 

 treated of in a companion volume, to which the present 

 work may serve as an introduction — all the needful 

 anatomical terms and relations (as they exist in the selected 

 type) being here once for all explained. The present 

 volume is expressly intended to be an introduction to the 

 natural history of the whole group of hack-honed animals 

 (since they are all formed according to one fundamental 

 plan) ; but the subject has been so treated as to fit it also 

 to serve as an introduction to Zoology generally, and even 

 to Biology itself: the main relations borne by cats, not 

 only to the leading groups of animals, but also to plants, 

 being here pointed out. The sciences subordinate to 

 Biology are also enumerated and defined. 



It has been thought better not to separate the study of 

 physiology fi*om that of anatomy, and, accordinglj^, an 

 explanation of the functions performed by each different 

 system of parts of which the body is made up, will be 

 found to follow the account of their structure. 



I am indebted to my friend Professor Flower for the use 

 of his valuable illustrations of the skulls of the Carnivora, 

 as also to the Zoological Society, from whose Proceedings 

 they are, with some other illustrations, extracted. I 

 desire also to express my thanks to Professor Allen 



