18 COMMON BKITISH ANIMALS 



practice to write down an exact description of tlie 

 colour and markings of your cat. The connnoner 

 tame cats are generally described as tabby, black, 

 white, or sandy. In the fur of the black and sandy 

 cats traces of the spots or stripes are always to be 

 found. Like most animals the fur- is lighter under- 

 neath than on the back. An excellent series of 

 specimens in the Natural History Museum, South 

 Kensington, illustrates the markings of the conmion 

 domestic cat. 



The tails of cats vary in shape. Most of them have 

 tapering tails, but sometimes the more cylindrical tail 

 of the wild cat may be seen. In the fur of the 

 tom-cat the colour and markings are generally more 

 pronounced than in that of the female, and his head 

 is broader and body more muscular, but he is not, in 

 my experience, so alert or so keenly intelligent. 



The cat stalks its prey in a masterly manner, 

 which it would be well for scouts to study and make 

 note of. Its extreme silence and patience are 

 remarkable, and in great contrast to the methods 

 adopted by the dog. The sileut tread of a cat 

 stepping daintily on velvet paws is proverbial. 

 Having come within measurable distance of her prey 

 she pounces upon it with long leaps and bounds, 

 which her long hind-legs and the extraordinary 

 elasticity of her body enable her to make. She 

 falls on the tips of her fingers and toes and at once 

 pins her victim with her sharp nails or claws. If 

 we were to attempt to make such leaps and fall on 

 our hands we should break our collar-bones, but 

 pussy has no collar-bone to break. 



