THE CAT ^ 



He has assumed tlie habits and manners of his for- 

 bears, and we realise, as we look at him, what kind 

 of beast the wild cat was. We know that wild cats 

 were living in England at the time when our ancestors 

 were getting their food by hunting, their only 

 weapons being rough pieces of flint. The fossil 

 bones of wild cats and the cave lion and the sabre- 



FiG. 2.— Common Tabby Cat, blotched variety 

 life by W. F. Taylor.) 



(Photo, from 



toothed tiger have been found in various parts of 

 England, together with these rough-hewn flints. 



Now, the wild cat is extinct in Britain, except, 

 perhaps, in the forests of the west of Scotland, 

 where single specimens have from time to time been 

 seen. The so-called wild cats in the south of 

 England are really domestic cats which have taken 

 to a wild life. Possibly a few wild cats may have 



