THE CAT FAMILY— DOMESTIC CAT. 



103 



:the common Jungle Cat are found supports me in 

 my opinion, for this goes to prove that when Egypt 

 was in the meridian of its power, its inhabitants ex- 

 tensively caught and probably tamed the Jungle Cats. 

 Herodotus is the first Greek to mention the Cat, and 

 it is but slightly alluded to by even later Greek and 

 Roman writers. We may conclude, therefore, that 

 the animal spread very gradually from Egypt. Prob- 

 ably it first went East. We know, for instance, that 

 it was a favorite pet of the prophet Mohammed. 

 In northern Europe it was barely known before the 

 tenth century. The Codex of Laws in Wales con- 

 tains an ordinance fixing the price of domestic Cats 

 and penalties for their ill-treatment, mutilation and 

 killing. The law declared that a Cat doubled its 

 value the moment it caught its first Mouse ; that the 

 purchaser had a right to require that the Cat have 

 perfect eyes, ears and claws, to know how to catch 

 Mice, and, if a female Cat, 

 to know how to bring ^ 



up her Kittens prop- "% 



erlv. If the Cat failed to 

 meet any of these require- 

 ments, the purchaser had 

 the right to demand a re- 

 turn of one-third of the 

 purchase money. 



This law is of great 

 value as furnishing proof 

 that in those times do- 

 mestic Cats were held in 

 high estimation, and also 

 because we learn by plain 

 inference from it that the 

 Wild Cat cannot have 

 been the progenitor of the 

 domestic species, as Great 

 Britain was overrun with 

 Wild Cats, whose young 

 ones it would have been 

 easy to tame in unlimited 

 numbers. 

 The Domestic According to 



Cat Almost Tschudi, the 



Universal. Cat now in- 

 habits all parts of the 

 globe except the extreme 

 north and the highest alti- 

 tudes of the Andes, and 

 has established itself 

 wherever civilization, 

 progress and domestica- 

 tion have penetrated. But 



notwithstanding the fact that it is an inmate of hu- 

 man habitations throughout the world, the Cat re- 

 serves to itself a large measure of independence and 

 only recognizes Man's authority when obedience suits 

 its inclination. The more it is petted, the greater 

 becomes its affection for the family; the more it is 

 left to its own devices the more its attachment is 

 directed toward the house in which it was reared 

 rather than to the people who live there. Man 

 always determines the degree of tameness and do- 

 mesticity of a Cat by his conduct towards it. When 

 neglected it is likely to take to the woods in sum- 

 mer. Sometimes it becomes quite wild there, but 

 usually comes back at the approach of winter, accom- 

 panied by its Kittens if any have been born to it dur- 

 ing its vacation. It is often the case that after such 

 a sojourn in the woods the Cat shows little liking for 

 people, and this is especially noticeable in warm 



countries. Rengger tells us that Cats live in a par- 

 ticularly independent state in Paraguay, although 

 Cats that have become really savage are seldom 

 seen in that country, and the localities abandoned 

 by white Men are also deserted by Cats. 

 Domestic Cat Our domestic Cat is an excellent speci- 

 Worthy men for the purpose of studying the 

 of Study, whole feline family, for it is accessible 

 to all. It is an exceedingly pretty, cleanly and 

 graceful creature. Its movements are stately and as 

 it walks with measured tread on its velvety paws, 

 with claws carefully retracted, its footfall is imper- 

 ceptible to the human ear. It is only when pursued 

 or suddenly frightened that it displays any precipi- 

 tous haste, and then it proceeds with a succession of 

 jumps which soon carry it to a place of safety, for it 

 profits by every advantageous nook or turn and can 

 climb to any height. With the help of its claws it 



X^x^,^;^/ 



THE DOMESTIC CAT. The animal in the picture is familiar to all, and the playful scene here depicted is 



a very common one. The mother Cat watches with every indication of pleasure the merry gambols of her offspring. 

 The methods of a domestic Cat in training her young are much the same as those of the Lioness, the Tigress and 

 other larger members of the Cat family, and may thsrefore be observed with profit by the student. {Felis maniculata 

 domestica.) 



clambers up trees or walls easily, but on level ground 

 a Dog can overtake it without difficulty. However a 

 Cat is dropped, it will always alight on its paws, the 

 pads of which soften the violence of the fall. I have 

 never succeeded in causing a Cat to fall on its back, 

 even when I have dropped it from close range over 

 a chair or table. As soon as I would let go it would 

 instantly turn over and stand on its feet quite un- 

 concerned. How it is able to accomplish this feat, 

 especially when the short distance is considered, is 

 quite a mystery to me. In falling long distances, it, 

 of course, regulates its position in alighting by means 

 of its tail. The Cat can also swim, but it practices 

 this accomplishment only when there is an urgent 

 need for it, and it probably never enters the water of 

 its own accord, as it even shows a great dislike of 

 rain; but there are exceptions, for Haacke knew a 

 Cat which was in the habit of jumping into a pond 



