1 66 LLOYD'S NATURAL HISTORY. 



known. During such excursions they are fond of rolling in beds 

 of certain highly-scented plants, such as valerian and cat-mint , 

 and will then work themselves up into an extraordinary degree 

 of excitement. The purring sound uttered by a contented 

 Cat when caressed is known to all ; but the contrast between 

 the animal when in this state, and when standing with arched 

 back, ruffled tail, and exposed teeth, spitting and snarling at 

 a Dog, is perhaps more marked than in the case of almost 

 any other creature. It is scarcely necessary to allude to the 

 stealthy, creeping movements of a Cat stalking its prey, when 

 the tail is held stiffly, with only its tip moving in a curiously 

 worm-like manner, since these traits are exhibited by nearly 

 all the wild members of the genus. 



Notwithstanding that they seldom eat those animals (except 

 when very young), Cats are most determined foes to Rats, and 

 will watch a Rat-hole for hours ; while, when they have seized 

 their victims, they will not unfrequently deposit them at their 

 owner's feet with a triumphant and self-satisfied air. Their 

 mousing qualities need no mention. The female usually 

 breeds two or three times in the course of a year, the number 

 of kittens in a litter generally varying from five to six. Gilbert 

 White relates an instance where a Cat deprived of her kittens 

 suckled and brought up three young Squirrels ; and there are 

 several cases known where young Rats have been similarly 

 treated. 



The following anecdotes of Cats are taken from Jesse's 

 " Gleanings in Natural History." In the first case, a gentle- 

 man in Jamaica being in want of a Cat, " one was given him 

 which was not full-grown. It was put into a canvas-bag, and 

 a man on horse-back brought it a distance of five miles from 

 the place where it was bred, and from which it had never been 

 removed before. In doing so, he had to cross two rivers, one, 

 named the Mino, which was about eighty feet wide and two and 



