_ 
THE CATS, 5 
in the lower jaw they are true molars, or have no such deciduous 
predecessors. In the Cats these teeth attain the largest and 
most specialised development in the entire carnivorous Order. 
The whole ofthe Cats are graceful and elegantly made animals, 
showing a marked general similarity in structure and appear- 
ance, although one species—the Hunting-Leopard—differs so 
markedly from all the other living representatives of the family, 
as to necessitate its reference toa genus (Cyn@/urus) apart from 
the rest. All are remarkable for their strength and agility, but 
while some are arboreal in their habits, others are terrestrial. 
Many, moreover, are more or less exclusively nocturnal animals, 
and all have the power of preventing during the daytime the en- 
trance of too much light into their large and full eyes—so ad- 
mirably adapted to receive every gleam of light during their 
nocturnal wanderings—by diminishing the size of the pupil by 
the contraction of the retina, or coloured portion of the eye, 
as will be fully explained in the sequel. Having highly 
developed senses and mental powers, the Cats are ill-adapted to 
become the servants or companions of man, even the domestic 
breeds only associating with him to a great extent as a matter 
of convenience to themselves, and never sympathising and con- 
fiding in him afterthe manner of a Dog. Indeed, unlike the 
latter, it requires but little inducement to make even the most 
affectionate of Domestic Cats revert to the wild life of her 
ancestors, and whenever such an animal does escape to the 
woods it has little difficulty in accustoming itself to the new 
conditions, whereas, under similar circumstances, most Dogs 
would soon die of starvation. Asa matter of fact, the whole 
of the Cat tribe are of but little importance to mankind, with 
the exception of the domesticated races, their only use being 
as a source of handsome and valuable furs. 
Subsisting almost, or quite exclusively, upon flesh, and pre- 
ferring a living prey to one which has been killed for them by 
