Is the Domestic Cat originally a native of this Country ? 147 



When we examine the wild cat, we find that it is much larger, 

 has a stronger make, is more powerful, and has a shorter and 

 thicker body and head, than the domestic cat. These distinc- 

 tions shew that the two animals cannot well be considered as 

 belonging to the same species. The great size of the wild cat, 

 in comparison with the tame cat, intimates that they are very 

 different from each other. All wild animals, by domestication, 

 become stronger and larger, which is the reverse of what we 

 observe in the domestic cat. The wild cat, if the domestic cat 

 is derived from it, has become smaller by domestication, which 

 is contrary to all experience, in regard to other animals. A 

 principal proof that the tame cat is not derived from the wild cat, 

 lies in the differences of the tail in these two animals. That of the 

 wild cat is strong, and of nearly uniform thickness, and as if cut 

 off at the end ; further, is provided with a tuft of hair and three 

 dark rings, while that of the domestic cat is proportionally much 

 longer, more slender, gradually terminating in a point, and is 

 provided with more than three rings. Further, when we com- 

 pare the skeleton of both cats, we find, besides other consider- 

 able differences, that the tail of the domestic cat has more ver- 

 tebrae than that of the wild cat. 



Where such marked differences occur, we cannot hesitate in 

 believing, that the domestic cat has not originated from our 

 wild cat. If the Felis maniculata of Riippel is the original of 

 our domestic cat, then it follows that probably it was brought 

 at an early period from Nubia into Egypt, from thence to 

 Greece and Italy, and, in course of time, was spread over other 

 countries in Europe. Hence, probably our domestic cat origi- 

 nated in the East, from whence we have obtained the most of 

 our domestic animals.* 



" Dr Fleming, in his " British Animals," page 1 5, says, " It is generally 

 believed by naturalists, that the wild cat is the parent stock of the Felis 

 Catus, var. dcmesticus, or common house cat. Several circumstances appear to 

 be at variance with this supposition. The tail of the domestic cat tapers to 

 a point, while in the wild cat it terminates abruptly. The head, too, is 

 larger in proportion to the body. The size is much smaller, a character at 

 variance with the ordinary effects of domestication." 



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