THE WILD CAT. 195 
strength and agility, he is by no means difficult to deceive, taking any bait readily, and 
not seeming to be as cautious in avoiding danger as many other kinds of vermin. 
Inhabiting the most lonely and inaccessible ranges ‘of rock and mountain, the Wild Cat is 
seldom seen during the daytime ; at night, like its domestic relative, he prowls far and 
wide, walking with the same deliberate step, making the same regular and even track, 
and hunting its game in the same tiger-like manner ; and yet the difference between the 
two animals is perfectly clear and visible to the commonest observer. The Wild Cat has 
a shorter and more bushy tail, stands higher on her legs in proportion to her size, and has 
a rounder and coarser look about the head. 
The strength and ferocity of the Wild Cat, when hemmed in or hard pressed, are per- 
fectly astonishing. The body when skinned presents quite a mass of sinew and cartilage. 
I have occasionally, though rarely, fallen in with these animals in the forests and 
mountains of this country. Once, when grouse shooting, I came suddenly, in a rough and 
rocky part of the ground, upon a family of two old ones and three half-grown ones. ‘In the 
hanging birch woods that border some of the Highland streams and rocks, the Wild Cat is 
still not uncommon ; and I have heard their wild and unearthly ery echo far in the quiet 
night, as they answer and call to each other. I do not know a more harsh and unpleasant 
ery than that of the Wild Cat, or one more likely to be the origin of superstitious fears in 
the mind of an ignorant Highlander. 
These animals have great skill in finding their prey, and the damage they do to the 
game must be very great, owing to the quantity of food which they require. When caught 
in a trap, they fly, without hesitation, at any person who approaches them, not waiting to 
be assailed. I have heard many stories of their attacking and severely wounding a man, 
when their escape has been cut off. Indeed, a Wild Cat once flew at mein the most deter- 
mined manner. I was fishing at a river in Sutherlandshire, and, in passing from one pool 
to another, had to climb over some rock and broken kind of oround. In doing so, I sank 
through some rotten heather and moss up to my knees, almost upon a Wild Cat, who was 
concealed under it. 
I was quite as much startled as the animal herself could be, when I saw the wild- 
looking beast so unexpectedly rush out from between my feet, with every hair on her body 
standing on end, making her look twice as large as she really was. I had three small 
Skye terriers with me, who immediately gave chase, and pursued her till she took refuge 
in a corner of the rocks, where, perched in a kind of recess out of reach of her enemies, 
she stood with her hair bristled out, and spitting and growling like a common Cat. Having 
no weapon with me, I laid down my rod, cut a good-sized stick, and proceeded to dislodge 
her. As soon as I was within six or seven feet of the place, she sprang straight at my face, 
over the dogs’ heads. Had I not struck her in mid air as she leaped at me, I should pro- 
bably have got some severe wound. As it was, she fell with her back half broken 
amongst the dogs, who, with my assistance, despatched her. I never saw an animal fight 
so desperately, or one which was so difficult to kill. Ifa tame Cat has nine lives, a Wild 
Cat must have a dozen. 
Sometimes one of these animals takes up his residence at no great distance from a 
house, and, entering the hen-houses and out-buildings, carries off fowls or even lambs in 
the most audacious manner. Like other vermin, the Wild Cat haunts the shores of the 
lakes and rivers, and it is, therefore, easy to know where to lay a trap for them. Having 
caught and killed one of the colony, the rest of them are sure to be taken, if the body of 
their slain relative is left in some place not far from their usual hunting ground, and 
surrounded with traps, as every Wild Cat who passes within a considerable distance of the 
place will to a certainty come to it. The same plan may be adopted successfully in 
trapping foxes, who also are sure to visit the dead body of any other fox which they 
scent during their nightly walk.” 
Although so scarce in these days of allotments and railways, the Wild Cat was once so 
common in England as to be an absolute pest, and was formerly numbered among the 
beasts of chase that contributed to the amusement of the dull unlearned leisure which fell 
to the lot of those olden aristocrats of our land whose only excitement was found in the 
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