314 CARNIVORA. 



our disposal. As far as mere brain power is concerned it is higher than 

 the dog. Gratiolet, who has classed all the mammalia in groups accord- 

 ing to the development of the brain, places the cats in the class above 

 that to which he assigns the dog. 



The Domestic Cat, Fe/is domestiais (Plate XI), appears in various 

 colors. We have them white, black, almost always with a white spot 

 on the breast, yellow, bluish-gray, gray with dark stripes, and the so- 

 called lortoiseshell cats in whose coats three colors combine. We may 

 remark as a curious fact that all white cats with blue eyes are deaf, and 

 that all tortoiseshell cats are females. 



There are few varieties of the cat ; two only deserve mention here. 



The Angol.a Cat, Fclis doiiusticHs niigolinsis, is distinguished by its 

 size, its long silky hair, and its flesh-colored lips and soles. Pallas regards 

 it as descended from the Manul (p. 211). It is generally of a uniform 

 color, and is a very handsome creature. It is very lazy, and prefers 

 being supported for its beauty to working for a living 



The M.VNX Cat, Fclis doiiicsticus icaiidatiis, has the hind-legs dis- 

 proportionately developed, and is remarkable for the want of a tail, 

 the absence of which member is only indicated by a rather wide pro- 

 tuberance. This want of the usual caudal appendage is most con- 

 spicuous when the animal, after the manner of domestic cats, clambers 

 on the tops of houses, and walks along the parapets. How this singular 

 variation of form cam.e to be perpetuated is extremely doubtful, and at 

 present is an enigma to which a correct answer has yet to be given. It 

 is by no means a pretty animal, for it has an unpleasant weird-like aspect 

 about it, and by reason of its tailless condition is wanting in tliat undulat- 

 ing grace of movement which is so fascinating in the feline race. A 

 black Manx cat, with its glaring eyes and its stump of a tail, is a most 

 unearthly apparition. 



We need not burden our pages with anecdotes of cats, nor endeavor 

 to refute the ignorant belief that they can perform the impossible feat 

 of sucking an infant's breath. We may, however, add a few lines on two 

 points. 



The extraordmar}' electrical character of the Cat is well known. On 

 a cold, bright day, if a cat be stroked, the hairs of the fur bristle up, and 

 electrical sparks issue therefrom, accompanied with a slight crackling. 



It appears, too, that the animal may be so surcharged with electricity 

 that it will give a severe shock to the holder. In order to obtain this 



