524 CHORDATA. 



the Carnivora. It is a commonplace observation that a 

 dog may be fed indefinitely upon vegetable food and not 

 suffer in health, a diet hardly suitable for a cat. 



The habits of the two animals, in a state of nature and 

 when domesticated, are full of interest. The dog tribe, as 

 a rule, hunts in packs (though the fox and a few others are 

 exceptions). He also hunts by scent and sight and relies 

 upon dogged persistent pursuit to catch his prey. When 

 run down the victim is torn to pieces by combined action. 

 Hence a dog will bark when on the trail, as the advantage 

 this gives in assisting his companions more than compen- 

 sates for warning the prey. Again, the dog is typically a 

 "long-winded," enduring animal, and his fore-paws are fully 

 engaged w4th running, so that he attacks with the mouth 

 alone. 



On the other hand, the cat is, as a family, solitary, or 

 hunts in pairs, and obtains his prey by stealth and sur- 

 prise. Lurking in the regions frequented by the victims 

 he seizes them unawares. If a fleet-footed animal be 

 attacked and missed it is usually not pursued for any 

 distance. Thus the " cats " are quiet, are proverbially soft- 

 footed and hunt in silence. The structure of their foot is 

 described below, but we may point out here that the "pads" 

 are usually softer than those of the dog, and the claws are 

 in walking withdrawn over the tops of the toes, partly for 

 preserving their sharpness and partly, no doubt, to pre- 

 vent noise. Though powerfully built, the cats are mostly 

 "short-winded" and incapable of sustained exertion. When 

 caught, the prey is killed not only by the teeth but by 

 the claws, which are then protruded. Thus the fore-paws 

 of a cat are not nearly so exclusively cursorial organs as 

 those of a dog. 



Other habits necessarily follow from these. A "cat" 

 frequenting the haunt of victims with a high sense of smell 

 must be scrupulously clean — the faeces have to be buried 

 and the fur must be periodically cleaned. With a dog there 

 is no such necessity, and, indeed, presence of uncleanly 

 habits has probably proved of use in nature as a means of 

 communication for keeping the packs together. Many of 

 these habits are retained in our domestic friends, though 

 apparently of little use to them now. 



