420 THE CARNIVORES 



was an inhabitant of India at a time when the fauna of that part of the country had 

 a much closer affinity to the fauna of Africa than exists at the present day. The 

 late Dr. Jerdon, in his Mammals of India, observes that, "this very pretty little cat 

 frequents grass on the dry beds of tanks, brushwood, and occasionally drains in the 

 open country and near villages, and is said not to be a denizen of the jungles. I 

 had a kitten brought to me very young in 1846, and it became quite tame, and was 

 the admiration of all who saw it. Its activity was quite marvelous, and it was very 

 playful and elegant in its motions. When it was about eight months old, I intro- 

 duced it into a room where there was a small fawn of the gazelle, and the little 

 creature flew at it the moment it saw it, seized it by the nape, and was with diffi- 

 culty taken off. I lost it shortly after this. It would occasionally find its way to 

 the rafters of bungalows and hunt for squirrels. Sir W. Elliot notices that he has 

 seen several undoubted hybrids between this and the domestic cat, and I have also 

 observed the same. ' ' 



In commenting upon this account, Mr. Blanford observes that the alleged 

 absence of the species from jungles is probably incorrect, for it has been found in- 

 habiting forests in Ceylon. A pair of kittens of this species were at one time in the 

 possession of Mr. R. A. 'Sterndale, and proved quite as tame, active, and graceful 

 as the one mentioned above. After the death of one of the pair from a snake bite, 

 the kitten of a domestic cat was obtained as a playfellow for the survivor, when the 

 difference in the agility of the two creatures was very markedly exhibited. 



THE FLAT-HEADED CAT (Felts planiceps) 



The flat-headed cat is the second uniformly-colored species, in addition to the 

 lion, among the Old World cats. It is about the size of a domestic cat, but with a 

 relatively-longer body, shorter legs, and shorter tail ; the length of the latter being 

 not more than from one-quarter to one-third that of the head and body. The fur 

 is long and soft ; and on the upper parts it is of a dark rich reddish-brown color, 

 having a curious speckled silvery appearance, due to some of the hairs having white 

 tips. In many specimens, at least, a pair of yellow lines diverge from above the 

 nose on to the forehead between the eyes. The under parts are whitish, more or 

 less splashed with brown. The length of the head and body varies from twenty- 

 one to twenty-four inches, while that of the tail is not more than from six to eight 

 inches. 



The skull of this cat resembles that of the preceding species in having the 

 sockets of the eyes surrounded by bone ; but differs in having three premolar teeth 

 in the upper jaw, the first of which is relatively larger than in any other living cat. 

 The flat-headed cat has been obtained from the Malay Peninsula and the islands of 

 Sumatra and Borneo ; but nothing appears to have been hitherto ascertained as to 

 its habits in the wild state. 



Another uniformly-colored cat, with fur of a bright chestnut tint, has been 

 described from Borneo, under the name of the Bornean bay cat (F. badia). The 

 tail is relatively longer than in the flat-headed cat. 



