THE WILD CAT 427 



the ancient Egyptians belonged to that species. Still, however, it is quite probable 

 that certain variations from the original type may in some instances have been pro- 

 duced by breeding in a domesticated state. 



THE WILD CAT (Felis catus) 



The wild cat is the only native representative of the family found within the 

 British Islands, where it is almost daily becoming scarcer. 



In general color this species is not unlike many of our domestic "tabbies," 

 from which it is distinguished, not only by its superior size and strength, but also 

 by its stouter head, and the much shorter and thicker tail, which, instead of taper- 

 ing, preserves a nearly uniform thickness to the tip. The ground color of the body 

 is yellowish gray ; the markings taking the form of a dark streak along the middle of 

 the back, from which descends more or less nearly vertical stripes of the same hue, 

 these stripes becoming nearly horizontal on the limbs, while the tail is ornamented 

 with similar dark rings, and terminates in a black tip. The "whiskers" are more 

 voluminous than in domestic cats ; and in the male sex the soles of all the feet are 

 black. The length of the tail is rather less than one-half that of the head and body. 

 The male is considerably larger than the female, but shows a great amount of 

 individual variation in its dimensions. According to the authors of Bell's British 

 Quadrupeds the total average length of the males is about two feet nine inches, of 

 which eleven inches is taken up by the tail ; but an unusually large specimen killed 

 near Cawdor Castle had a length of three feet nine inches from the nose to the tip 

 of the tail. 



The wild cat was formerly distributed over the forest-clad districts of the larger 

 part of Great Britain, but, as we shall show later on, was never known in 

 Ireland. It is widely distributed, in suitable localities over the Continent, occurring 

 in France rarely, Germany commonly, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, Southern 

 Russia, Spain, Dalmatia, Greece, and parts of Turkey ; but it is unknown in Italy, 

 Norway, Sweden, and Northern Russia. The specimens from the more northern 

 parts of its range are said to be larger, with longer and thicker fur, than those 

 from its southern habitats. Eastward it has been recorded from the shores of the 

 Caspian ; and a large cat with a short tail killed by the late Sir O. B. St. John 

 in Persia was referred by its captor to this species. The skin was, however, 

 unfortunately lost, so that the determination cannot be regarded as absolutely 

 certain. 



The wild cat has been an inhabitant of Great Britain since the age of the mam- 

 moth ; its fossil remains having been obtained (both there and on the Continent) in 

 caverns containing the bones and teeth of the mammoth and other extinct Mammals 

 of the Pleistocene age. It has, however, now completely disappeared from the 

 greater part of England, only remaining in the mountainous districts of the north, 

 its extermination from many of its former haunts being probably due not so much 

 to the destruction of the forests, as to the increasing use of firearms. In parts of 

 North Wales it appears to still linger, a specimen having been captured recently 

 in that district, but there is considerable doubt as to whether it continues to breed 



