434 THE CARNIVORES 



breeds is the Persian, or Angora cat, its second title being derived from a town in 

 Asia Minor. ' These cats are characterized by their large size, their long silky hair, 

 most developed on the throat and under parts, and the thick, bushy tail. The 

 color is generally uniform, varying from pure white to a yellowish or grayish tint, 

 while the lips and the soles of the feet are not uncommonly flesh colored. The oc- 

 currence of individuals with one blue and one yellow eye in this breed has been 

 already mentioned, while allusion has likewise been made to the opinion that the 

 Persian cat is descended from Pallas' s cat of the Asiatic steppes. It was said 

 some years ago that the breed of these cats in Angora had been greatly reduced in 

 numbers, owing to their skins having been in large demand as furs. 



In Siam there is a breed of cats reserved for royalty, characterized by their 

 uniform, and often dark, fawn color, their blue eyes, and the presence of two or 

 more perfectly bald spots on the forehead. Siam, together with Burma, also 

 possesses a breed known as the Malay cat, in which the tail is but half the usual 

 length, and is often, through deformity in its bones, tightly curled up into a knot. 

 These short-tailed Asiatic cats lead to the mention of the tailless cats of the Isle of 

 Man, in which the tail is either reduced to a mere stump, or almost wanting. Ow- 

 ing, however, probably to the introduction of ordinary cats from the mainland, cats 

 in the Isle of Man are now to be met with having tails of all lengths up to ten 

 inches. Tailless cats, according to Professor Mivart, also exist in the Crimea, 

 while they have been recorded by Kaempfer from Japan. 



The other domestic breeds to which we shall refer include the Mombas cat 

 from the eastern coast of Africa, said to be distinguished by its stiff and wiry hair, 

 and the Paraguay cat of South America, which is much smaller than ordinary cats, 

 with a long body, covered with close-lying short and scanty hair. The description 

 of the latter is suggestive of some affinity with the eyra of the same regions. 



Like many of the smaller wild species, the domestic cat has the pupil of the eye 

 reduced to a narrow vertical slit when at its smallest dimensions. It also agrees with 

 its wild cousins in the extremely small development of the sense of smell, depend- 

 ing chiefly upon sight and the exquisite sense of perception residing in the so-called 

 "whiskers." The effects of domestication have, however, considerably increased 

 the reproductive powers of the cat, the tame races having young three or four times 

 during the year, and producing from five or six to eight or nine kittens at a 

 birth. 



With regard to its intelligence, Dr. Romanes observes that "the cat is unques- 

 tionably a highly intelligent animal, though, when contrasted with its great do- 

 mestic rival the dog, its intelligence, from being cast in quite a different mold, is. 

 very frequently underrated. Comparatively unsocial in temperament, wanderingly 

 predacious in habits, and lacking in the affectionate docility of the canine nature, 

 this animal has never in any considerable degree been subject to the psychological 

 transforming influences whereby a prolonged and intimate association with man has 

 so profoundly modified the psychology of the dog. Nevertheless, the cat is not 

 only by nature an animal remarkable for intelligence, but, in spite of its naturally 

 imposed disadvantage of temperament, has not altogether escaped those privileges of 

 nurture, which unnumbered centuries of domestication could scarcely fail to supply. 



