CHAP, i.] INTRODUCTORY. 5 



back, and with numerous darkish stripes descending more or less 

 vertically down the sides, and marking transversely the limbs. Its 

 tail is ringed with black, and is black at the end. It is thus marked 

 like the domestic variety called "tabby." One killed near Cawdor 

 Castle measured 3 feet 9 inches from its nose to the end of its tail.* 

 Its savage disposition is very early shown, even the young kittens 

 spitting vigorously at anyone who approaches them. The female 

 makes her nest in hollow trees and the clefts of rocks, and sometimes 

 uses the deserted nest of some large bird. 



^ 5. The EGYPTIAN CAT (Felis maniculatd) is a native of northern 

 Africa, and was the parent of the cat tamed by the Egyptians, and 

 if what has been here urged is correct also of our own domestic 

 cat, possibly with an admixture of other blood. 



The Egyptian cat is said to be about one-third smaller than the 

 European wild cat. It is of a yellowish colour, somewhat darker 

 on the back and whitish on the belly. There are some obscure 

 stripes on the body, which become more distinct on the limbs. The 

 tail is more or less ringed towards its termination, which is 

 black. 



6. Although the differences between the various breeds of the 

 DOMESTIC CAT are small indeed compared with those between dif- 

 ferent races of dogs, still very distinct varieties exist, but their 

 distinctions repose mainly on the colour and the length or quality of 

 the fur, and not on differences of form, such as those we find 

 existing between the Greyhound and the Pug, the Spaniel and the 

 Mastiff. 



The colours of cats may be divided into black, white, tabby, sandy 

 tortoiseshell, dun, grey, and what is termed " blue." There are also 

 cats in which these various colours are more or less mixed. 



The grey cat is very rare. It is, in fact, a tabby, without the 

 black stripes, except two large stripes over the fore-legs marks 

 present in most spotted or striped cat-like animals of whatever 

 species. 



Black cats are remarkable for the clear yellow colour of their 

 eyes. Their coat is rarely entirely black, for there are generally 

 a few white hairs on the throat at the least. When young they 

 show more or less perceptible striped markings. 



White cats may have blue eyes, or eyes of the ordinary colour 

 that is, an obscure yellow with a tinge of green. 



Those with blue eyes are generally deaf, but they are not always 

 so. It often happens that the eyes of a white cat are not alike in 

 colour ; thus one may be blue and the other yellow. 



The late Mr. John Stuart Mill told my friend Mr. John Jenner 

 Weir, F.L.S.,f that he had at Avignon a breed of cats the eyes of 

 which distinctly changed colour when the animals were excited. 



* Mr. Harrison Weir tells me that the I at numerous cat shows, and I am in- 



largest domestic cat he has seen weighed 

 twenty-three pounds. 



t This gentleman has acted as judge 



debted to him for very kindly furnishing 

 me with his notes respecting varieties of 

 the domestic cat. 



