CHAPTER II. 



THE CAT'S GENERAL FOTIM. THE SKIN AND ITS APPENDAGES. 



1. THE cat's entire frame is divisible into head, neck, trunk,' tail, 

 and limbs, of which latter there are two pairs. Its body is every- 

 where more or less closely invested by a firm skin, nevertheless this 

 is loosely attached in certain parts and so forms folds here and there, 

 as e.g., between the trunk and the elbow and knee respectively. Its 

 skin is almost entirely clothed with hair, which is generally of 

 moderate length, often being longer on the belly and tail than else- 



Fig. 1. CAT'S MUZZLE, SHOWING VIBEISS^E AND NAKED SKIN ABOUT THK NOSTRILS. 



where ; but the length of the hair varies, as we have seen, according 

 to the breed to which different cats may belong. It is, however, 

 always short on the paws and face. The hairs are directed backwards 

 from the head to the tail, and, for the most part, downwards on the 

 limbs. There are long hairs inside each ear and sometimes on its tip, 

 and about a dozen very long and strong hairs the whiskers or 

 ribrissce are placed on each upper lip. There are also a few long- 

 hairs over each eye, or eyebrows, but there are no eyelashes. 

 The end of the nose, the lips, and the skin of the fleshy pads 

 beneath the paws, are naked. 



