[6o 



THE WILD CAT OF BRITAIN. 



.^^^^ 





WILU CAT, BRITISH MUSEUM. 



much time in watching cats that were roaming beside 

 streams and about ponds, there has never been even an 

 attempt at " fishing." Frogs they will take and kill, often 

 greedily devouring the small ones. Yet doubtless they 

 will hunt, catch, and eat fish, for the fact has become 

 proverbial. 



A writer in " Menageries " states : " There is no doubt 

 that wild cats will seize on fish, and the passionate longing 

 of the domestic cat after this food is an evidence of the 

 natural desire. We have seen a cat overcome her natural 

 reluctance to wet her feet, and take an eel out of a pail of 

 water." Dr. Darwin alludes to this propensity : " Mr. 

 Leonard, a very intelligent friend of mine, saw a cat catch 

 a trout by darting on it in deep, clear water, at the Mill, 

 Wexford, near Lichfield. The cat belonged to Mr. Stanley, 

 who had often seen it catch fish." 



