TJie Book of Cats. 235 



I foot 10 Inches ; length of head, 3^ inches ; length 

 of ears, 2^ inches ; length of tail, 11 inches. The 

 wild Cat affects rocky and densely-wooded dis- 

 tricts, living in holes or in hollow trees. According 

 to ]\Ir. St. John, a wild Cat will sometimes take up 

 its residence at no great distance from a house, and, 

 entering the hen-houses and outbuildings, carry off 

 fowls or even lambs, in the most audacious manner. 

 Like other vermin, the wild Cat haunts the shores 

 of lakes and rivers, and it is, therefore, easy to 

 know where to lay a trap for it. Having caught 

 and killed one of the colony, the rest of them are 

 sure to be taken, if the body of their slain relative 

 be left in some place not far from their usual hunt- 

 ing-ground, and surrounded with traps, as every 

 wild Cat which passes within a considerable distance 

 of the place will to a certainty come to it. 



America has several Tiger-Cats, foremost amongst 

 which may be mentioned the Ocelot. Two of these 

 animals were kept at the Tower of London, at the 

 time when that ancient fortress counted a mena- 

 gerie among its other attractions ; and of one of 

 these Mr. Bennett gives the following descrip- 

 tion : — 



" Body when full grown nearly 3 feet in length ; 

 tail rather more than i foot ; medium height about 



