CAT TRIBE IN GENERAL. 137 



and the number of species hitherto described is, in 

 the whole, about thirty. Of these, happily for us, 

 there is only one a native of the British dominions; 

 and this, the Common Cat, instead of being inju- 

 rious, is rendered an animal of considerable utility 

 to us. By domestication we have been enabled to 

 turn its ferocity against those destructive enemies 

 to our industry, the multitudes of smaller quadru- 

 peds, as Rats and Mice, which, were they allowed 

 to increase with impunity, might in time spread 

 desolation over the face of the whole country. 



All the feline species are carnivorous, and never 

 adopt vegetable food, except when urged to it by 

 necessity. Some of the larger and more powerful 

 animals, from their innate ferocity, or from failure 

 of other prey, will venture even to attack man- 

 kind. 



But, notwithstanding their savage disposition, 

 the species, in general, can by no means be con- 

 sidered as voracious. Their natural appetite is, 

 indeed, rather temperate than otherwise; and most 

 of them are able to bear the privation of food for 

 a considerable while together. 



The females produce from three to eight or ten 

 young ones at a birth. 



The claws of all the animals are retractile, or 

 capable of being drawn back into sheaths, so as not 

 to touch the ground in walking. 



THE 



