CAT. 



748 



and round; the body slender; the tail just touched 

 the ground when the animal was standing; the legs 

 were very strong ; the colour of the neck and back 

 was whitish grey. The head, throat, shoulders, sides, 

 bell\% and inside of the limbs white. The back was 

 marked with lengthened streaks of black, edged with 

 tawny ; and towards the shoulders and thighs with 

 streaks of tawny. There was a black streak from the 

 corner ofthe eyes to the jaws, and some bar like marks 

 on the forehead. The outsides of the ears were dark 

 grey, the insides pink and naked, as well as the nose. 

 The tail was semi-annulated with black, having a 

 black tip, and it exhibited a great peculiarity in the 

 legs, which were all of them of a very dark grey 

 colour up to the knees." 



The Chati is another distinct American species, 

 and the smallest of the whole. It is about eighteen 

 inches long, the tail ten, and the height at the shoul- 

 der about eleven. The ground colour is brownish 

 grey passing into white on the throat and belly, and 

 the cheeks are also white. It is marked with black 

 spots of very irregular figures, quite detached from 

 each other, though traceable in a sort of lines along 

 the back and upper parts of the sides. It is found in 

 Brazil, but probably exists in several other parts of 

 South America. 



The Served. This is the tiger cat of Africa, and an 

 idea of its appearance and markings may be obtained 

 from the annexed figure. 



Africa appears to be the principal habitat of this 

 species, though, it is probable, also found in the ad- 

 joining parts of Asia. In its general appearance and 

 character it bears no inconsiderable resemblance to 

 the last mentioned ofthe American species ; and like 

 them it is very probable that climatal varieties have 

 been described as different species. It is the tiger- 

 cat of the fur dealers, and brought under that name 

 from Northern, Central, and Southern Africa, and, as 

 the different parts of that continent differ very much 

 in their physical characters, it might be supposed that 

 there are corresponding differences in the same animal 

 as inhabiting Barbary, Guinea, and the Cape The 

 general colour is tawny, inclining to grey in some 

 species, and yellow in others ; but the insides of the 

 legs, the lower part of the body and neck, are white. 

 The produced hairs on the fore parts of the cheek 

 are black, and from them double black lines extend 

 to the throat. There are also black lines on the 



back of the neck, and the rest of the upper part of 

 the body is spotted, the spots being continued as 

 represented in the figure. 



This is an animal of considerable size, though its 

 size, like its colours, is subject to considerable variation. 

 It is usually met with from two feet to two feet two 

 inches in length, exclusive of the head and tail, the 

 first of which measures four inches and a half, and the 

 last twice as much. The height is about fifteen 

 inches. 



The serval is an exceedingly lively animal, found 

 chiefly in the forests, in which birds and monkeys 

 appear to be the principal part of its food ; and from 

 its size, the delicacy of its fur, and the beauty of its 

 markings, it is much sought after by furriers. It is 

 probable that this is the animal which has been 

 described as the Caracal, or naked-eared lynx of 

 northern Africa, and also that climatal varieties of it 

 are the Cape cats, of some authors. It should seem 

 that the colours of these animals vary considerably 

 by age ; and as the size also varies, not only in this, 

 but in every species of the genus, which continue for 

 a great part of their lives to grow in the bones, as 

 well as to gather flesh, it becomes exceedingly diffi- 

 cult to ascertain whether the different sized and 

 coloured specimens which are met with, be or be not 

 different species. This is the grand difficulty which 

 is met with in the systematic natural history of the 

 genus Felis, and it is a difficulty of which there does 

 not appear any means of getting the better. The 

 wild habits of the animals, their retiring from view 

 during the day, and their flitting before the progress 

 of civilisation, render them puzzles to systematic 

 describers. In their real natural history there is 

 however no difficulty ; for all the middle sized ones, 

 with smooth ears, agree so closely in their habits, and 

 perform parts so exactly alike, though in different 

 quarters of the world, that there would be no great 

 impropriety in regarding them all as one species, and 

 including the wild cat of Europe among the rest. 



As might be expected, animals of this description, 

 are very numerous in the south-east of Asia; and, as 

 is the case in other parts of the world, their history 

 there is a little perplexing; though the manners of 

 all the varieties resemble each other so much that, in 

 as far as utility is concerned, no serious inconvenience 

 arises from the difficulty of determining the species. 

 As is the case in the western world, some of them 

 inhabit the banks of the rivers, and prey upon the 

 small bank quadrupeds, and even upon fishes ; but the 

 greater number are found in the woods, with which 

 all the richer parts of India and the oriental isles so 

 much abound. We shall mention one or two of those 

 which have been described as species : 



Java Cat (Kuwuk of the natives of that island) is 

 of a greyish-brown colour above, with the ; throat, 

 neck, and other parts, white ; the ears are small, and 

 placed at a considerable distance from the eyes ; the 

 body is small and handsomely made. This is a very 

 active and also a very handsome animal, bearing a 

 considerable resemblance to the domestic cat, in the 

 general form and action of the body, but differing 

 so much in the head, that it cannot be considered 

 as the parent stock of that animal. The whole of the 

 upper part is marked with distinct blackish spots, 

 which form streaks on the head and neck, but gra- 

 dually become rounder as they proceed toward the 

 tail. The tail is annulated, though somewhat irregu- 

 larly. The length varies ; but the average, when full 



