84 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



different from all other species in the absence 

 of tail, the smallness of the head, the extraor- 

 dinary length and pciwer of the hind legs, 

 which causes them to lope like a hare or rab- 

 bit rather than run, and, finally, the thickness 

 of the coat, which is true fur, not hair. These 



VovNO WHriF. Cat 



cats are extraordinarily intelligent. The Creole 

 cat of Antigua is smaller and the head longer 

 than all other English species, while the Ceylon 

 cat has the peculiarity of pointed ears. On 

 the Cape of Good Hope the cats have singular 

 red stripes along the back, while those of the 

 Malay Archipelago, Siam, and Burmah have 

 according to Darwin split and 

 sometimes knotted tails. In 

 China their ears are pendent, 

 and around Tobolsk there li\-es 

 an indigenous cat which is en- 

 tirely maroon in color. 



The separation of races being 

 so difficult, color is the point 

 on which all breeders fasten, 

 although the last word has by 

 no means been said on that 

 subject, and many years must 

 elapse before a race or a fixed 

 color can be obtained by breed- 

 ing with the same certainty 

 and constancy as now obtains with dogs. The 

 colors chiefly distinguished are white, black, 

 blue, blue-gray, smoke color, orange, and tor- 

 toise shell. All these varieties of color are scat- 

 tered through the two great groups, — the long 



haired and the short haired. To these groups, 

 however, must be added the exotic species, 

 designated under the name of the region, island, 

 or country from which they come. 



If we pass the different races in re\-iew, the 

 first to present itself is that of the white cats. 

 The cnlor of their eyes is a very important 

 matter ; it ought not to be blue, which is 

 said to be a sign of deafness. Darwin insists 

 on this fact, to which, nevertheless, there 

 are many exceptions. Possibly there is a 

 species of albinism in these cats, and as the 

 albino is always feebler than others of its 

 kind, that may account for the phenomenon. 

 Some white cats have red eyes, and in them 

 albinism is even more marked. Their coats 

 ought to be as sleek as possible. Some 

 Eastern nations honor the white cat as a 

 symbol of the moon. 



Black cats, of a brilliant and entire black, 

 are much more rare than people think : most 

 of them have a russet tinge. They owe the 

 favor they enjoy to their large size and the 

 beauty of their eyes, which are generall)' yel- 

 low, though in the long run somber colors are 

 wearisome. Phantom cats, ]iartisans of the 

 devil, were all black. There was never a 

 wizard or a witch without his or her black cat, 



I3lui; FicKsi.AX Cat 



which always took an active part in the prep- 

 aration of philters. These phantom cats were 

 especially and exuberantly gay on Wednesdays, 

 the witches' day, and held noisy assemblies at 

 all crossroads or on the roofs of haunted houses. 



