2 jo Practical Game Preserving. 



the attacks of the cats are rabbit warrens, and in this 

 respect there is scarcely any greater nuisance than these run- 

 aways or one causing more trouble and expense to get 

 rid of. For, owing to the size of the warren, and the 

 absence to a certain extent of fear of human presence, 

 they work in a more open and audacious manner than 

 any other vermin, and although various means may be 

 employed to catch and destroy them, fresh cats come to 

 fill their places, and they become an unending and 

 execrable annoyance to the warrener. 



As to whether these cats breed or not to any extent, 

 we have doubts, and although occasionally a batch of semi- 

 wild kittens may be littered, it is of rare occurrence, and 

 the young soon fall victims to snares and traps. That they 

 do breed is certain, but no such result as a race of wild 

 cats of the kind will ever be brought about. 



We fancy that they do not care about returning to 

 the scene of their early life, or to any place like it, and 

 the poultry yard rarely suffers from them except in exceed- 

 ingly cold and frosty weather, when other food is unob- 

 tainable ; and having thrown off domestic ties, they rarely 

 once leave rabbits and game for poultry. 



