DOMESTIC ANIMALS 99 



appreciate their quickness of motion. The bones of a cat's 

 leg are joined at angles, which give much spring when the 

 legs are stretched out, and this arrangement, together with 

 the powerful muscles by which the bones are moved, give the 

 cat the power of making the well-known long and sudden 

 springs upon its prey. Both dogs and cats walk on tiptoe, 

 but the cat's walk is much more elastic than that of the dog. 

 The speed of a cat in running and walking is not great, but 

 she does not capture her prey by chasing it. The nails of a 

 dog are always shown ; they touch the ground and are dull ; 

 but the cat can retract hers into a sheath. She does not 

 walk on them, but always keeps them sharp for catching 

 and holding her prey, for climbing, and for fighting. The 

 teeth of a cat are very much like those of a dog, but her 

 molars are sharper. A dog's tongue is soft above, but the 

 cat's is covered with horny projections, by means of which 

 she can lick the flesh from bones. 



Senses. Cats have keen senses of sight, hearing, and 

 smell. The pupil of their eyes is so constructed that it 

 contracts in bright light, but enlarges in the evening to ad- 

 mit what little light there is. The cat's whiskers serve her 

 as organs of touch. With their aid she feels her way noise- 

 lessly through brush and grass even in the darkest night. 

 Thus equipped with sharp teeth and claws, with keen senses, 

 and a noiseless tread, she becomes an ideal hunter. But 

 with these qualities she combines great cunning and patience, 

 and, if necessary, she will lie in wait near a mouse hole for 

 hours. 



Courage and affection for her kittens. With her cousin, 

 the dog, she does not always live on good terms. When 

 we say that brothers and sisters live like cats and dogs, we 

 do not mean to pay them a compliment. When a dog 

 attacks the cat, she generally runs, or climbs a tree ; but 



Notice the characteristic mode of branching of each tree. 



