i8 2 BRITISH MAMMALS 



wild cat, and has a thinner, longer tail. Though its markings 

 vary considerably, it seems to be without the true tabby striping 

 on the sides of the body. It breeds readily with the domestic 

 cat, of which many consider it to be the main progenitor. 



Felis catus. THE WILD CAT 



This animal, it must be confessed by all honest observers, 

 nearly resembles in appearance that type of the domestic cat which 

 is familiar in Northern Europe and Temperate Asia. The head 

 is strikingly similar in appearance and shape, but is pro- 

 portionately larger. The tail is shorter and thicker, ending in 

 something like a large brush, which is very boldly striped with 

 black rings. Fells catus is larger than the ordinary breeds 

 of domestic cat, the average length of males being i ft. 10 in. 

 from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail, which measures 

 another 1 1 in. or 1 2 in. Bell, in his British Quadrupeds^ mentions 

 that a large specimen was killed near Cawdor Castle (in Scotland) 

 which measured 3 ft. 9 in. from the tip of the nose to the 

 end of the tail. The vibrissae, or " whiskers," are white, and are 

 more numerous and a little thicker than in the domestic cat. 

 The eyes are large, and of a yellowish-gray. The general effect 

 of colour is lighter and yellower than that of the tabby domestic 

 cat, though the markings are similar. The ground colour of the 

 thick fur is yellowish-gray, and the markings consist of short, 

 irregular stripes, which are vertical, and not horizontal, on the 

 upper part of the body, but tend to become horizontal on the limbs. 

 The markings on the forehead and cheeks are exactly like those 

 of a tabby cat. There is a large black tip to the bushy tail. The 

 chin and the throat, the edge of the upper arm, and the fur of the 

 under parts are often white, as are sometimes the extremities 

 of the toes. The fur on the soles of the feet is black in the 

 males. The claws are gray. In fact, this is a noteworthy point 

 in the whole of the Cat family, that the claws always range 

 in colour between yellowish-white and pale gray, and are never 

 black, as in some dogs, bears, weasels, and civets. The female 

 cat is smaller than the male, and is palish in coloration, the 



