182 



KNOWLEDGE. 



[August 2, 1897. 



have been a species of marten (Mustela). That cats were 

 tamed by the ancient Egyptians is proved by the number 

 of their mummified remains entombed in various parts of 

 the country, notably at Bubastis. Indeed, so plentiful are 

 mummified cats that a few years ago they formed a brisk 

 article of trade, being employed for manure. From a 

 careful examination of their remains, it has been inferred 

 by Prof. Virchow that the animal to which they belonged 

 was indistinguishable from the wild Kaffir cat, and was 

 not truly domesticated. In one of the ancient frescoes of 

 the country, there is, however, depicted a cat presenting a 

 striking hkeness to the ordinary "tabby," and it is therefore 

 quite possible that a distinct domesticated race may also 

 have existed in ancient Egypt. There is, indeed, a possi- 

 bility that if the so-called Mediterranean cat be really a 

 wild variety of the KafSr cat, a domesticated race may 

 have originated in South-Eastern Europe, rather than in 

 North-Eastern Africa. In suggesting that the original 

 domestication took place in the latter area, Dr. Hamilton 

 cites the occurrence of representations of undoubted 

 Egyptian cats in Etrurian tombs dating from a period 

 between 350 and 200 b.c. And a correspondent from 

 Rome writes to him as follows : " I should think there was 

 no doubt whatever that the Etruscans received the domestic 

 oat from the Egyptians by means of the PhcDenician traders, 

 as in the very earliest and rudest Etruscan tombs in the 

 neighbourhood of Civeta Castellani (the contents of which 

 are now in the Museum of Papa Guilio, near Eome) there 

 are unmistakable traces of the Pha-nician trade." With- 

 out denying that such may have been the case, the dis- 

 covery of the Mediterranean cat, as already mentioned, 

 suggests the possibility of a European origin for the 

 domestic race. On the other hand, the Mediterranean 

 cat itself may prove to be merely a feral race derived from 

 an Egyptian importation. 



Be this as it may — and the problem is one hardly capable 

 of decisive solution — Dr. Nehring is of opinion that wild 

 cats were originally brought under subjugation by station- 

 ary agricultural tribes, to whom it must have been of the 

 utmost importance that their hoards of grain should be 

 protected as much as possible from the ravages of rats 

 and mice. 



When once a domesticated breed had become established 

 in Europe, it would certainly have been freely crossed with 

 the wild cat. And it seems highly probable that to such 

 crossing is due the great prevalence of "tabbies" in Europe 

 previous to the introduction of the now fashionable Persian 

 breed ; the wild cat having the dark stripes broader, and 

 frequently more numerous, than they are in the Kaffir cat. 

 As to the date of introduction of the domestic cat into 

 Britain, the earliest written evidence of its existence there 

 occurs in the laws of the Welsh Prince, Howel Dhu, 

 which were enacted about the middle of the tenth century. 

 Certain remains of cats have, however, been discovered in 

 Roman villas in this country which appear to belong to 

 the domestic breed ; and if these be rightly identified, the 

 first introduction of the animal must have been at a much 

 earlier date, the Roman evacuation having taken place 

 about the middle of the fifth century of our era. 



Although cats of all colours are now met with, and some 

 of them, at least, have been long known there, the preva- 

 lence of " tabby " is, as already said, very characteristic of 

 the old domesticated breed of Europe. In Eastern Asia, on 

 the other hand, as was long since pointed out by that very 

 observant naturalist the late Edward Blyth, " tabbies " 

 are unknown, and either spotted or uniformly coloured cats 

 are prevalent. In India, for instance, where they have not 

 been crossed with a European stock, the ordinary cats are 

 either spotted or fulvous, with barred limbs. In Siam we 



have the peculiar and valuable Siamese cat, characterized 

 by the uniformly tawny fur of the body, the dark muzzle, 

 and blue eyes. Again, the long-haired Persian or Angora 

 breed is also uniformly coloured, the prevalent tints being 

 white, yellowish, or greyish. 



Among the smaller wild species of the genus indigenous 

 to India is the desert cat (Felts ornata), of which the 

 general colour is pale sandy, upon which are small roundish 

 black spots on the body, and elongated spots or streaks on 

 the neck and face ; two dark bars being present on the 

 inner side of the fore limb. From this species have 

 probably originated the spotted domestic cats of India, in 

 which the spots tend to aggregate into streaks on the fore 

 part of the body, while the slender tail is ringed. Probably, 

 however, considerable crossing has taken place with two 

 other wild Indian species, namely the leopard cat {F. Bcnga- 

 lensis) and the tiny rusty-spotted cat (F. nibiiiinosn). 

 Many of these spotted domestic cats have run wild, and 

 one such has been described as a distinct species. 



With regard to the fulvous domesticated Indian breed, 

 in which the fur of the body is uniform tawny, the legs 

 barred, and the tail ringed, it seems probable that this, 

 too, was originally descended from the desert cat, but that 

 it has derived its uniform coloration from the jungle cat 

 (7-'. chaiis), which, as already said, is related to the lynxes. 

 That it is not the direct descendant of that species seems 

 evident from the different relative lengths of its tail and 

 limbs, and the absence of pencils of hair on the ears. 



We have already said that in the opinion of Prof. 

 Martorelli the jungle cat and steppe cat are descendants 

 of the Kaffir cat; and as the desert cat and steppe cat are 

 closely allied, it follows that, if his views be correct, all 

 the Indian domestic cats trace their ultimate origin to the 

 Kaffir cat. 



Nothing definite is known as to the origin of the 

 beautiful Siamese cat, but it seems possible that it may 

 be the descendant of the golden or bay cat (F. TcminincM) 

 of the Malay countries, which is a uniformly coloured 

 bright ferruginous red or dark brown species, with a rela- 

 tively short tail. 



There is likewise no certain information with regard to 

 the pedigree of the Persian or Angora cat. The deserts of 

 Central Asia are, however, the home of a very peculiar 

 species of the genus F'eiis, which was first described by 

 the Russian naturalist Pallas, under the name of /''. nianul, 

 and is popularly known as Pallas's cat. This species, 

 which is about the size of an average domestic cat, differs 

 from all other wild Old World members of the genus by 

 the great length and softness of its fur. Its general colour 

 is pale whitish grey, with some narrow dark markings on 

 the chest, loins, and limbs ; the tail being short and ringed. 

 With the exception of the shortness of the tail and its 

 dark rings, all the characters of this species are just those 

 which might be expected in the ancestor of the Persian 

 breed ; and it is quite probable that the points mentioned 

 may have been eliminated by careful selection or crossing. 



To discuss certain other less well-known domesticated 

 breeds would probably be wearisome to the reader, and 

 would likewise exceed the limits of our space. Sufficient 

 has been said to indicate that the origin of the animal 

 commonly known as FcUs domestica is probably a com- 

 posite one, and that it is scarcely entitled to be called a 

 single species. 



If the views of Prof. Martorelli be found substantially 

 correct, the following will be the lines of evolution. 

 Firstly, we have the ancestral type of the Kaffir cat (F. 

 Ca/I'ra), inhabiting North-Eastern Africa and a considerable 

 part of Europe during the Pleistocene, and perhaps a part 

 of the Pliocene, period. From this original species 



