270 



Handbook of Nature-Study 



and then lies in ambush, flattened out as still as a statue and all its feet 

 beneath it, ready to make the spring. The weight of the body is a factor 

 which enters in the blow with which the cat strikes down its victim, and 

 thus stuns and which it later kills by gripping the throat with the strong 

 tushes. She carries her victims as she does her kittens, by the back. 



The cat's legs are not long compared with the body, and it runs with a 

 leaping gallop ; the upper legs are armed with powerful muscles. It walks 

 on the padded toes, five on the front feet and four of the hind feet. The 

 cat needs its claws to be sharp and hooked, in order to seize and hold its 

 prey, so they are kept safely sheathed when not thus used. If the claws 

 struck the earth during walking, as do the dog's, they would soon become 

 dulled. When sharpening its claws it reaches high up against a tree or 

 post, and strikes them into the wood with a downward scratch; this act 

 is probably more for exercising the muscles which control the claws than 

 for sharpening them. 



The cat's track is in a single line as if it had only two feet, one set 

 directly ahead of the other. It accomplishes this by setting its hind feet 

 exactly in the tracks made by the front feet. The cat can easily leap 

 upward, landing on a window-sill five feet from the ground. The jump is 

 made with the hind legs and the alighting is done silently on the front 

 feet. 



Cats' eyes are fitted for seeing in the dark; in the daytime the pupil is 

 simply a narrow, up and down slit; under excitement, and at night, the 

 pupil covers almost the entire eye. At the back of the eye is a reflecting 

 surface, which catches such dim light as there is, and by reflecting it 

 enables the cat to use it twice. It is this reflected light, which gives the 

 peculiar green glare to the eyes of all the cats when seen in the dark. 

 Some night-flying moths have a like arrangement for utilizing the light, 



and their eyes glow like living coals. Of 

 course, since the cat is a night hunter, this 

 power of multiplying the rays of light is of 

 great use. The iris of the eye is usually 

 yellow, but in kittens it may be blue or green. 

 The cat's teeth are pecularily fitted for 

 its needs. The six doll-like incisors of the 

 upper and lower jaw are merely for scraping 

 meat from bones. The two great tushes, 

 or canines, on each jaw, with a bare place 

 behind so that they pass each other freely, are 

 sharp and hooked, and are for seizing and 

 carrying prey. The cat is able to open its 

 mouth as wide as a right angle, in order to 

 better hold and carry prey. The back teeth, 

 or molars, are four on each side in the upper 

 jaw and three, below. They are sharp-edged 

 wedges made for cutting meat fine enough, so 

 that it may be swallowed. 



The tongue is covered with sharp papillae 



directed backwards, also used for rasping 



juices from meat. The cat's nose is moist, 



''Folks are so tiresome." and her sense of smell very keen, as is also her 



sense of hearing. The ears rise like two hollow half-cones on either 



