THE CAT FAMILY- MARGUAY. 



129 



and dark red hair is mixed, and the tail shows from 

 four to six dark rings near the tip. Though the 

 colors of the Pampas Cat are rather dull, the dis- 

 position of its markings makes it one of the pretti- 

 est members of the Cat tribe. Large Tom-Cats of 

 this species may attain a length of from forty-eight 

 to fifty inches, of which twelve belong to the tail. 



THE MARGUAY, OR TIGER CAT. This South American feline is rather smaller than the domestic Cat, 



and has a soft and beautiful tan-colored fur, prettily striped and spotted, and a tail that is thickest at the end. It is 

 an arboreal animal, partial to birds as well as rodents and other small mammals. The Cat in the picture seems to 

 have a bird in view. (Felis tigrina.) 



The Pampas Cat, as its name denotes, is indig- 

 enous to the pampas or plains of South America, 

 extending through Patagonia as far as the Straits 

 of Magellan, being especially abundant on the banks 

 of the Rio Negro. 



THE MARGUAY. 



Two other American species are the Marguay and 

 the Long-tailed Tiger Cat. The Marguay is called 

 Tiger-cat (Felis tigrinis) by nat- 

 uralists and in commerce; and 

 barely attains the size of our 

 domestic Cat. Its body length 

 is twenty inches, its tail length 

 twelve. Its beautiful, soft, Cat- 

 like fur has a pale, tawny color 

 on the upper portion of the 

 body, and is white with dark 

 spots below. The ears are 

 black interspersed with white 

 spots. The tail is bushier at 

 the tip than at its root. 



This Cat resembles the Oce- 

 lot in its mode of life in all re- 

 spects. When taken young it 

 becomes a very docile and 

 affectionate animal. Waterson 

 brought up a young Marguay 

 in Guiana with great care. It 



soon formed a strong attachment for him and fol- 

 lowed him about like a Dog. The house was over- 

 run with Rats and Mice, which had eaten holes in 

 thirty-two doors. The Marguay waged an incessant 

 war against them and in a short time it freed the 

 house from these destructive rodents, and thereby 

 especially endeared itself to its owner. 



THE LONG-TAILED TIGER CAT 

 The Long-tailed Tiger Cat (Felis macrura) seems 

 to be more common than the two preceding species 

 in the Brazilian forests. Its dimensions are about 

 the same as those of a large domestic Cat, but its 

 paws are much stronger. Its length is forty inches, 

 inclusive of the tail, which measures twelve or thir- 

 teen inches; and its 

 height at the shoulder is 

 about twelve inches. Its 

 distinguishing features 

 are a small head, large 

 eyes, lancet-shaped ears 

 and curved, whitish claws. 

 Its general color is tan- 

 brown on the upper part, 

 white below, and the 

 whole body shows longi- 

 tudinal rows of dark 

 spots, some of which as- 

 sume a ring-like shape 

 around a lighter center. 



A slender body and 

 beautiful fur make this 

 animal one of the most 

 attractive of the whole 

 Cat family. It inhabits 

 nearly all the great for- 

 ests of Brazil. The Bra- 

 zilians call it the Spotted 

 Wild Cat, and often kill 

 it for' the sake of its 

 beautiful fur. It climbs 

 very well, and likes to 

 clamber up creeping 

 vines and search the trees for birds' nests ; it also 

 catches and devours all kinds of small animals. It 

 is a dangerous foe to both wild and domestic Chick- 

 ens and often invades farmyards to steal poultry. 

 It has its lair in hollow trees, rocky holes or caverns. 



THE LYNXES. 



Nearly all naturalists agree in assigning the Lynx 

 (Ly7ix) a place of its own among the Cats. The 





THE LONG-TAILED TIGER CAT. This slender Brazilian feline, which is about the same size 



but proportionately longer than the house Cat, has a beautiful furwith almost straight rows of spots length- 

 wise of its body, as shown in the picture. The smallness of the head and the pointed ears are also distin- 

 guishing features. {Felts macrura.') 



Lynxes are distinguished by a moderately sized 

 head endowed with tufted ears, and most species 

 also possess well-developed whiskers. The body is 

 slender but strong, the legs are long and the tail in 

 most species is stumpy. 



All continents except Catless Australia are well 

 stocked with Lynxes; Europe itself has two distinct 



