BRITISH MAMMALS 



and savage beasts, and resembling in general appearance 

 the magnificent creature now under consideration, that 

 small wonder need be expressed at mistaken identity by 

 those who do not expect to discover a Cat miles away 

 from home, living a wild, free Ufe in woods far removed 

 from the haunts of men. 



Under the happiest conditions, the domestic Cat 





Wild Car 



Kg^-o^ 



(which is, it is beUeved, descended from an Egyptian 

 species, and not from Felis catus) is, as is well known, a 

 great lover of straying from the fireside and hunting Birds, 

 Rabbits, Mice, Rats and other creatures ; and in the 

 Spring of the year those of us who love birds, and yet have 

 a warm place in our affections for pets, experience difficulty 

 in condoning the offences committed by our own feline 

 companion. Whilst, then, it is probable that Felis 



caffra of Northern Africa is the rightful ancestor of the 



94 



