THE WILD CAT. 341 



the centre-lines of the ears, if extended, con- 

 verge at a much wider angle that is, the ears 

 point outwards more. Thus : tame cat, (v-vj ; 

 wild cat, \*~~^ . The eyes are very much larger 

 and rounder, and, as a rule, the body-colouring 

 is strikingly yellowish. The limbs are longer and 

 much more powerfully developed ; indeed, the wild 

 cat is a creature of enormous strength, far sur- 

 passing that of any domestic offshoot. I have 

 seen half-grown wild cats in captivity larger and 

 more powerful than any domestic tabby that ever 

 imposed its diabolical presence on a game-covert. 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 



The habits of Felis catus differ from those of 

 the domestic torn only in so far as its inbred fear 

 of man, its relatively greater strength, and the fact 

 that it is a truly wild animal exert their influence. 

 It is essentially a creature of the timber, and 

 prefers the pine-slopes to the bleak mountain-tops 

 which to-day often afford it sanctuary. It may 

 make its home among the rocks, but always there 

 is woodland near wherein it hunts even though 

 such woodland consists only of pine-forest strips 

 encircling the glens and corries. 



In circumventing their prey, few of the cats 

 depend to any great extent upon their speed 

 excepting, of course, the cheetah and the leopard, 

 the former of which is reputed to be swifter than 

 the greyhound or even the antelope. The lynx 

 depends upon two or three final bounds for over- 

 taking an intended victim it has previously stalked, 

 and thus it possesses abnormally developed hind- 

 quarters with which to perform these bounds 

 just as the rabbit is similarly developed in order to 

 evade them. All the cats are exceedingly strong 



