THE DOMESTIC CAT. 197 



a wood or a warren may be infested with Cats living in a wild state, yet in almost 

 every case, they are only Domestic Cats in which the savage part of their nature has 

 predominated, and conquered the assumed habits of domestication. They have acted 

 as men sometimes act under similar temptation, and have voluntarily taken to a savage 

 life. As far as is at present known, the Egyptian Cat, for which see p. 192, is the 

 origin of our Domestic Cat. 



In the long past times, when the Egyptian nation was at the head of the civilized 

 world, the " Felis maniculata " was universally domesticated in their homes, while at 

 comparatively later days of English history the Domestic Cat was so scarce in Eng- 

 land that royal edicts were issued for its preservation. Yet in those days, A.D. 948, 

 the wild Cat was rife throughout the British Islands, and was reckoned as a noxious 

 animal, which must be destroyed, and not a useful one which must be protected. It 

 is conjectured that the Domestic Cat was imported from Egypt into Greece and Rome, 

 and from thence to England. 



In the eyes of any one who has really examined, and can support the character of the 

 Domestic Cat, she must appear to be a sadly calumniated creature. 



She is generally contrasted with the dog, much to her disfavor. His docility, 

 affectionate disposition, and forgiveness of injuries ; his reliability of character, and 

 his wonderful intellectual powers are spoken of as truly they deserve, with great en- 

 thusiasm and respect. But these amiable traits of character are brought into violent 

 contrast with sundry ill-conditioned qualities which are attributed to the Cat, and 

 wrongly so. The Cat is held up to reprobation as a selfish animal, seeking her own 

 comfort and disregardful of others,; attached only to localities, and bearing no real 

 affection for her owners. She is said to be sly and treacherous, hiding her talons in 

 her velvety paws as long as she is in a good temper, but ready to use them upon her 

 best friends if she is crossed in her humors. 



Whatever may have been the experience of those who gave so slanderous a character 

 to the Cat, my own rather wide acquaintance with this animal has led me to very 

 different conclusions. The Cats with which I have been most familiar have been as 

 docile, tractable, and good-tempered as any dog could be, and displayed an amount of 

 intellectual power which would be equalled by very few dogs, and surpassed by 

 none. 



With regard to the comparatively good and bad temper of the Cat and dog, there is 

 as much to be said in favor of the former as of the latter animal, while, as to their mental 

 capacities, the scale certainly does not preponderate so decidedly on the side of the dog 

 as is generally imagined. Nor is my own experience a solitary one, for in almost every 

 instance where my friends have possessed favorite Cats the result has been the same. 



For example, the following lines are an extract from a letter, which was sent to me, 

 narrating the habits of two of these animals : 



" I must now tell you something about our Mincing Lane Cats. Their home was the 

 cellar, and their habits and surroundings, as you may imagine from the locality, were 

 decidedly commercial. We had one cunning old black fellow, whose wisdom was ac- 

 quired by sad experience. In early youth he must have been very careless ; he was 

 then always getting in the way of the men and the wine cases, and frequent were the 

 disasters he suffered from coming in to collision with moving bodies. His ribs had been 

 often fractured, and when Nature repaired them she must have handed them over to 

 the care of her 'prentice hand,' for the work was done in rather a rough and knotty 

 manner. This battered and suffering pussy was at last assisted by a younger hero, 

 who, profiting by the teachings of his senior, managed to avoid the scrapes which had 

 tortured the one who was self-educated. 



" These two Cats, senior and junior, appeared to swear (Cats will swear) eternal 

 friendship at first sight. An interchange of good offices between them was at once 

 established. * Senior ' taught 'junior' to avoid men's feet, and wine-cases in motion, 

 and pointed out the favorite hunting grounds, while ' junior' offered to his mentor the 

 aid of his activity and physical prowess. 



" ' Senior had a cultivated and epicurean taste for mice, which he was too old to catch ; 



