I,.; CASSELL'S rolTl.AR NATURAL HISTORY. 



TIM'. AVI LI) CAT.* 



THAT the genuine Wild < 'at of (.lie British islands is specifically distinct from our domestic race is now 

 universally admitted; t (lie same time, it ofien happens that individuals of the latter breed betake 

 themselves to the' woods or to extensive preserves of game, where, finding their supply of food abundant, 

 they permanently establish themselves, and lead an independent life. Such individuals as these must 

 not be confounded with the genuine wild cat an animal essentially distinct, and an aboriginal of our 

 i-land. It is often asserted that the wild and tame cat breed together, but there is every reason to 

 believe that the wild eat in this case is one of the domestic species, leading an independent life. Such 

 animals have been known to haunt coppices and woods in the vicinity of farmhouses, and to commit 

 extensive rax ages amoiiLT the poultry and pig 'oils. 



The grounds on whieh the specific distinction between the domestic cat and the wild cat is now 

 admitted, consist in their decided difference of general conformation : besides standing higher on the 

 limbs, the body of the wild cat is mueh more robust than in the tame ; the tail is shorter, and, instead 

 of taper! m;, terminates somewhat abruptly, being even fuller at its extremity than at its base; it is 

 ,ilso invariably tipped witli black. The lips and soles of the feet are also black. In the domestic eat 

 the head is rounded and moderate, the body slender, the tail long and tapering, the colours variable. 



Of the original introduction of the domestic cat into our island, we have no information ; but we 

 know that at an early period this animal was highly valued a circumstance strongly corroborative 

 of the specific distinction between it and the wild cat, which though now comparatively rare was 

 formerly, while Kngland was only imperfectly cleared of the dense forests xvhieh extensively covered it, 

 extremely abundant, insomuch that the procuring of young litters could have been of little difficulty. 

 While, however, the wild eat was common, the domestic cat was rare, and its price fixed at a high 

 ratio. 



The wild cat is found throughout Europe, wherever extensive woods afford it an asylum. It is 

 common in the forests of (Jermany, Hungary, Russia, and the western parts of Asia; and, though scarce, 

 is not yet extirpated in the British Islands. Its chief strongholds are among the mountains of Scot- 

 land, of the northern counties of England, and of Wales and Ireland the larger woods being its place 

 of resort, and of concealment by day. Here it lurks on the branches of large trees, in the hollows of 

 decayed trunks, and in the clefts and holes of rocks, issuing forth at night to seek its prey. On hares, 

 rabbits, grouse, partridges, and all kinds of game, it commits sad havoc ; and the feathers of its victims, 

 r>'d about, often betray its presence in the neighbourhood, and rouse the indignation and fatal 

 onslaught of the gamekeeper. Young lambs and fawns are by no means safe from its attack ; indeed, 

 of all our native beasts of prey, at present living within the precincts of our island, it is the fiercest 

 ami inosl destructive. Pennant calls it the " British Tiger ;" and, if it has not the strength and size 

 of the tiger, it has all its ferocity. The destruction of the wild cat is, therefore, attended by danger ; 

 for, when hard pressed, or enraged by a wound too slight to disable it, it darts fiercely on its opponent, 

 aiming chiefly at the face and eyes, and using both claws and teeth with vindictive fury; it clings on 

 to the last, tearing and rending until fairly dispatched, its assailant bearing severe marks of tin; fray. 

 The wild cat, however, like all the smaller fdidce, shuns the face of man, and does not willingly 

 hazard an encounter. The female pertinaciously defends her young, and, while she is engaged with 

 them, it is not safe to disturb her in her retreat. She usually produces four or five at a birth, making 

 a bed for them in a hollow tree, or the fissure of a rock, and sometimes she even usurps the nest of a 

 l.n-g.- bird in xvhich to rear her young. 



The fin- of the wild cat is full and deep ; on the face it is of a yellowish-gray colour, passing into 



h-broxvn on the head; several interrupted black stripes extend from the forehead, and pass 



en the ears to the occiput ; the general colour of the body is dark gray, a dusky-black stripe 



running down the spine, while beautiful transverse wavings of an obscure blackish-brown adorn the 



sides ; the tail is ringed with the same tinf, except at the tip, which is black. 



\\ haxr givm un engraving (page 97) of one of these animals, strongly resembling the domestic 

 M : it is sometimes called the Canadian cat,t but is supposed to be found in very different places, 



Catus ferus. Linnaeus. | 1'Vli's Canmlensis. E. Geoffrey. 



