324 THE WILD -CAT. 



I am far from meaning that there are no cats running 

 wild in England ; of course, wherever there are tame cats, 

 some of them, especially the very old ones, will forsake 

 their homes, and live by plunder in the woods. These 

 may also breed ; but their progeny, though undomesti- 

 cated, will always be widely different in habits, in appear- 

 ance, in strength, and in ferocity, from the true cat of the 

 mountains. I have seen no less than thirty of these 

 naturalised wild-cats trapped in a year in a single pre- 

 serve in the Highlands ; * some of them might have been 

 mistaken for the genuine breed. The colour in both was 

 pretty much alike, but there were other points which 

 clearly showed their domestic origin. They were, in fact, 

 a cross between the wild and tame cat. I have seen many 

 of this kind stuffed in museums and collections, as fine 

 specimens of the wild-cat, and believed to be so even by 

 those who might have known better. 



The unerring marks of the thorough-bred species are, 

 first the great size, next, the colour, which does not vary 



* The mischief done to game even by the house-cat, especially if half- 

 starved in the cottages of the poor, may be shown from the admission of a 

 witness whose evidence will not be doubted. A friend of mine had shot a 

 large cat in a covert adjoining the cottage of an old woman, and, being 

 rather pleased at ridding the preserve of such an enemy, was carrying it 

 too ostentatiously past her door. She banged out in a fury, demanding 

 " how he daur'd to kill the best cat in a' the country T He replied that 

 " wandering cats were never of much use for mice." " Mice ! Wha's 

 speakin o' mice, or rats aither 1 There was scarcely a day she didna 

 bring in a young hare or a rabbit or a patrick. Use ! It wad be some- 

 thin' to be prood o', if thae ill-faured brutes o' dogs o' yours were half as 

 usefu 1 ! ! " 



