C 248 



THE WILD CAT. (Felis catus, Linn.) 



The wild cat, though rare in England, is still a common animal 

 in the mountainous and woody parts of Scotland, Wales, and 

 Ireland, and in the extensive forests of Germany, and other 

 European countries, as well as in the North of Asia. 



The average length of the full-grown male, which is always 

 larger and more beautiful than the female, is stated by Professor 

 Bell to be one foot ten inches, or, including the tail, two feet 

 seven inches and two lines. But Bewick mentions a wild cat, 

 killed in Cumberland, which measured from its nose to the end 

 of its tail upwards of five feet ; and Pennant says the wild cat 

 is three or four times as large as the house cat 3 and adds that 

 the head is also comparatively larger, and the face natter. The 

 fur is very soft and fine ; its general colour is yellowish white, 

 mixed with a deep grey, marked with dark streaks pointing 

 from the back downwards ; a black line runs from the head 

 down the back to the tail, which is of moderate length, but 

 very thick and flat, annulate d with black and white, and the 

 tip is always black, as are the hips and hind parts of the 

 lower joints of the legs. 



It is a strong and fierce animal, possessing such formidable 

 teeth and claws as to render it an object of some dread, espe- 

 cially when enraged. Pennant, who calls it the British tiger, 



