108 Animal Life 
movements, small rodents are very soon kept under if one of these animals be 
permitted to prowl about after nightfall. 
Tf ordinary food run short at any time, entrails of fowls and pigeons, snails and 
vegetables, as well as soaked bread or biscuit may be given. Civets, like true cats, 
require to keep their talons well sharpened, so a piece of wood or stone should be 
provided in order that they can have something to scratch at to keep their claws in order, 
Many people prefer the Genettes as pets, not only because they are smaller and 
therefore do not need so roomy a cage as their larger relations, but also because the 
anal glands are not developed, and therefore no odour is emitted other than that 
given off by animals as individuals, and not as families or genera. The common 
genette, a native principally of northern Africa but found in the southern countries of 
Europe, is considered by most people to be a more handsome creature than the true 
civet—the fur is softer, that of the civet beimg harsh—and more prettily marked. The 
animal itself is more lithe in appearance, and when it depresses its body along the 
ground while watching its prey, such as a mouse or a bird, it would resemble a 
large lizard rather than a mammal were it not that its ears, being stiffly erected 
forward, destroy the illusion. The Linsangs, rarely imported into Hngland, are probably 
the handsomest of all the civet-like animals, and are even more elongated in form 
than the eenettes. The fur is most beautifully coloured and very pleasant to stroke— 
when the animal is dead; they greatly object to being touched or handled during 
their lifetime. The Palm Civet, nocturnal in its habits like the civet-cats, may be 
fed in similar manner; as might 
be expected, it is very partial to a 
fruit diet, being particularly fond of 
bananas. In the Mast it is generally 
known, and especially by Anglo- 
Indians, as the Toddy-Cat, this name 
being derived from its fondness for 
robbing the vessels used in collect- 
ine the palm juice from the trees. 
It is a matter for regret 
that the genettes and palm civets 
are not more freqently imported 
than they are, for their smaller 
size renders them handier as 
pets and more suitable in many 
ways as ladies’ pets than the 
larger and occasionally spiteful 
civet-cat. Both genettes and palm 
civets, when they do come into the 
market, are shghtly cheaper than 
civets, being about thirty shillings 
to fifty shillings. Zibetta (the 
Indian species) is dearer than the 
African kind, from fifty to a 
SUMATRA CIVET hundred shillings bemg the price. 
