158 



THE EGYPTIAN CAT. 



Its general color is a yellowish gray, something like the tint which we call "sandy," when 

 it belongs to the fur of a domestic cat or the scalp of a human being. The body is covered 

 with numerous brown stripes, admixed with yellow, which run at a very small angle with the 

 line of the body. On each side of the face two bold streaks are drawn from the eye over the 

 cheeks, the lower stripe running round the neck, and uniting with the corresponding stripe of 

 the opposite side. Two or three dark streaks appear across the upper portion of the legs. 

 The depth of tint appears to be variable in different individuals, and the markings present 

 slight discrepancies. 



The fur of the Pampas Cat is extremely long, some of the hairs reaching a length of five 

 inches. The tail is not very long, is well covered with bushy hair, and is devoid of the ring- 

 like markings which are found in the same member in the Ocelots. 



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EGYPTIAN CAT.— Felis maniculata. 



The natives of Buenos Ayres and its vicinity name the Pampas Cat "Gato Pajero," the 

 former word signifying a cat, and the latter being formed from the Spanish term "paja," or 

 straw. It is so called because it frequents the jungles or reeds, and by the English residents 

 is oftened termed the Jungle Cat. It is spread over a very large space of country, being found 

 on the whole of the Pampas which are spread on the eastern side of South America, a range 

 of some fourteen hundred miles. The food of the Pampas Cat consists chiefly of the moder- 

 ately sized rodents which inhabit the same country in great profusion, and it is by no means 

 so dangerous a foe to poultry as the Ocelots or the Chati. 



The length of the animal, inclusive of the tail, is rather more than three feet, the tail 

 occupying about eleven inches. Its height, when adult, is rather more than a foot. 



It is about the size of a large house cat, having a tail very short, and bush-like at the 

 extremity. In this latter feature the next group of cats, embracing the Lynx, is suggested. 



Excepting for a certain upright and watchful carriage of the ears, the Egyptian Cat has 

 a very domestic look about it. 



This animal is supposed to be the species which was so honored by the ancient Egyptians, 

 that they refused to attack an invading army which bore a number of Cats in their front rank ; 



