1909-1910-] The Common Cat. 213 



length of the hair. This similarity in bodily form is in strong 

 contrast with the great variation in form and size of the 

 different varieties of dogs — e.g.. retriever, pug, dachshund, 

 terrier, &c. Certain peculiarities are associated with the colour 

 of the fur. Thus white cats which have blue eyes are almost 

 always deaf ; if one eye be blue and the other yellow, the 

 cat possesses its hearing. Entirely black cats are rare, there 

 being almost always a few white hairs on the throat or chest, 

 and their eyes are usually bright yellow. Every one who has 

 seen young black kittens must have noticed the distinct 

 markings, indicating that their ancestors must have been 

 striped. The tortoiseshell cat is almost invariably female in 

 sex, while the male progenitor of such is almost invariably of 

 a sandy colour. The grey cat is very rare, but the writer is 

 happy in the possession of such a cat. 



The Egyptiarf cat {Felis maniculata) is a native of the north 

 of Africa, and seems to have been domesticated at an early 

 period of human civilisation. It is of a yellowish colour, 

 tending to white on the belly. Faintly marked stripes are 

 seen on the body, but these are better marked on the legs. 



Every one is familiar with the long-haired Persian or Angora 

 cat. It is nearly always of large size, and seems unnaturally 

 large because of the length and silky texture of its hair. The 

 most costly is the pale silver-coloured or Chinchilla cat, with 

 as little marking on it as possible, and possessing green eyes. 

 Blue-coloured Persian cats should have amber-coloured eyes. 

 The Siamese cat has of late years become fashionable. It is 

 of a fawn colour (either light or dark in hue), with a much 

 greater darkening towards the nose and mouth, and also the 

 ears and feet. The only pure specimens are said to exist in 

 the palace of the King of Siam. 



Tailless cats are familiar to us from the variety present in 

 the Isle of Man. They exist, however, in other regions, as in 

 the Crimea, Japan, and in certain parts of China. As to how 

 the tail was lost, history is silent, but legend has it that puss 

 was in a hurry to get out of the Ark, and the dog, in order to 

 prevent her, laid hold on her tail. His grip, however, was 

 too hard, and the cat's anxiety to explore fresh fields was so 

 great that her caudal appendage parted company with her 

 body. The Manx cats are also peculiar in possessing specially 



VOL. VI. p 



