PEDIGREE OF THE HOUSE CAT 
the East, the original Egyptian cat gave rise to the jungle cat (F. chaus), the 
steppe cat (F. caudata), and presumably, therefore, that near ally of the 
latter, the Indian desert cat (F. ornaia). From the latter are derived the 
spotted Indian domesticated cats, while the fulvous domesticated breed of 
the same country has been produced by a cross with the jungle cat. Both 
these are now largely crossed with their somewhat remote cousin, the 
striped domesticated cat of Europe. The Persian cat .. may probably 
be derived from Pallas’s cat, which has no sort of connection with the 
Egyptian cat; and the cross between the Persian and European ‘tabby,’ 
now so common, is consequently a very mixed breed indeed.” 
This brings us naturally to the pedigree of our household 
mousers. The old, thoughtless notion as has been said, was 
that they were simply tamed (European) wildcats. People 
read in their translations of the classics of the ‘‘cats” of ancient 
Greece, and said that these had been domesticated before 
written history began, and had become changed during the long 
centuries since they began to catch mice in the halls of My- 
kanz or between decks on the ships of Tarshish. 
But careful students began to foresee that this simple ex- 
planation would not suffice. Faith in it was disturbed in the 
first place by the criticism‘ that the Greek word ,, — 
ailuros had been improperly translated as “cat.” of Domes- 
Really it meant the white-breasted marten (Martes 
joina) which the early Greeks kept as a ratter, much as we now 
employ its relative, the ferret; and they did not have any true 
cat at all. Next, the anatomists found that there were essential 
and constant differences as to certain bones and in points of 
color between the wildcats and the house cats of Europe, 
which could not be reconciled. Then archeologists began to 
collect mummied cats in Egypt, whose bones, the anatomists 
told them, precisely agreed with those of the Egyptian wild- 
cat (Felis libyca); and pictured evidence appeared that such 
cats were domesticated anciently along the Nile. At that time 
all Europe was a savage wilderness, except, perhaps, some 
beginnings of civilization in Greece and southern Italy. Pres- 
139 
