524 CHORDATA. 
the Carnivora. It is a commonplace observation that a 
dog may be fed indefinitely upon vegetable food and not 
suffer in health, a diet hardly suitable for a cat. 
The habits of the two animals, in a state of nature and 
when domesticated, are full of interest. The dog tribe, as 
a rule, hunts in packs (though the fox and a few others are 
exceptions). He also hunts by scent and sight and relies 
upon dogged persistent pursuit to catch his prey. When 
run down the victim is torn to pieces by combined action. 
Hence a dog will bark when on the trail, as the advantage 
this gives in assisting his companions more than compen- 
sates for warning the prey. Again, the dog is typically a 
“long-winded,” enduring animal, and his fore-paws are fully 
engaged with running, so that he attacks with the mouth 
alone. 
On the other hand, the cat is, as a family, solitary, or 
hunts in pairs, and obtains his prey by stealth and sur- 
prise. Lurking in the regions frequented by the victims 
he seizes them unawares. If a fleet-footed animal be 
attacked and missed it is usually not pursued for any 
distance. Thus the “cats” are quiet, are proverbially soft- 
footed and hunt in silence. The structure of their foot is 
described below, but we may point out here that the “pads” 
are usually softer than those of the dog, and the claws are 
in walking withdrawn over the tops of the toes, partly for 
preserving their sharpness and partly, no doubt, to pre- 
vent noise. Though powerfully built, the cats are mostly 
“short-winded” and incapable of sustained exertion. When 
caught, the prey is killed not only by the teeth but by 
the claws, which are then protruded. Thus the fore-paws 
of a cat are not nearly so exclusively cursorial organs as 
those of a dog. 
Other habits necessarily follow from these. A “cat” 
frequenting the haunt of victims with a high sense of smell 
must be scrupulously clean—the feeces have to be buried 
and the fur must be periodically cleaned. With a dog there 
is no such necessity, and, indeed, presence of uncleanly 
habits has probably proved of use in nature as a means of 
communication for keeping the packs together. Many of 
these habits are retained in our domestic friends, though 
apparently of little use to them now. 
