ORIGIN OF THE DOMESTIC CAT 163 



By some authors it is regarded as the original 

 stock from which our domestic cats are descended ; 

 but although, through repeated crossing with this 



■'^r-^^'-^f.^^ 







A WILD CAT. 



indigenous wild species, the breed of domestic cats 

 has been materially affected, /it is most probable 

 that the earliest domesticated individuals seen in 

 Britain were not reclaimed kittens of the native 



