CATS— GENUS FELWM. 11 



teeth that permit tliem to firmly hold and tear their food." They 

 have not the power of chewing or masticating it, but they tear it 

 into small pieces, which they eat with a series of short, quick 

 bites. Another noticeable thing is the structure of their tongues, 

 which greatly differ from the well-known smooth, moist tongue of 

 a dog. The entire surface is covered with innumerable conical 

 projections sloping backwards, hard and rasping, enabling the 

 animal, by licking, to strip the flesh from the bones of its prey, an 

 economy of Nature that prevents their losing or wasting any of the 

 nutriment. These papillae are so firm and rough that a few steady 

 licks on the hand from one of the large species would remove the 

 cuticle and draw blood. Their hair is close and soft, often beauti- 

 fully smooth and sleek. They are armed in a terrible manner ; 

 their rounded muzzles, short sinewy neck, and firm massive 

 jaws exhibit muscular power, combined with supple grace, almost 

 in the highest degree. They possess the power of opening the 

 mouth to a comparatively greater width than any other species of 

 animal; and, moreover, they are endowed with talons or claws 

 made retractile, so that their efficiency will not be endangered 

 by coming in contact with the ground and so losing their sharp- 

 ness. The weight of the body resting altogether on the toes, and 

 not on the entire foot, they have a beautiful structure of the 

 tendons, enabling them to withdraw the talons backwards, thus 

 lifting them entirely from the ground, the weight of the body 

 resting only on the soft pads which stud and form the surface of 

 the foot. But when these creatures clutch at their victim, or strike 

 their powerful blow, the claws are thrown forward, sharp, pene- 

 trating, and rigid, with power sufficient to hold their prey and to tax 

 the efforts of the very largest animals to shake themselves free 

 and escape. 



The cat tribe are also the most dreaded of the brute creation 

 for the peculiar silence of their tread ; no footfall gives notice of 

 their location, and in making their stealthy way no sound from 

 the leaves or branches ailarms their intended victim, but silently 

 and steadily they creep along through the thicket, guided by the 

 beautiful mechanism of their whiskers rather than their eyes, for 

 each individual hair is endowed with an exquisite sense of touch, 



