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TEXT-BOOK OF ZOOLOGY 



see than man.* It is then guided by another sense, a, fine sense of touch. 

 This has its seat especially in the roots of the long hairs of the upper lip. 

 If one of these hairs be only quite gently touched, the animal at once 

 shrinks. If these hairs are cut off, the cat becomes restless and unsteady 

 in its gait. It displays the same sensitiveness in the long hairs over the 

 eyes, and, indeed, in the whole of its body. (If its skin be stroked 

 backwards — as is often done in the dark to draw electric sparks from it 

 — it will violently defend itself.) 



4. The sense of smell, on the other hand, is somewhat dull. Some 



cats, indeed, can at once smell when milk is brought 



for them, without previously having seen the 

 MMI^jl^^Uk saucer ; others, again, will not even perceive a 



mouse hidden in the hollow of one's hand until it 



is pushed close under their nose. 



ii. Method of capturing the Prey. 



1. On perceiving its prey, the cat rushes upon 

 it with long leaps, crouches down, and after one 

 last leap seizes it with the sharp claws of its front- 

 paws ; another manner of capturing the prey con- 

 sists in gliding up close to it, with the body almost 

 brushing the ground, and then suddenly pouncing 

 down on it. The cat walks with extreme silence, as 

 if wearing felt slippers, and its progress is quite 

 inaudible. It can thus approach its prey un- 

 observed. It touches the ground only with its toes 

 (digitigrade), beneath which are soft balls or pads 

 covered with short hairs, and these suppress the 

 sound of the tread (velvet paws). 

 2. As mentioned above, the cat pounces upon her unsuspecting prey 

 by powerful leaps. Also when pursued by other animals or by man, she 

 flees in a succession of bounds, which are often 3 or 4 yards long or 

 high. For these astonishing leaps she is adapted by — 



(a) The bent portion of the elbow-joint in the fore-leg, of the knee 

 and ankle joints in the hind-leg (compare a cat's skeleton with that of 

 a horse or ox). The body is projected by the sudden straightening of 

 the legs. 



(b) The great length and muscular power of the hind-legs, reaching 

 far forwards beneath the body. 



* The shining of oats' eyes in the dark is not due to light rays proceeding from their eyes, 

 but to a reflection of rays (however few) entering the eye, from a membranous layer within the 

 eye (the tapetum). 



3.2.1. 



Fore-leg (Arm) of Cat. 



(M.) 0., Humerus ; Sp., 

 radius ; E., ulna ; Hw., 

 carpal bones ; M. , meta- 

 carpals ; 1, 2, 3, digital 

 joints or phalanges. 



