XVIU INTRODUCTION. 



Elliot, in his ' Monograph of the Felidae,' states that 

 all the smaller examples of the Cats, with the excep- 

 tion of the Ocelot {Felis pardalis), have oval pupils ; 

 but Dr. W. T. Blanford, in his 'Fauna of British 

 India,' states that the Fishing Cat {Felis viverrina) 

 and the Bengal Cat {Felis bengalensis) have circular 

 pupils, the latter perhaps elliptical in a strong light. 



Dr. G. Lindsay Johnson, 'Proceedings of the Zoolo- 

 gical Society,' May 1894, states that the pupil of the 

 Wild Cat is circular and contracts to an oval. This 

 is contrary to our experience. We have examined 

 a number of living examples from different parts of 

 Europe, as well as from Scotland, and have with- 

 out exception found that on exposure to a bright 

 light the pupils have contracted to a vertical linear 

 slit. 



If we can judge from the knowledge we have of 

 the Wild Cats of different countries interbreeding 

 with domesticated Cats, we may almost with certainty 

 conclude that the smaller varieties interbreed freely 

 with each other and produce fertile offspring, and 

 that some of the Asiatic species — F. bengalensis with 

 its fourteen synonyms, for example — may be the result 

 of this promiscuous intercourse. Blanford states 

 that many of the village Domestic Cats are similarly 

 spotted to Felis ornata in localities where this Cat 

 is found ; and that many examples of the present 

 form of F. torquata are probably descendants of tame 

 Cats run wild, the aboriginal race being the source 

 of the Indian Domestic Cats. 



