38 WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS. [eiar. tv. 
CHAPTER IV. 
The Wild Cat: Strength of; Rencontre with—Trapping tame Cats: 
Destructiveness of—Poisoning vermin—Trapping vermin. 
THE true wild cat is gradually becoming extirpated, owing to 
the increasing preservation of game ; and though difficult to hold 
in a trap, in consequence of its great strength and agility, he 
is by no means difficult to deceive, taking any bait readily, 
and not seeming to be as cautious in avoiding danger as 
many other kinds of vermin. Inhabiting the most lonely and 
inaccessible ranges of rock and mountain, the wild cat is 
seldom seen during the day time; at night (like its domestic 
relative) he prowls far and wide, walking with the same delibe- 
rate step, making the same regular and even track, and hunting 
its game in the same tiger-like manner; and yet the difference 
between the two animals is perfectly clear, and visible to the 
commonest observer. The wild cat has a shorter and more 
bushy tail, stands higher on her legs in proportion to her size, 
and hasa rounder and coarser look about the head. Thestrength 
and ferocity of the wild cat when hemmed in or hard pressed are 
perfectly astonishing. The body when skinned presents quite a 
mass of sinew and cartilage. I have occasionally, though rarely, 
fallen in with these animals in the forests and mountains of this 
country; once, when grouse-shooting, I came suddenly, in a 
rough and rocky part of the ground, upon a family of two old 
ones and three half-grown young ones. In the hanging birch- 
woods that border some of the Highland streams and lochs, the 
wild cat is still not uncommon, and I have heard their wild and 
unearthly cry echo far in the quiet night as they answer and call 
to each other. {do not know a more harsh and unpleasant ery 
than that of the wild cat, or one more likely to be the origin of 
superstitious fears in the mind of an ignorant Highlander. These 
animals have great skill in finding their prey, and the damage 
they do to the game must be very great, owing to the quantity of 
food which they require. When caught in a trap, they fly with- 
