NOTES ON A COLLECTION OF LIVING MAMMALS. 181 



playful Ocelot kitten came under my notice in the autumn of 

 1900; and the Margay, though perhaps less often tamed than 

 most Tiger-Cats, is capable of showing good nature, if not 

 affection, towards its owner. 



The Margay which I had was a six-months' kitten, greyish 

 brown, spotted and streaked with blackish brown, and very 

 rough-coated. It was a most good-tempered little thing, allow- 

 ing itself to be stroked, and capable of amusing itself for an 

 indefinite time with a dangling piece of string, an india-rubber 

 ball, or its own tail, and it delighted to play with a broom, 

 clawing and biting the bristly surface of this odd plaything as if 

 it were the fur of a gigantic mouse. Not content with its own 

 company, this cat would beg the spectator to play with it, 

 uttering a plaintive mew of invitation, and pleased beyond 

 expression if rolled about on the sawdust-covered floor of the 

 cage by some bystander. At night it was extremely active, 

 scampering about the roomy compartment which it inhabited, 

 and rushing up the various perches to bounce off on to the floor 

 immediately afterwards. Picking up and dropping a fowl's head 

 time after time was another pastime in great favour. This Cat 

 soon learnt to come at feeding-time if called " puss, puss ! " If 

 overfed it would become irritable, growling and even springing 

 out at any intruder. Except for this, however, the animal never 

 showed the slightest animosity towards anyone, thus contrasting 

 very favourably with the young of some of the Felidcs, such as 

 the kittens of the British Wild Cat (F. catus), which hiss and 

 spit almost before they can crawl. My Cat lived all through the 

 gloomy winter of 1900-01 in perfect health, and was eventually 

 exchanged for a Temminck's Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros 

 convexus). 



Tiger-Cats may be fed on raw meat, fowls' heads, and milk ; 

 some will also eat fish. These animals require plenty of room ; 

 a cage nine feet long, three high, and three deep, with suitable 

 branches for exercise should be provided. Savage individuals of 

 this and all other Carnivora are safest when kept in cages opened 

 by sliding the door upwards ; when released, the door is self" 

 closing by its own weight. 



Genetta pardina (Pardine Genet). — Amongst the Viverridce 

 we find many remarkable forms, from the familiar Civet- Cat 



