On the Life of a Domestic Cat. 
375 
Above, and in the neighbourhood of these cliffs, there are 
at the present day several cottages occupied by salmon- 
fishers, and it seems to me highly probable that the pieces 
of iron found at the mouth of the cave may have been part 
of the boat gear of some of the actual or recent inhabitants. 
If, however, the iron was mixed up with the debris inside 
the cave, we must suppose that these bone-splitters were 
not limited to stone implements, and that the Kjokken- 
mddding habits were by no means confined to the so-called 
stone epoch. The remarkably perfect state of preservation 
of many of the bones is scarcely compatible with great 
antiquity. We know that in America, New Zealand, &c., 
Kjokken-moddings are being formed at the present day; and 
that so near home as the Hebrides, pottery much ruder than 
that found in the Warburton cave is in actual use. That 
the so-called stone, bronze, and iron epochs were clearly 
separated from each other is probably an archseological 
myth ; and we have yet to learn when implements of the 
two first kinds ceased to be generally used in this country. 
In conclusion, then, we are, I think, justified in supposing 
that this cave was used as a human habitation, and that its 
occupiers had similar habits to the formers of the Danish 
Kjokkenmoddings. On the other hand, we have no evidence 
of great antiquity, nor, indeed, any indication of the probable 
age at which it was occupied. 
nr. On the Life of a Domestic Cat. Bj Willia^t Browtvt Efq 
F.R.C.S.E. 
The domestic cat is generally considered to be an ignoble 
animal. By the title-page of " Punch," the dog has a 
world-wide reputation ; and one volume after another has 
been dedicated to his races, instincts, and virtues. But the 
cat is viewed by authors as merely a household drudge, and 
is associated in companionship with cheerless old age. It 
is perhaps this general contempt, on the part of literary 
men,, which has exposed tlie animal to the infliction of 
cruelty, and to ill usage of all kinds. It is always at hand 
always convenient, as Irishmen say — the readiest living object 
