"CAT 
hunt ferpents, with which reiDtiles that ifland is 
greatly infefted; but this quality may perhaps be 
•natural to thefe creatures, and not the effe^l of dif- 
cipline. Whatever animals are confiderably weaker 
than themlelves, prove to them indifcrimiriate ob- 
jefts of (laughter. Birds, young rabbits, hares, 
.rats, mice, bats, moles, toads, and frogs, are all 
^equally purfued; though, perhaps, not equally ac- 
ceptable. The moufe feems to be their favourite 
.game; and though Cats poffefs the fenfe of fmell- 
ing but in a mean degree, they nevertheleis know 
thofe holes in which their prey refide ; and they 
will fometimes wait patiently for a v/hole day toge- 
ther, feemingly quite m.otionlefs, till the viftims 
come within their reach, v/hen they are inftantly 
feized with a bound. The fixed inclination which 
■Cats difcover for this peculiar manner of purfuit, 
-arifes from the Conformation of their eyes. The 
pupil in man, as in mofi other animals, is capable 
of but a fmall degree of contraftion and dilata- 
tion; it enlarges a little in the dark, and contraffls 
xvhen the light pours upon it too profufely : -but, 
in the eyes of Cats, this contraftion and dilatation 
is fo confiderable, that the pupil, which by day 
appears narrow and fniall, by night expands over 
the whole furface of the eye-ball, and gives the 
eyes a fieiy appearance. By means of this pecu- 
liar ftrufture, their eyes are better adapted for 
vifion in darknefs than in light; and the animals 
are thus fitted for Ipying out and furprizing their 
prey. 
. Notwithftanding the Cat is a houfliold animal, 
jt cannot properly be called a dependant: though 
perfedtiy tame, it does not acknowledge any obe- 
dience; but, on the contrary, is entirely fwayed by 
it's own caprice, no art being fufficient to controul 
any of it's inclinations. If the inhabitants quit 
the houfe, the Cat flill remains; and, if carried 
tlfewhere, it appears for a time bewildered with 
it's fituation, till it becomes acquainted with the 
retreats of it's prey, as well as with all the little 
holes and labyrinths through which an efcape may 
;be efiefted. 
The Cat is equally afraid of water, of cold, and 
of particular fmells. It loves to bafk in the furr, 
to get near the fire, and to rub itfelf againft- per- 
fumed fubftances. It is alio excefnvely fond of 
particular plants, fuch as valerian, marum, and Cat- 
mint ; againft which it rubs itfelf, fmells them at a 
diftance, and exhibits every fign of rapturous in- 
toxication. 
As the teeth of the Cat are rather formed for 
tearing than chewing it's aliments, it eats but (low- 
ly, and with fome difficulty; and for this reafon it 
loves the moft tender food, particularly fifh, which 
it devours as well raw as boiled. It's fleep is very 
light: it often afFefls a dormant pofture, the better 
to deceive it's prey; and, in the a£l of walking, 
treads very foftly, and without noife. It's fur is 
ufuaily fleek and glofTy; and on this account it's 
hair, which is eafily eleftrified, fends forth fcintilla- 
tions when rubbed in thedark. Linnaeus informs us, 
that the Cat wafhes it's face with it's fore-feet at the 
approach of a dorm ; but this obfervation would, in 
our opinion, have with more propriety dropped from 
a houfe-matron than a naturalift, for the rubbing of 
it's face appears to be only one of it's inftindive 
habits. 
- The Cat v/as an anim.al very highly efteemed by 
eur anceftors ; and, according to the laws of Howel, 
the price of a kitten, before it could fee, was to be 
^ne penny-; till it- caught moufe, two-pence; and, 
" C: A r 
v/hen it commenced moufer, four-pence: it was 
alfo required that the creature fhould be perfe6t in 
it's fenfes of hearing and feeing, have it's claAvs 
compleat, and be an expert moufer and a good 
nurfe. If it proved defeftive in any of thefe qua- 
lities, the feller was to forfeit to tiie buyer one-third 
of it's value ; and if any one ftole or killed the Cat 
that guarded the prince's granary, he was to for- 
feit a milch-ewe, with it's fleece and lamb ; or as 
much wheat as, when poured over the. Cat fu- 
fpended by the tail, and the head touching the f^oor, 
would form a heap high enough to cover the tip of 
the former. From hence, befides a pleafing pic- 
ture of the fimplicity of the times, we difcover a 
flrong argument that Cats were not naturally bred 
in our forefts : an animal which could be fo eafily 
taken, could never have been fo highly rated; and 
the precautions laid down to improve the breed 
would have been fuperfluous with refpeftto a crea- 
ture wh/ich multiplies in fuch an amazing degree. 
Though this animal is an objeft of averfion to 
multitudes, it is a fingular favourite of the Maho- 
metans ; and Maillet, after expatiating largely on 
the beauty of Egyptian Cats, adds, that the inhabi- 
tants build hofpitals for them. The deflruftion of 
the Cat v/as moft feverely punifned by the ancient 
Egyptians: whether the death of that animal had 
been occafioned through inadvertency, or other- 
wife, the perfon who had killed it -was accounted 
equally culpable; and that crime could only be ex- 
piated by the moft cruel torments. ' When thp 
Cat dies a natural death,' lays Herodotus, ' all 
the people of the houfe where that accident has 
happened, fhave their eye-brows, as a token of 
forrow; and the Cat is embalmed, and honoura- 
bly interred.' The veneration of the Egyptians 
for this creature was founded on an opinion preva- 
lent among them, that Diana, in order to avoid the 
fury of the giants, had concealed her divinity un- 
der the form of that animal ; and the God-Cat was 
fometimes reprefented among them by it's whole 
native form, and fometimes by the body of a mafi 
bearing the head of a Cat. 
Cat, Angora. The hair of this animal is long, 
and of a filvery whitenefs and filky texture, form- 
ing a fine ruff about it's neck; and that on the tail 
is very long and fpreading. It grows to a confi- 
derable fize; and is found in Angora, the fame 
country which produces the fiiue-horned goat. Af- 
ter the firft generation, it ufuaily degenerates in our 
climate. A variety of this genus is found in China, 
having pendent ears ; of which the Chinefe are very 
fond, and ornament their necks with filver collars. 
This creature is a great deftroyer of rats, and feems 
to be the fame with the domeftic animal which the 
Chinefe call fumxi. 
Cat, Blue. A fpecies of the feline tribe, 
found in Perfia, particularly in the province of 
Chorazan, of the figure and fiiape of the common 
Cat, but infinitely more beautiful in theluftre and 
colour of it's flcin, which is a grey blue without 
mixture, and as foft and fhining as filk. The 
tail is very long, and covered with hair fix inches in 
length, which the anim.al throws upon it's back like 
the fquirrel. Thefe Cats are well known in France; 
and have been imported into England under the 
name above-mentioned. 
Cat, Wild. This animal, in it's favage ftate, 
is confiderably larger than the domeftic Cat; and 
it's fur being longer, it on that account appears 
larger than it really is. It's head is alfo bigger, it's 
face is flatter, and it's teeth and claws are much more 
formidable 
