Order CARNIVORA— FLESH-EATING MAMMALS 
Family FELID^. 
Genus Felis. 
THE WILD CAT. 
Felis caltis, Linnaeus. 
Plate io. 
Fierce and bloodthirsty in disposition and possessed of great strength 
and activity, this typical beast of prey is perfectly adapted by nature 
for a life of rapine. 
The male, as a rule larger than the female, measures in length of head 
and body about 2 feet, with the addition of another 12 or 14 inches 
as the length of the tail. Millais mentions an exceptionally fine specimen 
killed at Kinloch Moidart, Ross-shire, in October 1899, which measured 
3 feet 10 inches from the nose to the tip of tail. 
Compared with the domestic cat, which it often resembles in colour 
and markings, the true Wild Cat is much more muscular and robust, 
and possesses a bushy unpointed tail. 
The ground colour of the long thick fur of the Wild Cat is in general a 
tawny or russet grey, beautifully banded and marked with black, the tail 
barred with the same colour, and the soles of the feet also black. 
Parts of the chest and belly usually white. The markings on the female 
are said to be less distinct. 
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