SMALLER CATS. 
411 
China; but its distribution in the countries it inhabits appears to - be somewhat 
local. Thus, instead of occurring all over India, this cat, according to Mr. Blanford, 
is unknown in the peninsula, except on part of the Malabar coast. It occurs, 
however, in Ceylon, and is found along the flanks of the Himalaya as far westward 
as the independent state of Nipal. Thence it extends into Burma, the Malay 
Peninsula, and the south of China; but, somewhat curiously, it appears to be 
absent from the great Malayan Islands, such as Sumatra and Borneo. The species 
is, however, said to reappear in the Island of Formosa; which, if confirmed, 
will show that its distribution will accord very closely with that of the clouded 
leopard. 
This cat is found in the neighbourhood of thickets bordering lakes, swamps, 
and rivers, and is stated to be far from uncommon in the neighbourhood of 
Calcutta. It does not appear that it has been observed by any European in the 
act of catching the fish which form such a considerable portion of its diet, and an 
account of the mode in which the capture is effected would be of much interest. 
I 11 addition to fish it has been stated on good authority that this cat is also a 
consumer of the large mollusks found so abundantly in the swamps of India, and 
one specimen is known to have eaten a snake. Probably, however, almost any 
kind of food is equally acceptable to the fishing-cat, which doubtless catches all 
the smaller animals that come within reach of its clutches. All writers who have 
seen it in the wild state bear testimony to the fierce and savage disposition of this 
species; and it is on record that it has been known to destroy not only sheep, 
calves, and dogs, but also to carry oft* native infants which have been left unguarded. 
I 11 reference to these destructive habits, a correspondent, quoted by Mr. R. A. 
Sterndale, observes that the fishing-cat generally “ takes up its quarters in low 
swampy jungle, where it often carries off* calves, for which the leopard undeservedly 
gets credit. Lately, a couple of months ago, a pair of them at night broke into a 
matted house, and went off with a brace of ewes, which had half a dozen lambs 
between them. ... I have caught this species in traps, and when let loose in an 
indigo-vat, with a miscellaneous pack of dogs, they have invariably fought hard. 
. . . Some years ago one got into my fowl-house at night, and just as I opened the 
door to enter it made a fierce jump at me from a perch on the opposite side.” The 
most remarkable instance of the ferocity of this cat is, however, related by 
Blytli. In this case a newly-caught male of the fishing-cat was put into a 
cage separated by a thin partition from one containing a tame female leopard, 
which, although young, was about double the size of the fishing-cat. The latter 
succeeded, however, not only in breaking through the partition between the 
two cages, but in actually killing the leopard, although it made no attempt to eat its 
flesh. 
The Leopard-Cat (Fells bengcdensis). 
The pretty little cat from South-Eastern Asia, commonly known as the leopard- 
cat, is subject to such an extraordinary amount of individual variation in colour and 
markings that it has received no less than fifteen separate scientific names, such 
variations having been regarded as indicating distinct species. 
In size it has been compared by Mr. Blanford to a rather small domestic 
