SMALLER CATS. 
421 
of his family. “ Embarking on board a boat, with a few decoy-birds and a trained 
cat, they proceeded to such parts of the river as were fringed with dense masses of 
the tall papyrus-reed. Waterfowl of various species swarmed in these rushy 
covers; and, by the number of nests with eggs and young usually represented, we 
are doubtless to infer that the possession of this sort of stock was no less desired 
than that of the birds themselves. The cat, strange as it appears, was certainly 
taught to seize upon the birds; in the picture before us she has just caught one in 
her mouth, while she holds another with her two fore-paws, and a third between 
her hind-paws. It is probable also that the repugnance of this animal to wet her 
feet having been overcome by training, she was accustomed to fetch such birds as 
fell into the water.” In a footnote Mr. Gosse adds that it is “ interesting to find 
the cat domesticated at so early a period. In the ochreous tints of the brindled fur, 
the two dark spots near the extremity of the tail, and a trace of the curved line 
upon the cheek, we think we recognise the F. maniculata [ = F. caffra], to which 
modern naturalists have referred our domestic cat; though the Egyptian figure 
the caffre cat (i nat. size). 
Darwin considered that the origin of the domestic cat could not be determined 
with certainty; and concluded by remarking that whether domestic cats have 
descended from several distinct species, or have only been modified by occasional 
crosses, their fertility, so far as is known, is unimpaired. 
That the ancient Egyptians had succeeded in taming thoroughly the cats of 
which the mummified bodies are found in such numbers at Bubastis and Beni- 
Hassan, is perfectly well ascertained. This is indeed demonstrated by a painting 
in the British Museum, representing a fowling scene. Commenting upon this 
picture, Mr. P. H. Gosse observes that it appears to have been the custom for the 
fowler to enter upon such expeditions accompanied by some of the female members 
