F E L r s. 
CD3 
and belly, oniy fpotted ; tail not fo long as" the body, 
with large fpois above, and fniall beneath. It is about 
the (ize o,f the preceding, and inhabits Guinea. 
12. l*'elis Capenlis, the Cape tiger-cat. This animal is 
very little known. Mr. Pennant defcribes it as having 
fiiort hair, of a bright ferruginous colour; the face 
marked with black llripes, tending downwards ; from the 
hind part of the head to the tail, the back is marked with 
oblong firipes of black ; the tides with very numerous 
fniall and round fpots of black ; belly white; tail long, 
of a bright tawny-colour, annulated with black ; ears 
long, narrow, pointed, and very erect; length from the 
nole to the tail near three feet. It inhabits the neigh¬ 
bourhood of the Cape of Good Hope, and as high north 
as Congo. It inhabits the woods, and is very deftrudtive 
to lambs, young antelopes, and all the fmaller animals ; 
it is'well deferibed by Dr. Fofter, in Phil. Tranf. lxxi. 
p.i. tab. i. The.fpecimen he made his defeription from 
was only eighteen inches long, and was probably quite a 
young animal. 
13. Fells ligrina, the Cayenne tiger-cat: of a bright 
tawny colour, and of the fize of-a common cat. Its face 
is ftriped downwards with black; fhoulders and body 
marked with llripes, and oblong large black fpots; legs 
w ith fmall ones ; bread, and infide of its legs and thighs, 
whitifn, fpotted with black. The tail is very long, 
marked with black, tawny, and grey. It inhabits South 
America, and perhaps Lonifiana, and lives on feathered 
game and poultry. It is very adtive ; goes by bounds or 
leaps, and lives much on trees; its voice is like that of 
the common cat: brings forth in all feafons of the year, 
in hollow trees, and has two at a time. It is quite un- 
iameable. 
14. Felis Bengalenfis, the Bengal tiger-cat: with white 
whifleers, large duflcy ears, and a white fpot in the middle 
©f the cutfide ; between each eye and the nofe, a white 
line, and another under each eye: colour, a beautiful 
pale yellowifh brown : the head and face is flriped down¬ 
ward with black : along the back are three llripes of the 
fame •colour, pointing towards the tail: behind each 
fhonlde.r to the belly runs a black line ; the chin and 
throat are white, furrounded with a femicircle of black ; 
the bread, belly, and infide of the limbs, are white; the 
•fpots on thofe parts, as well as thofe on the legs and rump, 
are fmall and round ; the tail is long, full of hair, brown, 
annulated with black. This fpecies is dilliitguilhedfront 
the common cat by this peculiarity, that it is not afraid 
of being wet, but takes to the water like a water-dog. 
There was one of them brought to England, which fwam 
on-board a fnip at anchor off the coafl of Bengal. After 
.vt was brought to England, it coupled with the female 
domedic cats, which produced young, refenibling the 
male in .marks on the body and in character; but the 
ground colour was cinereous. Mr. Pennant lays, that he 
law - one of the fig mixed breed, at Mr. Lee’s, nurseryman, 
at Hammer (mi th, plunge into a veil'd full of water about 
two feet deep, and bring up a bit of meat, flung in by 
way of trial ; that it was a far better motifer than the 
tame cat, and in a Inert time deffroyed (warms of rats, 
which, in fpite of the domeftic breed of cats, had made 
moil terrible ravages in Mr. Lee’s ftores of feeds. All 
thefe fmall fpotted fpecies, are called by the general name 
of tiger-cats. Several varieties of them are found in 
the Kart Indies, and in.the woods near the Cape of Good 
Hope. 
Felis ma-nitl, the Tartarian tiger-cat. This is 
nearly t lie fize of a fox; in its robufi: limbs and dulky. co¬ 
lour very much refenibling a lynx ;. inhabits all the mid¬ 
dle parts of the north of Alia, from the Urai to the Amur. 
It loves open rocky countries, and preys on the fmaller 
quadrupeds. It lias a large head; the crown of which 
is Speckled with black ; its cheeks are marked with two 
dulky lines, running obliquely from the eyes ; feet llriped 
oh leu re 1 y with dark lines ; tail longer in proportion than 
that- oi the dvmeftic cat, of an -equal 1 hi.dene Is in all 
parts, and befet thickly with hair; it is atfG encircled 
with ten black rings. 
16. Felis fervai, the Indian tiger cat. This is much 
larger than a common cat ; the orbits of its eyes are 
white ; the fpots on its body univerfaliy round. In its 
nature it is very fierce and untameable. It inhabits tire 
woods in the mountainous parts of India, lives and breeds 
entrees, and fcarcely ever defeends to the ground. It 
leaps with great agility from tree to tree. It is called 
by the natives of Malabar marapauU, and by the Portu. 
guefe, J'crval. 
17. Felis catus, the cat. This animal, hi its wild ftpte, 
has long foft hair, of a yellovvilh white colour, mixed 
with grey ; the grey is difpofed in firipes, pointing down¬ 
wards from a duflcy litl that runs from the head to the 
tail, along the middle of the back ; its tail is marked 
with alternate bars of black and white, its tip is black; 
the hind part of its legs are alfo black. It is three times 
as large as the common domeftic cat, and is very ftrongly 
made. It inhabits the woods in mod parts of Europe, 
yet none are found in the vail forefls of Ruffia and Siberia. 
Animals of this fpecies dwell with the common lynx in 
all the wooded parts of the mountains of Caucafus and 
their neighbourhood ; and are mod deffrudlive to lambs, 
kids, and fawns, and to all fortsof feathered game. This 
fpecies is the (lock or origin of the domellic cat, which 
is fubject to many varieties, viz. 1. The Angora cat, 
with.long hair, of a filvery vvhitenefs and filky texture, 
very long, cfpecially about the neck, where it forms a 
fine ruff’; lias very long and fpreading hair on the tail, 
and is of a large lize. Its name marks its country. 
This fpecies degenerates in our climate after the firff; 
generation. 2. The Chinefe cat, with pendulous ears. 
The Chinefe are very fond, of them, and ornament their 
necks with filver collars.. 3. The tortoi(efhell cat, has 
his name from his colours, black, white, and orange, 
and the mode of their arrangement. This is the Spaniflr 
cat of Burton. 4. The blue cat, le chat des chartreux 
of Burton. This variety is properly of a greyifli-black, 
or (late colour. Many of them are reared in Siberia, 
on account of their fine fur; but they were carried 
there, as well as other fpecies of domeliic animals, by 
the Ruffians. 5. The yellow, or long-headed cat, from 
New Spain, lias Ihort legs, weak claws, flat ears, and a 
fliarp nofe. It is of a reddiffi yellow colour, and very 
tame. 6. The red cat, difiinguilhed by a red ffripe from 
the head down the back. 7. The Madagascar cat, with 
a twilled tail. 
The cat, though ufeful, is generally allowed to be a 
deceitful domeftic. When pleafed, it purs and moves 
its tail; when angry, fpits, hides, and rtrikes with it's 
foot. In walking, it draws in its claws: it drinks little, 
is fond of filli, of flefft, and of milk ; but does not al¬ 
ways reject vegetables: it hates wet, moifttire, and bad 
Smells ; is very cleanly, and loves to repole in a loft 
warm place, or to balls, in the fun : it is the lion over 
mice and rats, and watches their motions with great gra¬ 
vity : it fees by night with very little light; the bright- 
nefs of the .noon-day fun almofl blinds it: its eyes (hine 
in the dark ; and its hair, when rubbed in the dark, emits 
an electric fpark: it is fond of perfumes, marum, vale¬ 
rian, cat-mint, and all herbs of an aromatic flavour : it 
wafhes its face with its fore-feet at the approach of a 
florin : it always lights on its feet, and is tenacious of life 
to a proverb : its urine is corrdlive, and very offenftve to 
the fmell : it buries its dung: the female is very fala- 
cious, and is a piteous,-jarring, Squalling, lover; die 
brings forth in feyen weeks, twice, thrice., or oftener, in 
the year, four or more at a litter : the male is apt to de¬ 
vour the kittens : when young, they are very froiicfome; 
when old, fober and grave. They then delight in watch¬ 
ing, attacking, and deftroying, all weak animals indiscri¬ 
minately, as birds, young rabbits, hares, rats, mice, bats, 
moles, lrogs, toads, lizards, and Serpents; infonnich that 
in woody (iuiations abounding with game, the males focn 
