29.4 NEW ZEALAND NATURE-STUDY BOOK 
covering—a piece of paper for instance—a Cat will pro- 
bably be unable to find it. A Dog on the other hand 
has a keen sense of smell and is readily able to discover 
food if hidden in the same way. A keen sense of smell so 
essential to the Dog is not so necessary to the Cat, owing 
to its different method of hunting prey. 
The Limbs are long and slender, and, broadly speaking, 
similar in structure to those of the Rabbit already des- 
cribed. The Cat is a toe-walker, and has padded feet. 
The fore-limbs have seven pads and end in five toes, each 
of which is armed with a sharp claw. The hind-limbs 
have five pads and four toes ending like the fore-limbs in 
sharp incurved claws. The claws moreover are retractile, 
and when not in use can be withdrawn into sheaths which 
entirely conceal them. The muscles controlling their 
movements are so arranged that when required the claws 
can be forced forward and buried with a stabbing action in 
the flesh of the victim. By withdrawing them into the 
sheaths the cat keeps its claws sharp, and, by allowing only 
the soft pads to rest on the ground, secures the quiet 
stealthy tread with which we are all so familiar. The 
curved claws are also used in climbing. | 
The claws are really finger nails or toe nails. The last 
bone of each toe is curved, pointed, and compressed, The 
edges of the nails are bent round until they meet, thus 
forming a claw enveloping the bone. 
_ Capturing Prey. The Cat does not, like the Dog, 
run its prey down in the open, but either lies in wait or 
springs on it unawares at the end of stealthy silent 
stalking. Should this sudden rush and spring fail, the Cat 
rarely follows up its quarry, but waits for another. The 
silence of its movements is made possible by the rubber- 
like cushions on the under surfaces of its feet, as well as 
by the absence of projecting claws, and the rapidity and 
