[Illustration:
THE WILD CAT.
]
The hair of the Wild Cat is soft and fine, and of a pale yellow colour,
mixed with grey; a dusky-coloured line runs along the back, from its
head to its tail; the tail is thick, and marked with bars of black and
white. It is larger and stronger than the tame Cat, and its fur much
longer. It inhabits the most hilly and woody parts of this island, lives
in trees, and hunts for birds and small animals, such as rabbits, hares,
rats, mice, moles, &c.; and it is also very destructive among poultry.
The Cat seems to possess something like an additional sense, by means of
its whiskers. These whiskers consist not only of long hairs on the upper
lips, but also of four or five others standing up from each eyebrow, and
also two or three on each cheek; all of which, when the animal erects
them, make, with their extremities, so many points in the compass of a
circle as to be at least equal in extent to their own bodies. With this
assistance, it is supposed it can at once discover whether any hole or
space is large enough to admit the body, which to those living in a wild
state is of the greatest consequence; and to the domestic Cat of great
service.
------------------------------------------------------------------------