THE CAT.

The cat is a faithless domestic, and only kept through necessity to

oppose to another domestic which incommodes us still more, and which

we cannot drive away; for we pay no respect to those who, being fond

of all beasts, keeps cats for amusement. Though these animals are

gentle and frolicksome when young, yet they even then possess an innate

cunning, and perverse disposition, which age increases, and which

education only serves to conceal. They are naturally inclined to theft,

and the best education only converts them into servile and flattering

robbers; for they have the same address, subtilty, and inclination for

mischief or rapine. Like all knaves they know how to conceal their

intentions, to watch, wait, and choose opportunities for seizing their

prey; to fly from punishment, and to remain away until the danger is

over and they can return with safety. They readily conform to the

habits of society, but never acquire its manners; they have only the

appearance of attachment, as may be seen by the obliquity of their

motions, and the duplicity of their looks; they never look in the face

of those who treat them best and of whom they seem to be the most fond,

but either through fear, or falsehood, they approach him by windings to

seek for those caresses they have no pleasure in but only to flatter

those from whom they receive them. Very different from that faithful

animal the dog, whose sentiments are all directed to the person of

his master, the cat appears only to feel for himself, only to love

conditionally, only to partake of society that he may abuse it; and by

this disposition he has more affinity to man than the dog, who is all

sincerity.

The form and temperament of the cat's body perfectly correspond

with his disposition. He is handsome, light, adroit, cleanly, and

voluptuous; he loves ease, and searches out the softest places for

rest and repose. The cat is very amorous, and what is uncommon among

animals, the female appears more ardent than the male; she seeks for

and invites him, and by her loud cries announces the fury of her

desires or rather the pressure of her wants; if he flies from or

disdains her, she pursues, tears, and though their approaches are

always accompanied with acute pain, she forces him to comply with

her desires. This passion of the female continues nine or ten days,

and commonly happens only twice a year in the spring and autumn, but

sometimes three and even four times. They go with young 55 or 56 days,

and they usually have from four to six at a litter. As the males are

apt to devour their progeny, the females commonly conceal themselves

when they litter, and if suspicious of a discovery, they carry their

young ones away in their mouths and hide them in holes or inaccessible

places. After suckling them a few weeks, the old one takes them mice

or small birds, to accustom them to eat flesh; but by an unaccountable

caprice, these very mothers so tender and careful, become sometimes so

cruel and unnatural, as to devour their offspring themselves.

Young cats are gay, sprightly, and full of frolic, and would be very

good amusement for children if nothing was to be feared from their

claws. Their play however, though always light and agreeable, is never

innocent, and soon turns into habitual mischief. As they can only

exert their talents on small animals, they watch birds, mice, and rats

with the greatest patience, which they seize with avidity, and without

being taught, become more expert hunters than the best instructed dogs.

Their dispositions being naturally averse to all restraint, they are

incapable of a regular education; we are told however that the Greek

monks of Cyprus[A] taught cats to hunt and destroy the serpents with

which that island was infested; but perhaps this hunting was more from

their natural inclination to destroy than from obedience, for they take

great delight in watching, attacking and destroying all feeble animals

without distinction, as birds, young rabbits, leverets, rats, mice,

bats, moles, frogs, toads, lizards, and serpents. They are without

docility, and their scent, which in the dog is so eminent a quality, is

very indifferent, and therefore they hunt by the eye only; neither do

they properly pursue, but rather lie in wait and attack the animals by

surprise; and after having played with, and tormented them a long time,

they kill them without any necessity, even when well fed and in no want

of prey to satisfy their appetites.

[A] Description of the Islands of the Archipelago. By Dapper p. 51.

The most immediate physical cause of their inclination to seize other

animals by surprise, comes from the advantage they receive from the

particular conformation of their eyes. The pupil in man, and many other

animals, is capable of a certain degree of contraction and dilatation;

it enlarges a little when the light is faint, and contracts when it

becomes too strong; in cats and nocturnal birds, as owls, &c. this

contraction and dilatation is so considerable that the pupil, which in

the dark is large and round, becomes in the day, long and narrow like

a line; and therefore these animals see better in the night than in

the day. There is a perpetual contraction in the eye of the cat during

the day, and it is only by a great effort that he can see in a strong

light, whereas, in the twilight, the pupil resumes its natural form, he

sees perfectly, and profits from this superiority to know, attack, and

surprise his prey.

It cannot be said that cats, though living in our houses, are entirely

domestic. The most familiar are not under any subjection, but rather

enjoy perfect freedom, as they only do just what they please, and

nothing is capable of retaining them in a place which they are inclined

to desert. Besides, most of them are half wild, know not their masters,

frequent other granaries, and never visit the kitchens and offices

belonging to the house but when pressed to it by hunger.

Cats have less attachment to persons than to houses. When taken to the

distance of a league or two they will return to their former abode of

their own accord, possibly because they there know all the retreats of

the mice, the outlets and passages about the house, and because the

labour of the journey back is less than it would be to acquire the same

facility in a new place. They fear water, cold, and bad smells; they

love to be in the sun, and to lie in warm places; they are very fond

of perfumes, and willingly allow themselves to be taken and caressed

by those who make use of them. The scent of the valerian root has so

powerful an effect on them that it appears to transport them with

pleasure; to preserve this plant in the gardens it is necessary to

surround it with a close fence, for the cats smell it at a distance,

will come about it in numbers, and by rubbing and passing and repassing

over it very soon destroy the plant. They do not come to their full

growth in less than fifteen or eighteen months, but they are capable of

engendering before the end of the first year, and they can procreate

all their lives, which seldom exceeds eight or nine years; they are

notwithstanding, very lively and hardy, and more nervous than most

other animals which live longer.

Cats can only chew slowly, and with difficulty; their teeth are so

short and so badly placed, that they rather serve them to tear than

grind their food, and, therefore, they always give the preference to

tender victuals; they are very fond of fish, which they will eat either

raw or boiled; they drink frequently; their sleep is not sound, and

they often assume the appearance of sleep for some artful design; they

walk gently, and without making any noise. They are very cleanly, and

as their coat is always dry their hair easily electrifies, and the

sparks are seen to come from it merely by rubbing the hand across it in

the dark. Their eyes also sparkle in the dark like diamonds, and seem

to reflect in the night the light they may be said to have imbibed

during the day.

_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._

[Illustration: FIG. 50. _Wild Cat._]

[Illustration: FIG. 51. _Domestic Cat._]

The wild cat (_fig. 50._) couples with the domestic one (_fig. 51._)

and consequently form but one species. It is not uncommon for both

males and females to quit their houses when they are proud and go into

the woods to seek wild cats, and afterwards return to their former

habitations; it is for this reason that some of our domestic cats

so entirely resemble the wild ones. The greatest difference between

them is internally, the intestines of the domestic cat being longer

than those of the wild cat, although the latter is much the largest

and strongest; his lips are also always black, his ears more stiff,

his tail larger, and his colour more uniform. In this country we know

but one species of wild cat, and it appears from the testimony of

travellers that this species is found in almost all climates without

any great variety. There were some of them upon the new Continent

before its discovery: a huntsman carried one to Christopher Columbus

which was of the common size, of a dark grey colour, and had a very

long strong tail. There were wild ones found at Peru, but none in a

tame state; as also in Canada, in the county of Illinois, &c. They have

been seen in many parts of Africa, as in Guinea, and the Gold Coast,

at Madagascar, where the natives had domestic cats, and at the Cape of

Good Hope, where Kolbe says, there are also, though in a small number,

wild cats of a blue colour; and these blue or rather slate-coloured

cats are also found in Asia. Pietro della Valle says[B], "In Persia

there are cats of a species which properly belong to the province of

Charazan. Their size and form are like those of the common cat; their

beauty consists in their colour, and in their hair which is grey,

spotless, and uniform over the whole body, except that it is darker

on the back and the head, and shaded lighter on the breast and belly,

until it approaches a degree of whiteness; which agreeable mixture,

to use the language of the painters, forms a kind of _chiaro-obscuro_

that has a wonderful effect. Besides their hair is shining, soft and

delicate as silk, and so long, that, though more smooth than rough,

yet it is curled, particularly under the neck. These cats are to the

rest of their species, what the water-dogs are to that of the dog. The

most beautiful part of their body is the tail, which is very long and

covered with hair of five or six inches in length, and which they turn

up over their backs like the squirrel, and the upper point resembles a

plume of feathers. They are very tame, and the Portuguese have brought

them from Persia into the Indies." From this description it appears,

that, except in colour, these cats resemble those of Angora (_fig.

52._). It is probable, therefore, that the cat of Chorazan, in Persia,

and the cat of Angora, in Syria, are of the same race, and whose beauty

proceeds from the particular influence of the climate of Syria; in the

same manner as the Spanish cats (_fig. 53._) which are red, white, and

black, and whose hair is soft and glossy, are indebted for their beauty

to the climate of Spain.

[B] Travels of Pietro della Valle, vol. v. pp. 98 and 99.

_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._

[Illustration: FIG. 52. _Spanish Cat._]

[Illustration: FIG. 53. _Angora Cat._]

In general it may be remarked, that of all the climates of the

inhabited globe, those of Spain and Syria are the most favourable to

these beautiful varieties in nature. The sheep, goats, dogs, cats,

rabbits, &c. of those countries, have the finest wool, the most

beautiful and longest hair, and the most agreeable and most varied

colours. Both the hair and colour of the wild cat, like those of most

other animals, are coarse; when tamed the former becomes more soft and

the latter more variegated, and in the favourable climates of Chorazan

and Syria, the hair becomes more long, fine, and copious, and the

colours more delicate; the black and red change into a transparent

brown, and the dark brown into an ash-coloured grey. By comparing a

wild cat of our forests with those of Chorazan, we shall find their

greatest difference consists in this shaded variety of colours. As

these animals have more or less white upon the belly and sides, it is

easy to conceive that to have cats entirely white and with long hair,

such as the cats of Angora, we have only to unite those with the most

white, in the same manner as is done with rabbits, dogs, goats, stags,

&c. In the Spanish cat, which is only another variety of the wild cat,

the colours instead of being weakened by uniform shades, as in the

Syrian cat, become more bright; the yellow is changed into red, the

brown into black, and the grey into white. These cats retain their

colours and do not degenerate when transported into America. "In the

Antilles, says Father du Tertre, there are a number of cats, probably

brought thither by the Spaniards; most of them have red, white, or

black marks, and many of the French after eating the flesh, send their

skins to France for sale. When we came to Guadeloupe these cats were

so accustomed to feed on partridges, doves, thrushes, and small birds,

that they would not deign to look upon rats; but no sooner did they

find the game diminish than they broke their truce with the rats and

fought them vigorously."

In general cats are not, like dogs, subject to degenerate when

transported into warm climates. Bosman says, "the European cats when

carried into Guinea preserve their original figure the same." Their

nature is indeed more constant, and as their domestic state is neither

so entire, universal, nor perhaps so ancient as that of the dog, it

is not surprising that they should have undergone less variation. Our

domestic cats, though they differ in colour, do not form distinct and

separate races; the climates of Spain and Syria having alone produced

varieties which are permanent. To these might indeed be added the

climate of Pe-chi-ly, in China, where there are cats with long hair

and pendant ears, and of which the Chinese ladies are very fond. These

domestic cats with pendant ears, of which we have descriptions, are

more removed than those with straight ears, from the wild primitive

race.

We shall here close the history of the cat, and with it that of

domestic animals; of these our number is confined to the horse, the

ass, the ox, the sheep, the goat, the hog, the dog, and the cat. We add

not to this list the camel, the elephant, the rein-deer, and others,

which though domestic in other countries, are not familiar to us; nor

shall we enter upon the history of foreign wild animals, till we have

given that of the wild animals of our own country. Besides, as the cat

may be said to be only half domestic, he forms the shade between the

real wild and real domestic animals; for among the domestic we ought

not to include such troublesome neighbours as rats, mice, and moles,

which, though inhabitants of our houses and gardens, are not less wild

and unsubjected; since instead of being attached or subservient to man,

they fly from him, and in their obscure retreats, retain their manners,

habits, and their liberties inviolate.

In the history of each domestic animal we have seen to what a degree

the education, protection, and care of man, influence its disposition,

manners, and even form. We have seen that these causes, added to the

effects of climate, modify and change the species so as to render them

very different from what they originally were, whence is occasioned

such a dissimilarity among the individuals of the same species that

we should be led to consider them as different animals, did they not

produce together fertile individuals, which is the sole essential

characteristic of every species. We have seen that the different races

of domestic animals observe nearly the same order in the different

climates with the human race; that like men they are more strong and

courageous in cold countries, more civilized and mild in temperate

ones, and more dastardly, feeble, ugly, and deformed, in the hot

regions; that moreover it is in temperate climates, and among the most

civilized nations, that the greatest diversity, mixture, and numerous

varieties of each species are found; it is among them also that animals

exhibit evident signs of the antiquity of their servitude; their

pendant ears, their varied colours, their long and delicate hair, are

so many effects produced by the length of time they have been in a

domestic state. Of almost all wild animals the ears are erect. Those

of the wild boar are erect and stiff, but those of the domestic hog

are inclined and half pendant. Among the Laplanders, the savages of

America, the Hottentots, the Negroes, and other uncivilized people, all

the dogs have erect ears; whereas in Spain, France, England, Turkey,

Persia, China, and all other civilized countries, the generality of

them have soft and pendant ears. The ears of the tame cat are not so

stiff as those of the wild one; and in China, which is an empire of

very ancient civilization, and whose climate is very mild, there are

cats with pendulous ears. It is for the same reason that the goat of

Angora, whose ears are pendant, should be considered as the animal of

his species the furthest removed from his natural state; the influence

so evident of the climate of Syria, added to the domestic state of

these animals among a people civilized from great antiquity, would in

process of time have produced this variety, which cannot be maintained

in any other climate. The goats of Angora brought forth in France, have

their ears neither so long nor so pendant as those produced in Syria,

and would, probably, after a certain number of generations, assume the

ears and hair of the goats of our country.