one occasion they had quite a desperate tug of war over the same piece of meat, and it was with some difficulty that I could part them, for fear of using too much force and hurting their young teeth. But when not feeding, the tortoiseshell became not only docile, but most affectionate and pleasing, in her little ways. She would fondle and purr in a manner that won the affection of my heart. On the other hand, the tabby was, at the best, passively composed, but always watchful, and never certain in mood. I can hardly say which of the two I prized most. In the one I admired the manifestations of its inborn nature, and would on no account check or discourage such signs of high blood. Towards the other I felt there was a mutual and spiritual bond of affection, which I can better conceive than describe. Dryden’s lines upon a tame leopard express very nearly my feelings respecting these two little beasts (see page 21). Unfortunately, the kittens died very suddenly, and at the same hour, after a short career of three months. There is reason to suspect that poison was the cause of their untimely end. Nothing now remains but the stuffed skins, mounted in admirable style, under a glass case.

Probably the veneration with which the Egyptians regarded the cat was in no way diminished by the probable utility of their revered favourites in keeping under the increase of such remarkably prolific and fast-growing rodents as are mice and rats; and it is reasonable to suppose these little animals must have been harmful in the vast stores of grain which are recorded in ancient history. Pussy’s valuable qualities as a mouser are to the present day too well known to need much comment. A friend of mine told me the other day that once, when he removed to another house, and had also deposited his favourite cat, with the usual precaution of buttering paws, and consolation of a more solid nature in addition, the servant, on entering the kitchen in the morning, found fourteen mice lying dead on the hearth-rug, most of them decapitated. The usual preference which cats have for the heads of their prey is remarkable, and has been noticed in both tame and wild animals. One of the most noticeable characteristics of the cat kind is the silent tread. Even the footfall of the huge tigers, as they pace to and fro in their roomy cages or in their open-air enclosures at the Zoological Gardens is hardly to be heard. For not only is the cat a digitigrade animal, walking absolutely “tiptoe” in the most perfect manner, but the toes are furnished with a most elastic membrane, constituting what are commonly called pussy’s “pads.” She is thus enabled to skulk stealthily in search of her desired prey, and can on all occasions move with that unobtrusive grace and silent ease peculiarly characteristic of her race. The retractile construction of the peculiarity sharp claws is also a beautiful adaptation to the requirements of these Nimrods of creation. Generally these useful weapons are held back, nicely sheathed and safe from harm. They are readily, however, protruded at will when required for offensive or defensive service, in holding secure an unfortunate victim, or as hooks to assist in climbing trees, etc. The senses of the cat are all highly developed. That of hearing is most acute. The sense of smell is not so acute as in the dog and some other animals—at least, it is assumed so; but it is quite evident that the ear and the eye are put to the best service by the cat. But dirt and bad smells are much disliked, while, on the other hand, there is a remarkable partiality for some smells. Cats appear to enjoy the perfume of many flowers, and their fondness for the odour of cat-mint or valerian is remarkable. As may be noticed by the prompt, unerring manner in which a cat will dart at a mouse or any small moving object in almost total darkness, she has the power to see near objects without the light required by ourselves and most animals. Absolutely total darkness is evidently not advantageous to pussy’s vision, and the assertion that the cat can see better in the dark must not be regarded in an abstract, but in a comparative, sense. The pupil of the eye has the round shape, as in ourselves, only during darkness, when it is dilated so as to receive every ray of light available. By day, on the other hand, when there is more light than the eye requires, the pupil contracts to an ellipse, or, in the strongest light, to a mere line. This peculiarity is absent in the lion and tiger and a few others. A peculiarity in the cat and some other animals may be noticed in the highly-developed bristles, commonly called “whiskers,” but more appropriately termed “feelers.” These are not, as some may suppose, only common hairs of larger growth, but are deeply implanted, having large swollen roots, somewhat in the form of young onions, and are connected with highly sensitive nerves which communicate with the brain. By means of these bristles the cat is enabled to feel its way the more stealthily, avoiding the clumsy disturbance of surrounding objects that might impede its progress.

It will be seen by the foregoing brief description of its leading physical characteristics that the cat is, of all animals, the most perfectly and beautifully formed for the fulfilments of the instincts and requirements of its nature. The silent, soft tread of the velvet paw, with the finely pointed and carefully preserved claws, the terrible fangs, the keen eye, and the light, easy, soft, yet powerful and unerring, action of the whole body—all these render the cats, from the great Bengal tiger downwards, the most charming and graceful creatures in animated nature.

But there is yet another physical peculiarity worthy of passing notice; viz., the remarkably loose skin. This is connected with the flesh by a layer of very loose fibres. The cat’s loose skin serves her well on many occasions as a shield of protection, especially when scuffling with her neighbours—an occurrence which will sometimes take place. This peculiarity may be occasionally seen well exhibited in the jaguars and other great cats at the Zoological Gardens, more especially when they are young and sportive. To see the powerful manner in which these animals embrace each other with their great hooked claws may cause some apprehension that serious consequences are about to result. If the skin were tightly fitted to the body, as with the horse, hog, ox, and other herbivorous animals, the result of such violent scufflings would be very serious. But, as may be seen, the animals do not get good hold of each other, as the skin is dragged round with the claws, and the hold is lost.

The following account of the sagacity of a young black-and-white tom-cat, which occurred about twenty years ago, is, I think, worth relating as illustrative of the retentive memory and the remarkable prescience which many cats appear to possess as a peculiar mental endowment.

The house being covered with corrugated iron, and the spaces formed by the corrugations where the roof met the walls not being