of the domestic cat is an instinctive knowledge of
the presence of danger. Even a chimney on fire,
or the presence of strange workmen in the house,
will make it very restless and uneasy, and on such
occasions it will sometimes not go to rest even
during the night. Every animal is endowed with
peculiar means of self-defence; and as the cat
cannot trust, like the hare, to speed, on the approach
of danger it watches its enemy, occasionally
taking side glances, or looking round for a
place of refuge. On these occasions,
notwithstanding its natural nervousness, it maintains
great coolness. If a hole or shelter be near, it
waits for an opportunity, or until its enemy
looks away, and then rushes under cover, or
runs up a tree or a wall, and immediately sits
down and watches its enemy. If driven to an
actual encounter, the smallness of its mouth and
jaws preclude the use of its teeth to any great
extent, but it can inflict considerable injury,
and acute pain, with its sharp claws, which
perhaps no dog except a bull-dog can bear; indeed,
few dogs like to attack a cat at bay, though
they all run after them. It is curious, too, that
once in a place of safety it never seeks to leave
it, or loses sight of its enemy. A cat on the safe
side of an area railing will sit down and coolly
watch a dog barking furiously at it.

Its care and solicitude for its offspring are
excessive and touching. If attacked while rearing
them it will not run away, but stands and
defends them against any odds; like the hare in
similar circumstances, the cat evinces immense
power and courage, no matter how formidable
the enemy may be. Of course, the females of
all animals possess more or less of this quality.
The domestic cat is always proud of its
captured prey, and seldom fails to bring and show
it to the inmates of the family it lives with,
announcing its success by a plaintive sort of
mewing. A relative to whom the writer is
indebted for these remarks on the characteristics
and habits of the cat, wrote lately: "Some
nights ago my cat, who has lately caught eleven
mice, awoke me in the middle of the night. It
sat down by the bedside and mewed, while it
rubbed itself backwards and forwards against
the bedposts. I had no idea what was the
matter, but felt sure something was. I lighted
the candle, and found a dead mouse quite close
to me. Satisfied that I had examined its
capture, it took it off, and, after playing with it for
an hour, ate it up, leaving, as usual, the tail
and paws." In country or farm-houses, a cat
never fails to bring home birds, mice, and in
southern climes, lizards, and even snakes. She
does this, however, very much in proportion to
the amount of kindness bestowed upon her at
home, and, if this be altogether lacking, the
prey is only shown to other cats living in the
same house, or to her own young, if she happens
to have any; often, indeed, she brings her
trophy immediately and only to her young.

The cat will play with her young up to a
certain age, and allow them to pull her about
all day. When they are old enough to shift
for themselves, she not only ceases to care for
them, but any attempt on their part to play
with her is immediately put a stop to. The
senses of smelling, hearing, and sight, are acute
in cats, of which it is said there are thirty
distinct species. Being an animal which hunts
both by day and night, the structure of its
visual organs is adjusted for both. The retina,
or expansion of the optic nerve, is most sensitive
to the stimulus of light; hence, a well-marked
ciliary muscle contracts the pupil to a mere
vertical fissure during the day, while in the dark
the pupil dilates enormously, and lets in as much
light as possible. But even this would be
insufficient, for cats have to look for their prey in
holes, cellars, and other places where little or no
light can penetrate. Hence, the cat is furnished
with a bright, metal-like, lustrous membrane
called the Tapetum, which lines part of the
hollow globe of the eye, and sheds considerable
light on the image of an object thrown on the
retina. This membrane is, I believe, common
to all vertebrated animals, but is especially
beautiful and lustrous in nocturnal animals. The
herbivora, such as the ox and sheep, have the Tapetum
of the finest enamelled green colour, provided
probably to suit the nature of their food, which
is green. The subject, however, of the various
colours of the Tapetum in different animals is
not yet understood. The sensibility of the
retina in cats is so great that neither the
contraction of the pupil nor the closing of the
eyelids would alone afford them sufficient protection
from the action of the light. Hence, in
common with, most animals, the cat is furnished
with a nictilating membrane, which is, in fact,
a third eyelid, sliding over the transparent
cornea, beneath the common eyelids. This
membrane is not altogether opaque, but
translucent, allowing light to fall on the retina, and
acting as it were like a shade. The nictilating
membrane is often seen in the cat when she
slowly opens her eyes from a calm and
prolonged sleep. It is well developed in the eagle,
and enables him to gaze steadfastly on the sun's
unclouded disk.

The lateral movements of the head in cats
are not so extensive as in the owl, but are
nevertheless considerable. A cat can look
round, pretty far behind it, without moving its
body: which might be apt to startle its prey.
The skin of the cat is very full and loose, in
order that all its movements in all possible
directions and circumstances may be free and
unrestrained. For this purpose, too, all the
joints which connect its bones together are
extremely loose and free. Thus the cat is enabled
to get through small apertures, to leap from
great heights, and even to fall in an unfavourable
posture with little or no injury to itself. Its
ears are not so movable as those of some other
animals, but are more so than in very many
animals. The shape of the external ear, or
rather cartilaginous portion, is admirably adapted
to intercept sounds. The natural posture is
forward and outward, so as to catch sounds
proceeding from the front and sides. The upper
half, however, is movable, and by means of a