Man are said to differ from common cats not only in the want of a tail, but
in the greater length of their hind legs, in the size of their heads, and
in habits. The Creole cat of Antigua, as I am informed by Mr. Nicholson, is
smaller, and has a more elongated head, than the British cat. In Ceylon, as
Mr. Thwaites writes to me, every one at first notices the different
appearance of the native cat from the English animal; it is of small size,
with closely lying hairs; its head is small, with a receding forehead; but
the ears are large and sharp; altogether it has what is there called a
"low-caste" appearance. Rengger (1/93. 'Saugethiere von Paraguay' 1830 s.
212.) says that the domestic cat, which has been bred for 300 years in
Paraguay, presents a striking difference from the European cat; it is
smaller by a fourth, has a more lanky body, its hair is short, shining,
scanty and lies close, especially on the tail: he adds that the change has
been less at Ascension, the capital of Paraguay, owing to the continual
crossing with newly imported cats; and this fact well illustrates the
importance of separation. The conditions of life in Paraguay appear not to
be highly favourable to the cat, for, though they have run half-wild, they
do not become thoroughly feral, like so many other European animals. In
another part of South America, according to Roulin (1/94. 'Mem. presentes
par divers Savans: Acad. Roy. des Sciences' tome 6 page 346. Gomara first
noticed this fact in 1554.), the introduced cat has lost the habit of
uttering its hideous nocturnal howl. The Rev. W.D. Fox purchased a cat in
Portsmouth, which he was told came from the coast of Guinea; its skin was
black and wrinkled, fur bluish-grey and short, its ears rather bare, legs
long, and whole aspect peculiar. This "negro" cat was fertile with common
cats. On the opposite coast of Africa, at Mombas, Captain Owen, R.N. (1/95.
'Narrative of Voyages' volume 2 page 180.) states that all the cats are
covered with short stiff hair instead of fur: he gives a curious account of
a cat from Algoa Bay, which had been kept for some time on board and could
be identified with certainty; this animal was left for only eight weeks at