Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/364

* CAT. 312 CAT. are carnassial, for little 'grinding' of the food is called for; and the eanines of some, as espe- cially of the extinct sabre-toothed tiger, are for- midable tiisks. The tongue is rough; the in- testinal canal very short, being in some species DENTITION' OP THE CAT. Teeth of Mt side in both jaws ; m lit, molara:/j/H pm, pre-molars; c c, canines; i i, incisors. only three times the length of the body. The most striking and characteristic peculi,arity of cat-structure, liowever (though imperfect in" one genus — Cynadurus; see Ciieeta), is the arrange- ment for the protrusion and retraction of the claws, by which they are made the principal instruments whereby these creatures get their living. Their plan, as has been said, is to get as near as possible to their animal prey, seize and hold it until they can overcome it by biting throiigh the arteries of the neck (in the case of large quadrupeds) or otherwise put it to death ; they cannot chase it down and worry it to death after the manner of dogs. This re- quires that their toes should be separated, flexi- ble, and capable of a powerful grip, and their claws sharp and hooked. The acquirement of MECHANISM OP CAT'S CLAWS. a. Toe at rest (cliiw slifiithed'); b, toe in action (claw thrown forward). Ttu' illustratidii sliows the elastic liga- ment which passes fruni alxive tiie root of the elaw down- ward and backward to the distal part of the second pha- lanx; also the hniK flexor t^'iidon (which by beiuK palled backward draws tiown the claw) jiassinp thron^h tin' lij^a- Dientous loop attachi'd to the under surface of the middle phalnn.Y. The sesamoid bone beneath the distal end of the metacarpal is also shown. (After Mivart.) such tools has been accompanied by provision for keeping them out of the animal's way, in the ordinary vise of its feet, and at the same time saving them from becoming blunted by contact with the ground, as happens to those of all other clawed animals, by a peculiar arrangement. In the cats, the last (third) phalanx, or tip- bone, of the toe, which carries the claw, does not toucli the ground, but it is so niodilied as to turn up beneatli a hood of skin over the end of the bone (sec(md phalanx) next behind it; this it does naturally, when at rest, by virtue of the elasticity of a ligament which passes from it down to the second phalanx, and holds it in ])lace without any conscious ellort. From the lo«i'r (proximal) end of this claw-bone a powerlul liexor tendon runs back beneath the bones of the toe to the leg-muscles, the contraction of which pulls the claw down with a circular motion which drives it and hooks it into the flesh, where it will tear loose before it will let go. Such is the mechanism of the action so familiar and effective in the cat when she is angry and 'sliows her claws.' The cheeta (q.v.) lacks this power, and correspondingly its predatory habits partake of much that characterizes dogs. Cats are mainly nocturnal in their habits, and the pupils of their eyes, which, as a rule, are vertically linear, are capable of great expansion and contraction, according to the light about them; the lion, however, by virtue of his fear- lessness and circumstances generally, is mainly diurnal and has round pupils. T!ie eyesight is good, but at night is supplemented by the higlily sensitive feelers (vibrissa-), long h.-tirs project- ing from the muzzle and above the eyes, each springing from a follicle from which a special nerve communicates with the brain. The sense of smell, though fairly developed, is inferior to that of dogs and various other animals. The hearing, however, is exceedingly sharp, the resonance of the sound being increased by the great size of the auditory bulla. Cats are clothed in soft and usually rather long fur, longest in those, such as the ounce, which live in cold regions, and sliortest in the desert species, especially the lion, which is further distinguished by a mane in the male sex. Little difference, as a rule, obtains be- tween the sexes in size or appearance; but the kittens are often quite unlike their parents. Their pelts have never entered largely into the iur trade, however, except in the form of tiger- skin floor-rugs, etc. The colors are mainly dark, with ,a prevalence of reddish or ycllowisli. and there is a universal and strong tendency toward spottedness (of which striping is another form), the young showing it even where the adult is concolorous, as in the lion, puma, eyra, etc. Arguments have been freely adduced ftn- the value of this coloration in making the eats un- noticeable, but when it is learned that species almost oppositely colored and marked live and hunt under identical circumstances with ap- parently equal success, the force of the specula- tion is seriously diminished. Cats are not gregarious, or coiiperative. but live and himt alone, or in family parties; all are monogamous excejit the lion ; and the reputa- tion which some have for permanent mating is probably deserved only when an annual change of mate is impracticable because of scarcity or competition. They inhabit dens and lairs among rocks, in hollow trees, or dense thickets, with- out any special preparation, and the number of kittens does not usually exceed two in the large fiu'ins, but in the small species may be three, four, or five. These are usually born in the late spring of temperate latitudes or at the