Fossil Cats.—Thu Felid:c seem to have been de ri•ed from somewhat primitive :Miocene •arni vores. the sabre-toothed tigers Op.) constituting the highly interesting family Niniravida., which were themselves evolved from some earlier Eocene •reodonts, perhaps Pali•onictis and Patriofelis (q.v.).
The true felines appear first in the Lower :Miocene of France, where they are represented by Pros Inuits, and in the Middle Alio•ene by Pseu do:chu•s. The genus Fells appears first in the Middle and Upper Aliocene of Europe and North America, and later in the Pliocene and Pleisto cene of both these continents and also of Asia. As with several other races of animals, the Pliocene and Pleistocene members appear to have been of much larger size and to have inhabited more northerly countries than their modern descend ants. The cave lion (Felix spehca). whose re mains are found in the cave deposits of Europe England. was larger than the modern lion of Asia and Africa. of which species it, seems to have been hut a variety. Equally large species are known front the American Pleistocene deposits. Fossil remains of many of the existing species of felines are found in the Pleistocene deposits of Europe and southern Asia.
Cats inhabit all parts of the world except Australia, New Zealand, southeast Malaysia. the Polynesian Islands, and Aladagascar, the greater number being inhabitants of southern Asia. There are from 40 to 50 species (according to various views of specific rank in certain cases), divided by conservative into only three genera—Frlis, with 35 to 40 species; Lyncus, the short-tailed cats, 6 species; and cymaurus, 1 or perhaps 2 species. Most of these will be found described elsewhere under their names, as Lcoe Ann, LION, LYNX, ( )UNCE, TDamt, etc., or under WILDCAT.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. Strauss-Durckheim, Anatomic Bibliography. Strauss-Durckheim, Anatomic descriptice et comparative do chat (Paris, IS-15: anatomical monograph, folio, illustrated) ; D. G. Elliott, Monograph of the Felida' (London, 1S78-83) ; Alivart„ The rat (New York, 1892; anatomical and descriptive; illustrations of bones, muscles, etc., and of nearly all the spe cies) ; Wilder and Gage, Anatomical Technology, as A pplied to thc Domestic rat (New York, 13S2) ; and Jennings, Anatomy of the rat (Ne• York, 1901I. Sec. also. bibliography at the end of this article.
The Domestic Cal.—A cat, or cats, formed a part of the domestic circle in various parts of the world before the beginning of human record, and the question of the origin of the varied domestic races known within historic times may only be guessed at. Naturalists have attempted
by a study of semi-fossil remains, mummies from ancient Egyptian tombs. a comparison of modern examples with wild forms of similar size, and a study of the reversionary tendeneies exhibited by house-eats that return to a feral life, to determine the origin of the race, but have learned nothing definite. The best, opinion seems to be that stated by J. E. Ilartiv, F.L.S.: wild species of Egyptian and Indian origin having been ages ago reclaimed, the inter b•eeding of their offspring and (•ossing with other wild species in the countries to whieh they have been at various times exported has resulted in the gradual production of the many varieties. so different in shape and color. with which we are now familiar." Domesticated cats seem to have been e01111114 )11 in Egypt before the time of the earliest records, for their mummies are coeval with the most an cient human remains and they are depicted on the oldest monuments. The same may, perhaps, be said of India, \there they are mentioned in Sanskrit manuscripts at least •000 years before Christ; and from India they were taken to China. where, however, they scent not to have been generally known until about A.D. 500. It was in Egypt, however, that the animal, which is considered to have been there, at least, the local gloved or Catl're cat (Fetis caffra) domesticated, reached its highest importance. both as it mouser in that 'granary of the world.' and as an ob ject of affection and veneration. Lt was natu rally connected with the cat-headed moon-god dess Pasht, both by its habits and by the fanci ful resemblance of the gradual expansion of its pupil, as darkness came on, to the growth of the moon: was protected by priestly deer•es and superstitions of great popular force, and was entombed in elaborate mummy-cases. It is be lieved that the domestie cats of Europe, whence Ameriea received its stock, were derived front Egypt at a comparatively late day. It does not appear that they were known as domestic• aM mals among the .\ ssyrians or early Hebrews. and the mousers in the homes of the early classic Greeks were probably martens (1/artcs foina). Cats were possessed by the central Europeans of the Bronze Age. and probably came to have more or less admixture with the European wildcats. but the basis of the stock from which our present varieties have descended is, no doubt, the Egyp tian domesticated race. The and Chinese may have originated quite separately from Asiatic species.