Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/368

CAT. 3U CAT. the oldest monuments. The same may, perhaps, be saiil of India, where they are mentioned in Sanskrit nianuseripts at least 2000 years Iwfore Christ; and from India they were taken to China, where, however, they seem not to have been {jenerally known until about A.I). 500. It was in ICj;ypt, however, that the animal, which is considered to have been there, at least, the local gloved or Cafl're cat (Ftlis caffra) domesticated, reached its highest importance, both as a mouser in that "granary of the world.' and as an ob- ject of all'cction and ^■e^eration. It was natu- rally connected with the cat-headed moon-god- dess Pasht, both by its habits and by the fanci- ful resemblance of (he gradual exi)ansion of its pupil, as darkness came on, to the growth of the moon; was protected by priestly decrees and superstitions of great popular force, and was entondu'd in elaborate mummy-cases. It is be- lieved that the domestic cats of Europe, whence America received its stock, were derived from Egypt at a com])aratively late day. It does not appear that they were known as domestic ani- mals among the .ssyrians or early Hebrews, and the mousers in the lumies of the early classic Greeks were probably martens {Martcs foina).- Cats were possessed by the central Europeans of the lironze .ge, and jirobably 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 Egj'p- tian domesticated race. The Indian and Chinese may have originated quite separately from Asiatic species. Domestic eats are now divided by the character and color of the coat, comparative length of tail, etc., into certiiin varieties recognized by fanciers, according to rules fornnilated by the societies which h(dd annual competitive exhibitions in New York, London, and other cities. The prin- cipal divisions are two — long-haired, or Asiatic, and short-haired, or European cats. The long- haired varieties are two, the Angora and Per- sian. The Angora cat came originally from Angora, and has a small head and rather large tufted ears: the long silky hair should hang in tufts and clusters, shortening toward the end of the tail. The colors are varie<l, but black and dark- slate colored <nies with orange eyes, or blues and whites with light eyes, are most valued. The PrrKian is also long-haired, hut is larger in body and the fur is coai'ser. and increases toward the end of the long tail: the color may be almost any. but deep black with orange eyes is preferred; blue is the next best color. The short-haired eats are mainly distinguished by their colors, as tortoise-shell, tabby, white, blue (or Maltese), etc. The hair may differ somewhat in length and texture, but in this respect the diversities are too slight and in- constant to count nnich. Torloise-Khcll cats are rather small, long-bodied, and graceful ; in color, black, red, and yellow, rich and deep, and dis- po.sed in sharply defined patches upon short, close, silky hair. Eyes, bright amber to orange- yellow. The presence of white sets the animal aside into a variety known as Torloispshell and ^yhilc, where the while should be in a distinct blaze on the face and on the breast and legs. All these cats are good mousers, but less aflcc- tionate than some others. Tahhy is the name given to banded or brindled cats, in allusion to the wavy pattern of their coats, like the old-fashioned 'watered" fabrics from the East once known in conunerce as "atabi' and more lately as "taHety.' Eour varieties arc recognized by fanciers — brown, si)otted. blue (or silver), and red tabbies. Good examples of these types must conform to their standard; anything else is simply an unclassed 'tabby-cat.' "The brown tabby," says lluideko|>er, "has a ground color of a rich reddish dark l)rown, with no white, and even, regular bars and bands of solid shining black over every part of the body; these bands must be perfectly distinct, and there must be no spots." The Sjjottvd Tiihhij may be of any base color, and is uniformly and equally spotted all over with black spots set in lines. The eyes of both these varieties should be orange. The lilue or SiUcr Tubbi) is a rather small, very slender, graceful, close-haired cat, bright blue or else silvery in cidor, setting off the jet-black narrow bands with great sharpness; cushion of the feet black; long tail, ringed; eyes orange for the blue, yellow for the silver race. The h'ed 7'«66(/ varies from reddish brown to red in base color, having well-defined bands of darker red, and no white whatever; eyes, orange or yellow. This eat is an important factor in breeding tor- toise-shells; in fact, !)S) iicr cent, of male tortoise- shell kittens are red tabbies, the females only, as a rule, being proper tortoise-shells. They are good-natured domestic cats, great mousers and huntei's for birds; they are also expert tishers. ^Vhite and short-haired eats form a special class, characterized by eyes of tunpioise or clear sky- blue: or, if yellow, there nuist be no greenish tinge. These are quiet, ajfectionate cats. ver' often deaf. Self-Colored cats incbidc those which are of some one solid color, and their eyes should be orange-yellow for the blue (or Maltese, as it is knoin in America ) . on ge for the black, yellow for the grsi.v, and g(dd for the red eat. The more uniform the color the better. Itlavk cats and Iilark-ttnd^^'hite cats are classed separately, and ' in the latter case the white should be only on the face, muzzle, breast, and Jiaws; the eyes vary from orange-yellow to 'sea-green.' The roi/iiJ €it of Siam reverses this somewhat, being dun. or fawn-color, with black face, ears, tiiil, and feet. The Manx cat dill'ers from others not only in being tailless (as a rule), but also, like the Siamese variety, has the hindquarters decidedly elevated. A white ilanx cat is almost unknown, and black ones are exceedingly rare. BiULiOGU.vpiiv. Champlleurv, I.cs Chats (Paris, 1870: anecdotal, illustrnted) : llehn, Kullnriifluii- zen Hiirf IJausthicri? (l?<'rlin, 1S94) ; G. RoUes- ton, "On Domestic Cats," in Juuniul of Aimtomy and Physiology, Vol. II. (London. ISliS) ; 11. Weir, Our Cats . . . Varieties, Bahils. and Management (New York, 1889) : J. Jennings, Oomcstic and Fancy Cats (London. 18!)3) ; G. Stables, Cats: Handbook to Their Classification and Diseases [and] Training (London, 1897); K. H. Huidekoper, The Cat (New York. 1895; standards of form, treatment, etc.) ; Helen W. Winslow, Concerning Cats (Boston, 1900 ; dis- cursive) ; .gnes Kepplier. The Fireside Sphinx (New "ork, 1901: historical and literary). CAT (in old ships the cat-fall led through the cat-bead, a proiecting beam on thel>ov. frequently onnimented with a cat's head). In nautical par- Inace. the cat, or cat-purchase, is a device used in getting the anchor up in the securing position