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Page:The cat. Its natural history, varieties, and management.djvu/24

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THE CAT.

what that of the Serval. When the animal is excited, and the tail enlarges, after the manner of all cats, it presents a splendid brush.

In country places, where rabbits are abundant,—and, we may add, the smaller, but not less destructive, rodents, and a variety of feathered game,—the barn-door cat is sometimes tempted to abscond and take to a romantic and semi-wild life in the woods. Kittens born of such parents have no desire for the domestic hearth, and are wild and suspicious to a degree. Were it not for the vigilance and unremitting persecution of gamekeepers and others, which has robbed our land of the noble Felis catus, in common with many other rare and interesting creatures, it is