136.
Cats, when terrified, stand at full height, and arch their backs
in a well-known and ridiculous fashion. They spit, hiss, or growl.
The hair over the whole body, and especially on the tail, becomes erect.
In the instances observed by me the basal part of the tail was held upright,
the terminal part being thrown on one side; but sometimes the tail (see fig.
15) is only a little raised, and is bent almost from the base to one side.
The ears are drawn back, and the teeth exposed. When two kittens
are playing together, the one often thus tries to frighten the other.
From what we have seen in former chapters, all the above points of
expression are intelligible, except the extreme arching of the back.
I am inclined to believe that, in the same manner as many birds,
whilst they ruffle their feathers, spread out their wings and tail,
to make themselves look as big as possible, so cats stand upright at their
full height, arch their backs, often raise the basal part of the tail,
and erect their hair, for the same purpose. The lynx, when attacked,
is said to arch its back, and is thus figured by Brehm. But the keepers
in the Zoological Gardens have never seen any tendency to this action
in the larger feline animals, such as tigers, lions, &c.
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