On my living-room wall I have a painting of a
wildcat by John Holmes of which I am
extremely fond. It depicts a snarling, spitting
animal, teeth bared and back arched: a taut
coiled spring ready to unleash some unknown
fury.
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However, the physical differences are tangible.
The wildcat is a much larger animal, weighing
in some cases up to seven kilos, the same
as a typical male fox. The coat pattern is
superficially similar to a domestic tabby cat but
it is all stripes and no spots. The tail is thicker
and blunter, with three to five black rings. The
animal has an altogether heavier look.
The Scottish wildcat was originally
distinguished as a separate subspecies in
1912, but it is now generally recognised that
there is little difference between the Scottish
and other European populations. According to
an excellent report on the wildcat printed in
1991, the animals originally occurred in a
variety of habitats throughout Europe.
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It was during the nineteenth century, with the
establishment of many estates used by
landowners for hunting, that the wildcat
became a nuisance and its rapid decline really
began; 198 wildcats were killed in three years
in the area of Glengarry, for example.
However, things were later to improve for the
species.
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The future is by no means secure, though, and
recent evidence suggests that the wildcat is
particularly vulnerable to local eradication,
especially in the remoter parts of northern and
western Scotland. This is a cause for real
concern, given that the animals in these areas
have less contact with domestic cats and are
therefore purer