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Peter S. Pallas and His Curious Cats

The scientific names assigned to animals often have intriguing origins, which can be revealed by books in the Smithsonian Institution Libraries’ collections. The Pallas’s Cat of central Asia, for instance, is named after German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas (1741-1811), the first person to publish a detailed description of the animal. Although he was not fully aware that the curious creatures he had seen during his travels were a new species, Pallas’s account and his accompanying illustration were definitive enough to establish the foundation for the scientific record. Pallas spent much of his life in Russia, where he conducted expeditions in search of new and unusual animals and plants. In his account, Travels through the southern provinces of the Russian Empire in the years 1793 and 1794 (originally published in German in 1799-1801), he speculated that the mysterious felines known today as the Pallas’s Cat (Felis manul) were the half-wild offspring of a local nobleman’s pet:

cat

“A particular species, or mongrel variety, of the domestic cat, engaged a considerable share of my attention. It was the offspring of a black cat which belonged to Yegor Michailovitch Shedrinskoi, Counsellor of State, and had kittened three young ones that exactly resembled each other. Their mother lived alone in the village of Nikolskoi, in the district of Insara, on this nobleman’s estate, and often retired to a young forest, behind a garden which is laid out in the English style. The domestics had remarked that this cat was absent during th rutting season; and it was also reported that she formerly had kittens of the common kind, which she devoured a few days after their birth. I saw two of her brood in the house of Counsellor Martynof, and one in that of the Lord-lieutenant. The form of this cat, and particularly the nature and colour of the hair, exhibited so extraordinary an appearance, that I was induced to give a representation of it in the first plate. It is of a middle size, has somewhat smaller legs than the common cat, and the head is longer towards the nose. The tail is thrice the length of the head. The colour of the body is a light chesnut brown like that of the pole-cat, but blacker on the back, especially towards the tail, and paler along the sides and belly. … The exquisite olfactory sense, agility, and other characteristics of these three animals, are similar to those of the common cat. But they had been extremely wild at first, hid themselves in cellars, and holes, nay even burrowed under ground, and had not yet acquired the sociable qualities of our domesticated cats. I shall not attempt to determine whether they may be considered as a mongrel breed.”—Diane Shaw

(From v. 1, p. 48-49 and plate 1, of the from the 2nd London ed.; held by SIL’s Cooper-Hewitt Museum Library, qDK509.P3513 1812 v. 1-2 CHMRB)

More information about the Pallas’s Cat can be found on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website at http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/name/Felis_manul, where scanned volumes from SIL and the other BHL partner institutions can be consulted.

100 Comments

  1. That’s interesting. I love cats and I know many species but honestly I have never heard of Pallas ‘s cat. Don’t you know if there’s another name for it?

  2. I love interesting facts like these. Like the above comment, I had ever heard of Pallas’s cat either.

  3. buy wow gold

    It’s almost similar with my male siamese cat.

  4. Your post is very interesting. I’ve never heard of that type of cat before. Thanks a lot for this great post.

  5. zara

    According to the dicribption it was an old-style Siamese cat. Why is it associated with Felis Manul? There shall be the discription of another cat in Pallas’s books. Thank you in advance for your explanation.

  6. Its a beautiful species that shares its ancestors with persian cats. What I think is most interesting about the cat aside from its markings is the fact that it has round pupils. Beautiful sketch.

  7. Thanks for the info – I love interesting facts and tibits! And I love cats so this was really cool to find out about.

  8. what does this mean he discovered a new species? wasn’t it another cat? or was this the first time a cat was discovered? this wasn’t a new species. it was just another breed of cat.

  9. It’s wonderful that this blog entry about Peter S. Pallas and his research on cats has attracted so much interest. Because of all these comments, I will be doing a follow-up entry later this month, giving some additional background information, pictures, and links about the Pallas’s Cat and Peter Pallas. I am particularly indebted to the help provided to me by an Armenian researcher on cats, Zara Arushanyan, who contacted me about this blog entry –stay tuned for the update!

  10. Keep up the great work Diane. This is the first time I have heard about Pallas’s cats. Interesting.

  11. Cordless Phones

    I think is interesting that Pallas did not have a clue that what he was describing wasa a diffrent species yet the cat is still named after him.
    Richard Sharpe

  12. First I have heard of this particular breed. This is a very interesting man.

  13. I love cats and have always been interested in how they were named/classified. Thank you for a great article and I look forward to hopefully more.

  14. Cats are my favorite animal and I own 3. Very interesting facts, I am always curious about how words or names of things originated. Great article.

  15. I never used to like cats but I recently got one and I love her. She is so cute and funny. Great post.

  16. I have so many cats. I did not really know too much about this breed. Very interesting. He sounds like a great man.

  17. I’m a great cat lover too and have had many cats throughout my life. This was a great post and I really enjoyed reading it.

  18. Cats bring a lot of enjoyment to my life, especially as getting around for me is not so easy these days. I have two that sort of adopted me as they must have been strays but they’re content to spend their precious time with me.

  19. Excellent article regarding Pallas and his cats. Fascinating how something’s origins are revealed to us.

  20. Beautiful piece of work. Is there any more similar artworks that I can refer to?

  21. Mayrenne

    This is very interesting, I love cats. I never heard of this breed. Don’t teh Smithsonian Libraries have an archive online, I would love to check out Mr. Pallas’ work.
    Mayrenne

  22. online money making guide

    That is simply beautiful! Very interesting… I love cats..

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    I NEVER knew this…. and I have this cat.

  24. I never used to like cats but I recently got one and I love her.

  25. I am cat lover and I have two cats at home. This was great info on cats, In fact it was good that I stumbled on to this post.

  26. antique

    I have two Russian blue cats. I did not really know too much about this breed. Very interesting. He sounds like a great man.

  27. I like this picture. Actually even if i do not like cats (except big ones – such as tigers and lions) i like this picture.

  28. This is very interesting, I love cats. I never heard of this breed.

  29. clock

    Is there any more similar artworks that I can refer to?

  30. Haha, it is hard to believe that at one time a cat was considered an “unusual species”

  31. cupboard

    It’s almost similar with my male siamese cat.

  32. rug

    I love cats personally. They are just so cozy and lovely.

  33. This is nice art, plus the cat is very cute. Wish I have one hanging on my bedroom wall.

  34. I love that cat picture. Very classic sense to me. Keep up the good work!

  35. Nice to see some back ground behind this.
    I would think that most names of species, if not purely scientifically names, probably have interesting stories behind them. Many things that are popular today will probably fall out of common knowledge and would need an explanation 50 to 100 years from now.

  36. I love cats personally. They are just so cozy and lovely.

  37. antcollector

    Very interesting. He sounds like a great man.

  38. I really do not like cats at all, but this is a great story. I am always interested in the origins of names.

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    The colour of the body is a light chesnut brown like that of the pole-cat, but blacker on the back, especially towards the tail, and paler along the sides and belly. …

  40. It is simply amazing to me how we take knowledge for granted. In this day and age, anything we want to know is only a couple of keystrokes away. I can’t imagine being one of these pioneers that had the opportunity to travel the world and find new species that had never been seen by the majority of civilized people before.

  41. Stanty

    I love cats and hate dogs. If I could get one of those Obama Grants I might be able to afford one!

  42. The form of this cat, and particularly the nature and colour of the hair, exhibited so extraordinary an appearance

  43. I really love my Pallas cat. Now I know about his history as well. Thank you so much!

  44. I love cats but I can’t get one because my wife is allergic to them

  45. I have never heard of Pallas’s cat. Thanks for sharing this very interesting article

  46. Ultra Cleanse

    What a great story about Pallas cats. This is fascinating.

  47. Zhu Zhu Pets

    I love cat, all pets actually. I always love to learn the history of them. This is so great. Thank you.

  48. Keep up the good work bro.Your article is really great and I truly enjoyed reading it.Waiting for some more great articles like this from you in the coming days.

  49. I am so much a cat lover and never knew this great information. Thank you so much.

  50. You probably know this but the cat’s most immediate ancestor is believed to be the African wild cat. The cat has been living in close association with humans for somewhere between 3,500 and 8,000 years. That’s a long time.

  51. I have had many cats over the years, but never this kind. It is so interesting finding out about the origins of these great animals.

  52. I am not a great fan of cats at all, but am fascinated with the origins of species. Thanks for this extremely educational post.

  53. The Pallas cat is one of my favorite breeds. I think they may be the best looking cat on earth.

  54. Fort Lauderdale DUI Attorney

    I have not been a cat lover but this article is really interesting and I look forward to the updates about Pallas’s Cat and Peter Pallas. Fort Lauderdale DUI Attorney

  55. I only have one cat–couldn’t imagine having more than a handful–especially if one has so much furry sweetness and love already!

  56. You entertained me with your post!
    You know, an interesting article could persuade visitors to come and come to your site.I’m very eager to read more of your posts when I get back.
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  57. I love cats! I have one sitting on my lap and leaning on my arm as I write this! I hope she won’t be insulted if I move my arm around when I’m typing! 😉

  58. That’s a very elegant looking cat you have there in the picture.

  59. Its a beautiful species that shares its ancestors with persian cats. What I think is most interesting about the cat aside from its markings is the fact that it has round pupils.

  60. I love my cat so much… I never knew the origin of the name. This stuff is fascinating. Now I know why my cat is so “curious” !

  61. Mika

    It is an awesome picture. I really love graphic work thought i prefer nature but this is nature.I like pictures of trees – could he put this cat on a tree – just joking.

  62. I have never considered myself a cat person, however, when my daughter came back home to live and brought two cats with her, they started to grow on me. When she left, I actually miss those two critters.

  63. nuclear affiliate

    Nice kitty 🙂

  64. Great post indeed!
    Keep up the work.

  65. Many people say that cats are ‘cold’. I think cats have unique personalities. Anyway, the descriptions sounded very much like mine 🙂

  66. I love this story, I personally have like 7 cats and wouldn’t mind if I can have this cat breed to be added as my pet.
    This is a great resource material

  67. Interesting to think about the derivation of cat names and about how this particular cat. I’d never known about it beforehand.

  68. Wow, these cats are pretty remarkable! Have you seen them? They look like owls almost…Pallas must have been completely fascinated by them.

  69. Courtier Immobilier

    i thought i was all about dogs, now I might consider cats as a future friend 🙂

  70. Thank you so much for your post. Like so many other cat lovers here I’d never heard of the Pallas cat before (in spite of being a cat butler since 1984) For those wanting a closer look I suggest Youtube and searching for Pallas Cat Kittens.

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