Feline | Meow! Cats rule the universe!

Types

These are all the species of felines. Keep in mind that everything on this page is either copied off of or information off of other sites. They are on the Links page.

African golden cat
Andean mountain cat

Asian golden cat
Black-footed cat
Bobcat
Bornean bay cat
Canadian lynx
Caracal
Cheetah
Chinese Mountain Cat
Clouded Leopard
Cougar
Eurasian Lynx
Fishing Cat
Flat-headed cat
Geoffroy’s cat

Iberian lynx
Irimote Cat

Jaguar
Jaguarundi

Jungle cat
Kodkod
Leopard
Leopard cat
Lion
Marbled cat
Margay

Ocelot
Oncilla
Pampas cat
Pallas cat
Rusty-spotted cat
Sand cat
Serval
Snow leopard
Tiger
Wildcat

Domestic Cats

Taxonomy

Feline taxonomy!

Family Felidae

Subfamily Acinonychinae
Acinonyx
Jubatus: Cheetah.

Subfamily Felinae

Caracal
caracal: Caracal.

Catopuma
badia: Bay cat
temmincki: Asiatic golden cat

Felis
            bieti: Chinese desert cat/Chinese mountain cat
            chaus: Jungle cat
            margarita: Sandcat
            nigripes: Black-footed cat
            silvestris: Wildcat of Africa and Eurasia - subspecies lybica, gordonii, etc..

Herpailurus
yaguarondi: Jaguarundi.

Leopardus
            pardalis: Ocelot.
            tigrinus: Oncilla, Little tiger cat, Little Spotted Cat
            wiedi: Margay

Leptailurus
serval: Serval.

Lynx
            canadensis (Kerr, 1792): Canada lynx.
            lynx: Eurasian lynx.
            pardinus: Iberian lynx.
            rufus: Bobcat.

Oncifelis
            colocolo: Pampas cat.
            geoffroyi: Geoffroy's cat.
            guigna: Kodkod.

Oreailurus
jacobita: Andean mountain cat.

Otocolobus
manul: Manul/Pallas's cat.

Prionailurus
            bengalensis: Leopard cat, subspecies: Irimote cat
            planiceps: Flat-headed cat.
            rubiginosus: Rusty-spotted cat.
            viverrinus: Fishing cat.

Profelis
aurata: African golden cat.

Puma
concolor: Puma, Cougar, Mountain lion.

Subfamily Pantherinae

Neofelis

nebulosa: Clouded leopard.

Panthera
            leo: Lion.
            onca: Jaguar.
            pardus: Leopard.
            tigris: Tiger.

Pardofelis
marmorata: Marbled cat.

Uncia

uncia: Snow leopard

Detailed Cat Info

African Golden Cat
Profelis aurata

Taxonomy:
Kingdom-Animalia
Phylum-Chordata
Class-Mammalia
Order-Carnivora
Family-Felidae
Genus-Profelis
Species-aurata
Subspecies-P. a. aurata (Congo to Uganda) and P. a. celidogaster (West Africa)

Description:
About twice the size of a domestic cat, African Golden cats are medium sized and can grow to 90cm in body length and weigh up to 18kg. Golden cats are very sturdy, powerful animals, with fairly long legs and relatively large paws. Although its name implies a golden colored coat the golden cat is polymorphic - its base coat coloration varies extensively depending on its location. A report of a golden cat in captivity even suggest that the base color of the fur can change from one color phase to the other over a period of time depending on the age of the cat and various environmental stimuli. African Golden Cats are usually found in two different colors: red or gray. They were once thought to be two separate species, but are now known to be variants of one. Their cheeks, chin, and under parts are whitish in color with their belly and inner sides of limbs marked with a variable amount of dark spotting. Body coloring ranges from chestnut through fawn to silver, with varying markings: spotted all over, spots on the back and neck, no pattern except on flanks, and no pattern except for their belly. The African Golden Cat's head is relatively small sporting a large muzzle which carries distinctive light markings around the eyes and above the mouth, with beautiful eye coloration with irises from green to golden-brown. Its long tail, which measures up to 40cm, is marked with dark line along the top and ends in a brown or black tip. Their ears are rounded with black backsides. Melanistic individuals have been known to occur.
Studies made in the late sixties found that although both red/brown and grey/silver phases were found equally in most parts of the range, distinct variations in coat markings, such as overall spotting or spotting on the back, were found to be restricted to West African locations. Golden cats found east of the range however, appeared more uniform in colour, carrying only spotted markings on the sides or belly. It was suggested that the two groups represent separate subspecies–Profelis aurata celidogaster found in West African regions and Profelis aurata aurata from Central and East African locations. As many as 4% of golden cats studied were found to be melanistic and were located throughout the range.
Principal dimensions:

	Overall	Males	Females
Head and Body lengths (cm)	61-102	74	71
Height at Shoulder (cm)	40-50
Tail lengths (cm)	16-46	31	30
Weights (Kg)	3.5-18	11-14	6.2

Diet:
The primary prey of this cat is small to mid-sized mammals consisting of tree hyraxes, large and small rodents, small antelope, and birds. It was also found that fallen, injured monkeys and scavenged eagle kills are an important part of this cat’s diet. It is mainly nocturnal and crepuscular, and hunts using the stalk and rush method.

Conservation Status:
Threats include habitat destruction and the depletion of antelope (its prey base) for the bush meat industry. To some degree, they are hunted by natives for their skin for use in tribal rituals. Some tribes believe that its tail will serve as a talisman and protect them while hunting elephants. Hunting is prohibited in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Congo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Zaire, hunting is regulated in Gabon, Liberia, and Togo, and there is no protection in Congo, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda at present. Although local tribes’ people hunt the fur and especially the tail of the African golden cat for ceremonial use, hunting does not provide a major threat to the golden cat. However, through gradual increases in the timber trade, loss of the Tropical Rain Forest habitat and subsequent decline in prey species is a threat in many parts of the cats range. The African golden cat has an IUCN status of Insufficiently Known and due to its relatively restricted natural habitat must be considered at risk until more data is available as to its true population and distribution.

Distribution:
Equatorial Africa

Habitat:
The primary habitat of the golden cat appears to be the Tropical Rain Forest belt which traverses the African equator, however, penetration into the adjoining tropical Dry Forests and Savannah scrub is also in evidence. To the east of its range in Uganda the golden cat has been known to inhabit regions up to 3500 meters living, in alpine moorlands, sub-alpine and bamboo forests, and be present as far east as the Mau Escarpment in western Kenya. Although the golden cat is said to prefer virgin forest, reports from around the Bwindi Mountain Gorilla National Park in South West Uganda suggest that the cat is equally at home in secondary forest areas where logging activities had led to an initial decline in many of the herbivore prey species and an increase in human activity. They are predominately found in moist forest zones including mangrove and alpine bamboo forests. There have been unconfirmed reports of it inhabiting savannah woodlands. They also inhabit drier woodlands as long as they are near water.

Behavior:
These cats are arboreal and have been seen in field studies resting on lower branches of trees during the day. They use the stalk and rush hunting method. African Golden Cats are thought to be crepuscular but may be diurnal. Although African golden cats are said to be solitary, Tonkin and Kohler (1978) reported that their adult male behaved like a good father. This may indicate that couples with offspring stay together. African golden cats have extensive vocal repertoires which could be evidence for some social behavior.
They are reported to rest in the lower branches of trees in the day. They are highly secretive and have only rarely been observed in the wild.

Reproduction:
One, two or possibly three kittens are born after a gestation period of approximately 75 to 78 days. Tonkin and Kohler’s (1978) male golden kitten weighed 235 grams at birth, and their female 195 grams. Some other reports say newborns weigh approximately 6.5-8 ounces. Tonkin and Kohler’s kittens developed rapidly; their eyes were open by six days and after ten days they started walking. The male grew much faster than the female. After the 38th day the kittens began to eat meat. These cats can live for about 15 years in captivity. There is one instance of a tribesman finding a wild den with a mother and 1 kitten. They are weaned between 3-4 months, and reach sexual maturity around 23 months.

Miscellaneous Facts:
This cat was originally classified as 2 distinct species due to color variations. The red phase was called the "Golden" cat, while the gray phase was called the "Silver" cat. Today, they are recognized as a single species with 2 color variations. It is referred to in some areas as "the Leopard's brother" because they inhabit the same area. The African golden cat has long been regarded as closely related to the Asian or Temminck’s golden cat, but a recent review of cat taxonomy by Wozencraft (1993) separates the two into different genera. The Pygmy people in Cameroon use its tail as a talisman to protect them when they hunt. They use their skins in ceremonial robes.

Andean Mountain Cat
Oreailurus jacobita

Taxonomy:
Kingdom-Animalia
Phylum-Chordata
Class-Mammalia
Order-Carnivora
Family-Felidae
Subfamily-Felinae
Genus-Oreailurus
Species-jacobita

Description:
The Andean Mountain Cat is a small but sturdy cat. It is striped irregularly with brown or orangey markings down the sides from the back, with dark gray bars across the chest and forelegs. Its belly is pale with dark spots. The tail is thick and long and it comprises nearly 30% of their body length. The body structure of the Andean Mountain Cat is similar in size and build to a domestic feline. Though almost double that size, this more athletic version has very stout legs and large feet with blackish bars & spots and grayish-brown soles. This agile climber has a very fine, silky textured coat, approximately 2" in length of pale silver or reddish-gray color fading to white on the undersides which nature designed for excellent camouflage. Indistinctly patterned rusty rosette spots frequent their sides with a faint brown stripe marking its body and flanks which may darken to almost black. Their tail is ringed with five to eight dark bands, with the tip always the body color. Their tail comprises nearly 30% of their body length.

Diet:
Reports of this cat’s diet include mountain chinchillas and mountain viscachas. These preys are "ricochettal" rodents, meaning that they bound off rock faces unpredictably to escape predators. Because of this, it is believed that the long tail of this cat is used to enable it to quickly change direction during a chase. Lizards and small birds are also potential food; the Andean mountain cat is almost certainly an opportunistic predator as are the other felids. Through limited observations it appears that the main source of prey are the wild mountain dwellers- however it is probably fair to assume that additional prey will include other small rodents, insects and birds native to its range.

Conservation Status:
The Andean cat is considered to be the second most endangered wild cat in the world and perhaps the rarest South American felid; and yet is one of the least known cat species. Due primarily to its rarity rather than by pressures bought about by hunting, the mountain cat is listed as an endangered species. The mountain cat in listed in CITES Appendix 1 and although there are no firm figures regarding numbers in the wild it is believed to be threatened. So little is known of this cat that it is hard to determine if its rarity is a natural phenomenon, is attributed to man, or is just a misconception due to lack of sightings. Therefore, the principal threat to this beautiful little cat is lack of knowledge.
Population densities of this species are unlikely to be high. The range is very restricted so total numbers cannot be large. These factors coupled with our uncertainty about the ecology of the Andean mountain cat led the IUCN to recommend that it be totally protected throughout its entire range. Hence the IUCN status is vulnerable.

Distribution:
The mountain cat is to be found in the Andes Mountains of Bolivia, Peru and Chile, ranging from the dry scrublands lower down the mountains up to beyond the tree line at around 16,000 feet.

Habitat:
Only found in the rocky-arid and semi-arid zones of the high Andes above the timberline. They prefer rocky, cold, sparsely vegetated extreme elevations.

Behavior:
Unknown. Due to the fact that the only individual ever seen in the wild was alone, it is concluded that this cat is solitary in nature. It showed no fear of humans.

Reproduction:
Unknown

Miscellaneous Facts:
The information for this cat comes from museum skins and skulls, and there have only been a handful of sightings in the wild. Only 2 scientists had the opportunity to observe and photograph this animal and it was only for a 2-hour period. To date, that is the only finding of this cat in the wild for study. Andean Mountain Cats were first described to science in 1865, but it was not until 1980 that a positive sighting was made. Two scientists observed and photographed this rare cat for two hours, and their observations are the only information available on the behavior of this species. The scientists had done field work in the area over 30 times with no sightings, indicating this cat's scarcity and ability to hide among rocks and vegetation. In 1999, a second set of pictures were finally taken of this elusive cat by a biologist in Chile.

Asian Golden Cat
Catopuma temmincki

Taxonomy:
Kingdom-Animalia
Phylum-Chordata
Class-Mammalia
Order-Carnivora
Family-Felidae
Subfamily-Felinae
Genus-Catopuma
Species-temmincki
Subspecies-C. t. temmincki (Nepal to Malaysia and Indo-China), C. t. dominicanorum (Southern China), and C. t. tristis (Fontainier's cat; Tibet and northern Burma)

Description:
The Asian Golden Cat, striking in appearance, has long been known throughout its territory in Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand as the "Fire Cat" and has long been considered to be very closely related to the African species of golden cat. Their unusual coat colorings range from fox-red (thus the name "Fire Cat") to gold-brown, black, brown and even gray fur coloring. Often plain and unmarked, it may also have spots and/or stripes. Typical of many of the Wild Cat species, their undersides and inner legs are white. This white marking runs the full length of the underside of their tails which is roughly 30-50% of their body length. The "Fire Cat's" eyes are usually amber or grayish-green in color. Melanistic individuals are not uncommon. The pelt is of a moderate length, very dense and coarse. Cats in the northern regions are more likely to have spots and stripes which closely resemble the markings of the Leopard Cat. The backs of the short rounded ears are black with a central grizzled area. White lines bordered with black run across the cheeks and from the inner corners of the eyes up to the crown. The underside of the terminal third of the tail is white, and the belly is always lighter in colour than the flanks. Larger than its African cousin, Temminck’s golden cat is medium-sized, about the size of a large dog. Fishing cats which are found in the same parts of the world are similar in size. The eye sockets or orbits are nearly closed at the back. The anterior upper premolar is present. Fontainier’s Cat (C. t. tristis) is very heavily patterned in comparison to the other two subspecies and because of this it was regarded for a long time as a variety of the leopard cat. Bangjie (1984) reported that there is a very spotted variety in China.
Principal dimensions:

	Overall
Head and Body lengths (cm)	50-105
Tail lengths (cm)	35-56
Weights (Kg)	6-16

Diet: The primary prey of this cat is large rodents, amphibians and insects, birds, small reptiles and small ungulates. They have also been found to prey on larger animals like wild pig, sambar deer, and young calves of domestic water buffalo. This cat is believed to hunt mainly on the ground, but it is able to climb well. Analysis of droppings has revealed that prey species include muntjac as well as rats, while the stomach contents of a cat confiscated from a poacher contained a small snake. It is likely that most species within this size range are taken opportunistically but no other hard evidence exists.

Conservation Status:
Even basic ecological knowledge is seriously lacking for this and many other cat species. It is evident that widespread habitat destruction will substantially affect Temminck’s golden cat. Asian Golden Cats, unfortunately, still figure prominently in ancient Asian folklore. These myths have been handed down from generation to generation. Traditional local legend says that carrying even one hair from their pelt will protect the bearer from tigers and other dangers. Their meat is considered a delicacy, with the entire animal being consumed (whole animals are often roasted on a spit) and the bones ground up for home-made remedies to ward off fevers and other such ills. These unfound beliefs persist to this day in the Asian Wild Cat's home range and is one of the primary reasons for their dwindling population. There is an intermittent demand for their pelts and hunting pressure is significant. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has prohibited all international commerce in Temminck’s cat products by placing it on Appendix I. The IUCN Red List has the Asian golden cat as Near Threatened. Furthermore, the Asian golden cat is widely reported as uncommon and threatened by deforestation and hunting. Livestock predation, which usually leads to persecution, has been reported as well. Although they are described to be decreasing in India and Indonesia, no factual information is known of their status in the wild.

Distribution:

They are found throughout the Himalayas, China, southeastern Asia, Malaysia, Nepal and Sumatra.

Habitat:

Predominately found in tropical and sub-tropical moist evergreen and dry deciduous forests. Occasionally found in shrub and grassland. In the Himalayas the cat can be found at altitudes up to 10,000 feet. They often hunt in pairs when attempting larger prey.

Behavior:

The social system is unknown, but captive males have been seen to lick their kittens and to take an active, tolerant role in their development. This may indicate that Temminck’s cats have a tendency to be sociable, and the male to stay with the female. They are also thought to be nocturnal.

Reproduction:

Breeding takes place in hollow trees, among rocks, or in hollows in the ground. There is apparently no specific breeding season, and if one litter is lost another will be produced within 4 months. Females have an estrous of 6 days, cycling every 39 days. One, two, sometimes up to four kittens are born after a gestation period of 75 days (another source gives 80 days). They weigh 250 grams (approximately 8.75 ounces) at birth, and their eyes open at about 9 days. By 17 days the kittens are able to walk well. The kittens double their weight at 3 weeks and triple it by 6 weeks. Females are reported to be sexually mature at between 18 months and two years, males at two years. It has been reported that Temminck’s cats are able to have two litters in one year.

Miscellaneous Facts:

In parts of China it is known as “Shilului”, the Rock Cat, and in other places it is called the Fire Cat. These "Fire Cats" still figure prominently in ancient Asian folklore. It is unfortunate that these unfound myths have been handed down from generation to generation. Traditional local legend says that carrying even one hair from their pelt will protect the bearer from tigers and other dangers. Villagers in this Wild Cat's home range still believe these animals have magical, mystical powers. Locals believe that burning the Asian Golden Cat's pelt will protect their village by driving tigers away. Their meat is considered a delicacy, with the entire animal being consumed and the bones ground up for home-made remedies to ward off fevers and other such ills. These unfound beliefs persist to this day in the Asian Wild Cat's home range and is one of the primary reasons for their dwindling population. The Asian golden cat was named after Coenraad Jacob Temminck, the Dutch naturalist who described the related species, the African golden cat. The Asian golden cat has several local common names given to in different regions. The Thai name is "Seua fai," which translates into “fire tiger”.