Tag: cat
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Sand Cats
As discussed in previous blogs such as why are there no cats in Australia, its widely accepted that all wild cats evolved from Proailurus (meaning ‘before the cat’) around 30 million years ago when they first appeared in the forests of Eurasia. At this time Europe was a vast sub-tropical forest; at this time a satellite…
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Rusty Spotted Cats
Often called the Hummingbird cat, the Rusty Spotted cat is one of the smallest of the 33 small wild cat species and is about the size of a domestic kitten. That’s pretty much where the similarities stop though as this little cat is a fearless predator! Its Latin name, Prionailurus rubiginosus, tells us it’s from the Prionailurus lineage…
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Mew talking to me? How small wild cats communicate
How cats communicate with humans is a much-discussed topic of conversation. There are many different theories surrounding domestic cats looking at how and why they try to communicate with us. Some theories even suggest that a cat’s meow has been developed over thousands of years of domestication to mimic that of a human baby to…
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Cataptability – did cats ability to adapt save it from extinction?
When Proailurus walked the earth the world would have been a very different place to what we have today. The time is around 25 million years ago and the widely accepted last common ancestor of all of today’s cat family roamed the forests of Eurasia. At this time, during the late Oligocene and Miocene period, it’s environment was most likely warm, humid and…
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Small wild cat names etymology:
Cats names and their meanings are often fascinating (at least in our eyes). Many small wild cats are named after the naturalist that discovered them, or more accurately, were the first to document them for science. Some of these cats also have interesting native names or their scientific name interestingly relates to their behaviours or…
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Marbled Cats
One of the most elusive of the small wild cats if the Marbled cat. Due to a lack of research not much is known about this beautiful cat. Through camera trap sightings we think this cat diurnal and we understand they hunt both in the trees and upon the forest floor. Their appearance is, as…
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Endangered small wild Cats – Top 5
Much of what we try and do here at FELIS is to bring to your attention to the fragile state of conservation regarding some of the worlds smaller wild cats. Most people know about the fact Tigers need saving or Snow Leopard numbers are low but how many are aware of the smaller, lesser known…
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Flat Headed Cats
The descriptively named Flat Headed cat is strange looking feline who maybe looks more suited to the Mustelidae (otters) or Viverridae (Civets) families. As mentioned on a previous post its very well suited to its aquatic lifestyle. With a long, flat, elongated head, these cats have eyes that are very close together and farther forward…
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Clouded Leopards
The clouded Leopard is the smallest of the big cats and the biggest of the small cats, so what is it that makes them so unique? Split into two sub species as recently as 2006, the clouded and Sundra clouded leopard are very similar in appearance and size. Both have long bodies, short powerful legs…
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Asian Golden Cats
An Asian golden cat is about double the size of a big domestic cat and they come in a variety of different colours. Whilst their fur generally is either a golden colour or reddish brown, the coat itself has a large variety of colour and pattern variations. In China and Bhutan there is even a…
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