The Geoffrey’s cat is native to the southern and central regions of South America. It is currently considered least concern, and is abundant and common across its range.
Geoffrey’s cat
Andean Cat (often called the Andean mountain cat)
Andean mountain cat
This small wildcat species are found across an isolated series of mountain regions in the Andean mountains.
This cat is considered endangered in its native habitat. It is found in the high andes but there are only about 1400 that remain in the wild and declining. One big threat is the fact that the mountain Chinchilla has been hunted to the brink of extinction – given their habitats coincided, the loss of this food source is likely to be a big threat to the survival of the Andean mountain cat, as at high altitudes, there is less food, so the loss of one of their major food sources might well cause the population to crash.
There is precedent for a crash like this- the Iberian rabbit population was hit with a series of illnesses both caused by human carelessness or intentionally introduced. This caused the rabbit population to crash and as a result most Iberian lynx to die. It is likely that a captive breeding project for the mountain Chinchilla and rerelease into its former range could quickly change this situation – a single female can have 12 young at a maximum, and are ready to breed at 2 years old – that means that within 5 years, a group of 20 of these animals could have become thousands – whether we can afford to wait that long is another issue.
Below this, we will include a video shot by a conservationist, of this cat in the wild. Below that, is a list of any articles which we have written on this species in the past, and below this we will include any links as to where you can see this species in the wild.
Jaguarundi
The Jaguarundi is a mid-sized cat, similar in size to the Ocelot – about twice the size of a domestic cat. It is found from central Argentina to Northern Mexico at the top of its range. In central and Southern America it is found east of the Andes. Secretive, and very alert, it actually tends to hunt during the day and the evenings. They live in large home ranges and low densities. In the wild they tend to be solitary or living in pairs.
Although a good climber, it generally prefers to hunt on the ground. It lives in an array of habitats from tropical rainforests, deciduous forests to deserts and thorn scrubs.
It is pretty common in Brazil, Peru and Venezuela, though it is thought to be extinct in the USA – it is obviously found in the countries in between, however due to range loss from fragmentation of habitat, as well as direct persecution as a result of taking of poultry, there are many regions where it is threatened as populations are declining fast.
The Jaguarundi shares a clade with the mountain lion (cougar), and is in the same lineage as the Cheetah
Pallas Cat
Often referred to as the grumpy cat or in similar way, the Pallas cat occurs in Central Asia, from the Caspian Sea through iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India to central China, Mongolia and southern Russia. Populations in the southwest portion of their range – the Caspian Sea region, Afghanistan and Pakistan – are diminishing, isolated and scarce.
It size is similar to the domestic cat, and is far less stocky than its thick fur might make people believe.
It specializes in hunting small mammals.
It is considered least concern in terms of conservation, but little is known about its behaviour or situation in much of its range.
Rusty Spotted Cat
The rusty spotted cat is one of the smallest cats in the world, and can be found in India and Sri Lanka. In recent times it has also been recorded in Nepal!
It is thought that this species has around 10,000 individuals in the wild and are classified as vulnerable
We hope to be able to help you find places to see these cats in the wild, in the near future. Any links will appear below the news section and the video below this text
South African cheetah to be introduced into India
There is an impressive wealth of cats living in India. From the Indian tiger (known throughout the...
Flat-headed cat
Flat-headed cat
Found on the Malay peninsular, as well as Borneo and Sumatra, the flat-headed cat is (like so many cats on this list) threatened with extinction, mostly as a result of habitat, which is being turned into farmland, palm oil plantations and human settlements.
Little is known about the wild behaviour of this cat – while it is thought to be nocturnal, in captivity it proved to be crepescular (that is active in early morning and late afternoon.
Fishing cat
Fishing cat
The fishing cat has been classed as vulnerable since 2016.
 It is a midsized cat he fishing cat lives foremost in the vicinity of wetlands, along rivers, streams, oxbow lakes, in swamps and mangroves. One of the alarming things to look at, is that the majority of this range is likely to be hit hard if sea levels do rise significantly over the last few decades.
South African cheetah to be introduced into India
There is an impressive wealth of cats living in India. From the Indian tiger (known throughout the...
Mainland and Sunda Leopard cat
a small East Asian wild cat that has a yellowish-brown coat with black spots and often lives near water.
The leopard cat is a small cat, from east asian wild cat has a yellowish-brown spots – often living near water. These cats vary widely across their range. there does appear to be a significant difference between the Leopard cat found on Borneo and Sumatra, and the specimens found on the mainland. so they have been split As a generalisation, however, the Sunda Leopard Cat appears to have smaller dark spots and blotches than its cousin, the Mainland Leopard Cat.
Given this variability, there has also been the suggestion of up to 12 subspecies of the leopard cat. However, more recent analysis suggests a Northern Leopard Cat (amur leopard cat) and a Southern Leopard cat. There is then also the Sunda Leopard cat which is found on Java, Bali, Borneo, Sumatra, Palawan, Negros, Cebu, Panay, and possibly the Malay Peninsular. It was only declared a separate species back in 2017, but there is still much debate on its classification.
Suffice to say, if they are separate species, they are similar enough to be handled as one.
Leopard cats are live alone except during breeding season. While some are active during the day, most hunt at night, preferring to stalk murids, tree shrews and hares. They are effective climbers and quite arboreal in their habits. They will often rest in trees, but also hide in dense thorny undergrowth on the ground.
Jungle Cat
The Jungle cat (Felis chaus) is also known as the reed cat, swamp cat or the Jungle lynx. It is a mid sized cat that coves from the middle east and the Caucasus, along with Southeast Asia and Southern China. It lives in wetlands like swamps and riparian areas with dense vegetable. It is listed as least concern, but threats do include destruction of wetlands trappings and poisonings, which means that this could change fast.
Black-footed cat
The smallest cat in Africa, the black footed cat is a spotted cat – it is roughly half the size of the domestic cat. They are found throughout southern Africa, but are rarely spotted, partly due to their size, aswell as usually being mistaken for other things.
They exist in well known parks such as the Kruger, but their stronghold is the semi arid region of the Karoo.
