Hi there,

As mentioned a few newsletters ago, the common name 'wildcat' used for some of the Felis species often gets confused with the general term 'wild cat'. Besides that, the Wildcat species are also very similar looking. Here is the list of Wildcat species and subspecies and some images to help distinguish them.

Three Wildcat Species

There are six species of cats in the Felis genus. Historically three of these species used to be grouped together under the species Felis silvestris - with the common name of Wildcat, and there were four subspecies - African, Asian, European and the Chinese Mountain Cat.

However, the 2017 Felidae revision proposed that some of these subspecies be classified as species and we now have:

• ​Afro-Asiatic Wildcat (Felis lybica)
• ​European Wildcat (Felis silvestris)
• ​Chinese Mountain Cat (Felis bieti)

The Afro-Asiatic Wildcat is divided into three subspecies:

• Southern African Wildcat (F.l. cafra)
• North African Wildcat (F.l. lybica)
• Asiatic Wildcat (F.l. ornata)

The European Wildcat is divided into two subspecies:

• European Wildcat (F.s. silvestris)
• Caucasian Wildcat (F.s. caucasica)

The Chinese Mountain Cat is monotypic (no subspecies).

All of these Wildcat species and subspecies are about the same size and appearance as domestic tabby cats and have the characteristic pointed ears and tabby markings. However, there are some subtle differences.

Wildcat Differences

The Southern African Wildcat typically has reddish tinge to its body fur and reddish ears. Their legs are longer proportionally than domestic cats and their fur has transverse stripes with a black tipped tail.

The Northern African Wildcat has similar markings or can have reddish spots but is generally lighter in color with paler ears and face.

The Asiatic or Asian Wildcat is light in coloration and has irregular black or brown spots.

The European Wildcat is the largest of all the Wildcat species and typically has a bushy coat as it occurs in the northern colder climates. It has thick dark rings on its tail with a large dark tip and a stripe down its back.

The Chinese Mountain Cat is similar looking to the European Wildcat, but has a much paler yellow-grey coat and has short ear tufts.

Cats in the News

Panthera's Blog Panthera's August articles cover Borneo's rare wild cats, even rarer West African lions, and widely shared research on how Cougars (Pumas) could be keeping deer off the roads. Read articles

Africa Geographic Africa Geographic's excellent stories, photos and articles of course cover the big cats of Africa - lions, leopards and cheetahs. Read articles

Wild Cat Family Our big cat's news feed covers recent news on all 5 of the Panthera genus big cats across the globe. Updated daily. Read articles

Mongabay Mongabay's recent in-depth articles cover the issue of growing Tiger's populations in India and Nepal. Read articles

September Donation - African Wildcat

​African Wildcat Day is celebrated in September, so we have donated $50 to Alley Cat Rescue who run the African Wildcat program in South Africa. They have been involved for many years in sterilising feral cats in rural areas to help reduce the hybridisation threat to purebred African Wildcats. More about this in the next newsletter.

Be sure to specify that your donation is to go to the African Wildcat program. I received a tax certificate and confirmation that my donation was received and allocated to the AWC (African Wildcat) program.

Please join me in supporting this worthwhile program.

Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter and please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any comments, all feedback is very welcome!

Please consider forwarding this newsletter to anyone you know who is also interested in wild cats.

Many thanks.

Regards, Mandy.

www.wildcatfamily.com