FELIDS (THE FAMILY OF WILD CATS)
Leopard cat
Wild cats includes Old World species such as lions, tigers and leopards and New World species such as jaguars and ocelots. Lynxes are found in both the Old World and the New World, namely because they live in the northern latitudes and have been able to move across the Bering Strait and Arctic when they have been frozen or linked by land bridges. The word cat is derived from the Indo-European word “ ghad”, meaning grasp or catch. In addition to the well known large species of cats there are several dozen species of small cat, many of which are elusive and mysterious and little is known out them.
Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid, or sometimes feline, which technically is an adjective. The felid is defined as any of various lithe-bodied roundheaded fissiped mammals, many with retractile claws. Lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, ocelots, and domesticated cats all belong to the felid family. The greatest variety of felids are found in the Old World, where snow leopards, fishing cats, leopard cats and clouded leopards are found as well as lions and tigers.
Felids are found in all terrestrial habitats except treeless tundra and polar ice caps. With the exception of Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, Madagascar, and most oceanic islands, native populations of cats are found worldwide, while one species, domestic cats, have been introduced nearly everywhere humans currently exist. Although some authorities recognize only a few genera, most accounts of Felidae recognize 18 genera and 36 species. Often, felids are separated into two distinct subgroups, large cats and small cats. Generally, small cats are those that, due to a hardening of the hyoid bone, have an inability to roar. Felidae consists of two subfamilies, Pantherinae (lions and tigers) and Felinae (bobcats, pumas, and cheetahs). Pantherinae consists of six species in three genera, and Felinae consists of 30 species in 11 genera,. [Source: Erika Etnyre; Jenna Lande; Alison Mckenna, Animal Diversity Web (ADW)]
Linnaeus first placed all cats in a single genus and much debate still goes on about felid taxonomy. The Felid Taxonomic Advisory Group (TAG) of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association recognizes three extant subfamilies, Pantherinae, Felinae, and Felinae. Under this particular classification, Pantherinae consists of four genera and seven species, Felinae consists of 13 genera and 28 species, and Felinae consists of one genera and a single species, cheetahs. /=]
Most species are habitat generalists and can be found in a wide range of environments. However, few have adapted to a limited range of habitats. For example, optimal habitat for sand cats consists of sandy and stony deserts. Although many cats do not live beyond their first birthday, felid lifespan ranges from 15 to 30 years old. In the wild, juvenile deaths are normally due to predation. /=\
Websites and Resources on Animals: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; BBC Earth bbcearth.com; A-Z-Animals.com a-z-animals.com; Live Science Animals livescience.com; Animal Info animalinfo.org ; World Wildlife Fund (WWF) worldwildlife.org the world’s largest independent conservation body; National Geographic National Geographic ; Endangered Animals (IUCN Red List of Threatened Species) iucnredlist.org
History of Cats
All felids are thought to be ancestors of Proailurus, which first appeared in the early Oligocene Period (33 million to 23.9 million years ago). However, significant debate surrounds the phylogeny of felids and, until the fossil record is more complete, any phylogeny is subject to potential change. Chris Wozencraft, an authority on the classification of carnivorous mammals, told the New York Times that cat fossils are very hard to tell apart, because they differ mostly just in size, and the DNA data emerging over the last decade has helped bring the field from confusion to consensus.
proailurus
The first cat-like mammals appeared around 60 million years ago and culminated in the most specialized of the saber-tooths, Barbourofelis fricki. However, the phylogeny of saber-tooths and their ancestors (Nimravidae) is the subject of considerable debate and fossil evidence for these cat-like mammals does not exist after the Miocene Period (23 million to 5.3 million years ago). [Source: Erika Etnyre; Jenna Lande; Alison Mckenna, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
True felids first appeared during the early Oligocene Period (33 million to 23.9 million years ago) and, although early ancestors of present day felids had short upper canines, felid radiations that occurred during the Miocene Period (23 million to 5.3 million years ago) and Pliocene Period (5.4 million to 2.4 million years ago), such as Smilodon, appeared to specialize on large herbivores and had large, saber-like upper canines. Early felids were divided into two subfamilies, Machairodontinae (saber-toothed cats) and Felinae (conical-toothed cats). The many genera of saber-toothed cats are divided into three tribes (Metailurini, Homotheriini, and Smilodontini). Living and extinct conical-toothed cats are placed in one subfamily and one tribe, the Felini, but controversy surrounds generic-level classification of felids. Modern cats are closely related to hyenas, mongooses, and civets. These families, including the families Eupleridae and Nandiniidae, are in the suborder Feliformia. /=\
Dr. Stephen O’Brien of the National Cancer Institute told the New York Times cats were very successful predators, second only to humans, and quickly explored new territories as opportunity arose. Sea levels were low from 11 million to 6 million years ago, enabling the first modern cats, in paleontologists' perspective (saber-tooth tigers are ancient cats), to spread from Asia west into Africa, creating the caracal lineage, and east into North America, generating the ocelot, lynx and puma lineages. [Source: Nicholas Wade, New York Times, January 6, 2006]
The leopard lineage appeared around 6.5 million years ago in Asia. The youngest of the eight lineages, which led eventually to the domestic cat, emerged some 6.2 million years ago in Asia and Africa, either from ancestors that had never left Asia or more probably from North American cats that had trekked back across the Bering land bridge. Sea levels then rose, confining each cat species to its own continent, but sank again some three million years ago, allowing a second round of cat migrations. It was at this time that the ancestors of the cheetah and the Eurasian lynxes colonized the Old World from the New.
Oldest Big Cat Fossil Found in Tibet See PREHISTORIC MAMMALS IN CHINA factsanddetails.com
Cat Evolution
tiger whiskers
While other animals such as human beings, dogs, bears and elephants went through great evolutionary changes to get where they are today, cats evolved from a 30-million-year-old creature called a “Proailurus” that is virtually identical to modern wild cats. About the size and shape of an ocelot, the “Proailurus” is believed to have spent half of its time in trees. [Source: Cathy Newman, National Geographic, June 1997]
According to DNA evidence gathered by Warren Johnson and Stephen O’Brien of the National Cancer Institute ancient panther-like cats appeared in Asia about 11 million years ago and made there way to the Americas about 9 million years ago during an Ice Age on a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska across the Bering Strait. Later several American species made their way back to Asia. Migrations back and forth helped create the wide variety of cat species. [Source: Nicholas Wade, New York Times, January 6, 2006]
All cats belong to eight different lineages. Cats from Asia that spread to Africa between 11 million and 5 million years ago gave birth to the caracal lineage. Those that moved east to the Americas gave birth the ocelot, lynx and puma lineages. The leopard cat lineage appeared in Asia about 6.5 million years ago. A total of ten migrations have been recorded. Cheetahs originated in North America and made their way across the Bering Strait to Asia about three million years ago and moved on to Africa.
Synapomorphies (characteristics found in an ancestral species and shared by their evolutionary descendants) include divided bulla (rounded bony prominence or a thin-walled air-filled space within the lung); well developed postorbital process (projection on the frontal bone of the skull that's located near the upper rear edge of the eye socket) and a short rostrum (hard, beak-like structures projecting out from the head or mouth)
Cat Characteristics
Cats of different species are remarkably similar in their basic design. They generally have sharp teeth, strong jaws, and powerful leg muscles. They can run fast, make bounding leaps and climb trees. Their sizes and differences are mostly manifestations of their habitat and the prey they pursue. Cats have a broad face and short jaw which gives them a powerful bite. Cathy Newman of National Geographic compared the short jaw with bolt cutters which have much leverage and power than longer needlenose pliers.
According to to Animal Diversity Web: All felids bear a strong resemblance to one another. Unlike members of the family Canidae, felids have a short rostrum (hard, beak-like structures projecting out from the head or mouth) and tooth row, which increases bite force. Loss or reduction of cheek teeth is particularly apparent in felids, which have a typical dental formula of 3/3, 1/1, 3/2, 1/1 = 30. In most species, the upper premolar is significantly reduced and in Lynx, has been completely lost. Felids have well developed carnassials. Their cheek teeth are secodont and are specialized for shearing. Felid canines tend to be long and conical and are ideal for puncturing prey tissues with minimal force. Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present: Males are larger and more muscular than females. Ornamentation may be is different too. [Source: Erika Etnyre; Jenna Lande; Alison Mckenna, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Felids range in body mass from two kilograms in black-footed cats to 300 kilograms in tigers.In some species, such as lions (Panthera leo), males may also have ornamentation that is used to attract potential mates. Besides having a short rostrum felids also have large bullae that are divided by a septum; no alisphenoid canal, and paroccipital processes flattened against the bullae. Felids also have a vestigial or absent baculum and retractable claws. Distal segments of digits in the relaxed position are pulled back and up into a sheath by an elastic segment, which prevents claws from becoming blunt. Cheetahs are the exception as they cannot retract their claws and, when attacking prey, they tend to run into them so that they fall, much like canids. Cats have five toes on their forefeet and four on their hindfeet. They are digitigrade, and their metapodials are moderately long but never fused./=\
Carnivorous Cat Features
David Attenborough wrote that cats are “closely-related family of hunters that seldom eat anything other than flesh. They are th most specialized of all mammalian hunters. They have short snouts and high-domed skulls which provide attachments for massive jaw muscles. They have the strongest carnassial teeth and the longest canines.
Felids are perhaps the most morphologically specialized hunters of all carnivores, often taking prey as large as themselves and occasionally taking prey several times their own size. Unlike other carnivores, felids rely almost exclusively on prey that they have killed themselves. They are agile hunters, hunting mostly at night, with diets consisting of fresh meat or carrion. [Source: Erika Etnyre; Jenna Lande; Alison Mckenna, Animal Diversity Web /=]
According to to Animal Diversity Web: Felids have a number of morphological adaptations that have allowed them to become the most adept hunters in the order Carnivora. They have digitigrade posture that results in a rapid stride rate and powerful forelimbs that help them capture and retain large prey. Often, felids are cryptically colored, which helps camouflage them while hunting. In addition, most felids have large eyes and exceptional vision. In nocturnal (active at night), species, the tapetum lucidum helps intensify limited light. Many species also have large semi-rotating ears. [Source: Erika Etnyre; Jenna Lande; Alison Mckenna, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Cat Claws and Tongues
retractable claws
All cats but cheetahs have retractable claws that flip out like switchblades when needed but stay covered the rest of the time to prevent them from wearing out and interfering with normal walking. Cat claws are among the sharpest in the animal kingdom. They can easily rip apart and disembowel almost any animal. They retract through a system of muscles, tendons and elastic ligaments.
The tongues of most cats feel like sandpaper and some times are rough enough to rip off skin. The rough sandpaper-like texture is caused by horny hooked projection called papillae that enable cats to scrap meat off bones and lap up water and other liquids. Cat tongues curl to lap up liquids and flatten to expose the papillae when scraping meat. Cats also use their tongues to lick their fur clean and expose their signature scent. The posteriorly directed papillae on its dorsal surface are thought to help retain food in the mouth and remove tissue from the bones of prey.
Cat Markings
Cat markings — usually stripes, spots or rosettes — act as camouflage for particular habitats: solid colors blend into to open country; stripes mimic shadows cast by tall grass; and mottled colors are suited for the shadowy world of the forest. David Attenborough wrote: “the majority of cat species are solitary hunters living in dense forest. Most have mottled variegated coast that provide them with superlative camouflage. The considerable variation in coat patterns between individuals make it easy to recognize particular animals.
Erin Friar McDermott wrote in National Geographic: “ William Allen of the University of Bristol took a digital approach to breaking the camouflage code...After comparing photos of the cats with a mathematical model of pattern development on their flanks, Allen and colleagues concluded that the complexity of many coat patterns was related to habitat. Spotted cats are typical of closed environments like forests; plain-coated ones tend to inhabit open spaces. Behavior also plays a role. The more time a cat spends in trees and is active at night, for instance, the more elaborately marked its coat is likely to be. “In evolutionary time perhaps cats can change their patterning relatively easily,” says Allen.”
According to to Animal Diversity Web: Throughout their range, felid coats are longest where temperatures tend to be coldest (e.g., snow leopards). Felids exhibit a wide range of colors, from black to orange to white, and many species have cryptically colored coats containing rosettes, spots, and stripes that help camouflage them while hunting for prey. While melanistic variants (solid black) are common in many species, completely white individuals tend to be rare. A great deal of color variation can occur within individual species and newborns tend to have different coloration than adults. For example, adult cougars (Puma concolor) rarely have spots while kittens almost always have spots. In general, the ventral surface of felids tends to be pale while the face, tail, and back of the ears often have black or white markings. [Source: Erika Etnyre; Jenna Lande; Alison Mckenna, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Cat Senses
Felids sense using vision, touch, sound and chemicals usually detected with smell. They have excellent vision, and hearing and use both sight and sound to hunt and detect movement. Cats are very adept at determining the source of a sound. When they hear something that catches their attention they instantly turn their heads in the direction it comes from. Cats with large ears can pick up faint sounds and rely more on their hearing for hunting.
Felids have relatively large pinnae that can rotate to allow for multidirectional hearing without rotating their head. Well-developed vibrissae (whiskers), which are located above the eyes, on the muzzle, and on the ventral surface of forepaws between the digits, play an important role in tactile sensory reception. Similar to other carnivores, felids have haptic receptors inside their digits that allows them to sense temperature, pressure, and other stimuli. [Source: Erika Etnyre; Jenna Lande; Alison Mckenna, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Cat whiskers are sensitive sensory organs that feel. They help cats negotiate tight spaces and allow them to detect the best place to deliver a killing bite to their prey. One zoologist told National Geographic that "blind cats find their way around familiar places using their whiskers and ears alone."
Cats possess a special sensory organ, called a Jacobsen's organs located at the roof of their mouth. that detect chemicals picked up form the environment. Lizards and snakes also possess this organ. Cats have scent glands on their cheeks. House cats sometimes rub themselves against people and then lick their fur to get a taste of people's scent. Cats in the wild may do the same thing on tree or bushes that have scents of other animals or cats.
Cat Vision
Sumatran tiger
Sight is the most important sense to a cat. During the day they can see about as well humans. Its night vision however is six times more sensitive than a human’s night vision. Cat eyes have huge pupils that bulge out and collect light coming in from all directions. In the dark the pupils enlarge to cover almost their entire eyes.
Cats and other nocturnal animals have a thin, iridescent layer of light-reflecting cells behind the retina called the tapeutm lucidum.. Light strikes the mirror surface of these cells and bounces back at the retina, allowing in more light into the eye and helping these animals see and hunt in faint light or environments perceived as total darkness by humans. When a large amount of light is collected it is reflected back out, causing the eyes to glow. In addition to the tapetum lucidum, felids have a modified pupil that allows for excellent vision in a wide range of environments. The felid pupil consists of a vertical slit that expands in low light conditions and contracts in high light conditions.
Cats have good depth perception. Their close-set eyes give them binocular vision which helps them judge distances and pick out prey from the background. They also have good peripheral vision. Unlike many other animals, cats like to look other animals straight in the eye. When they are young many cats have blue eyes as the get older their eyes turn green or amber.
Cat Movements
Flexible front limbs, strong muscles, loose skin, and a loosely-connected, flexible spine account for a cat’s speed, agility and ability to leap far, climb trees, twist in the air and quietly stalk prey. Their long tails provide balance.
Cats can survive long falls by quickly flipping to a face-down position with its "righting reflex" and absorbing the impact with stretched out legs, spread toes and an arched back. A domestic cat that fell from a 46-story window suffered only a broken tooth.
The length of cat’s legs reflect the animal’s habitat. Cats that live in open country like the savannah have long legs for running. Those that live in the forest have shorter legs adapted for moving in tight spaces, climbing trees and make short range ambushes of prey. Cats, camels and giraffes are the only known animals that move their front and hind legs on one side and then the other.
Cat Feeding
Felids are carnivores (mainly eat meat or animal parts) and mostly eat terrestrial vertebrates. Some are piscivores (eat eats fish) and scavengers. They my store caches of food. Unlike some carnivores such as bears, that also eat berries and honey, cats live almost exclusively on meat. If they are unable to get meat they go hungry. Sometimes cats eat grass or other plants but cannot digest them. In lean times, large cats sometimes survive on frogs.
Cats have pointed canine teeth and large blade-like back teeth, called carnassials, which are used to tear meat into easily digestible slices which they swallow whole without chewing. The small incisors and raspy tongue are used to clean off every last scarp of meat from the bones. The claws are used to rip open the skin.
fishing cat
According to Animal Diversity Web: Morphologically, felids are considered the most specialized of all carnivores in the order Carnivora. They are at top of the food web in most ecosystems, as their diet consists almost entirely of animals. Occasionally, felids ingest grass to help pass fur balls, a by-product of constant grooming. Some genera ingest fruit to help offset water requirements. Felids may eat the viscera (i.e., internal organs) of prey, thus consuming partially digested plant biomass. Although they typically hunt for large prey (e.g., Perissodactyla and Artiodactyla), when the opportunity arises large cats may eat carrion as well. Small cats predominantly prey upon rodents and rabbits or hares. When available, small cats also feed upon reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish, crustaceans, and arthropods. Some species cache food and may drag prey carcasses into nearby trees prior to feeding (e.g., Panthera pardus). Fishing cats and flat-headed cats are unique among felids, as they are especially adapted for preying upon fish and frogs. [Source: Erika Etnyre; Jenna Lande; Alison Mckenna, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Artiodactyls (hooved animals such as wild pigs, antelopes and deer) .are an important food sources for a number of different carnivores. As artiodactyl populations decline, so too will those animals that depend on them. For example, the decline of cheetahs is often attributed habitat loss. However, cheetahs primarily prey upon small to medium-sized ungulates, such as gazelles. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, two species of gazelle are extinct, while 10 more are listed as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered. In north Africa, as preferred prey species have declined, more and more cheetahs are turning to livestock for prey. These cheetahs are then killed as pests. As a result, one of the major directives for felid conservation is restoration of wild prey species. [Source: Erika Etnyre; Jenna Lande; Alison Mckenna, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Felids and Humans
According to Animal Diversity Web: Felids were first domesticated in Egypt between 4,000 and 7,000 years ago. Historically, cat pelts served as a symbol of status and power, a trend that continues to this day. In Africa, felids are often hunted for sport and retaliatory killings by livestock farmers are not uncommon. In addition to their pelts, felids are desired for their claws and teeth. Traditional medicines may incorporate felid by-products, although their efficacy is unproven. Although international trade of wild felids and their by-products is illegal, domestic trade continues in some countries. In the ecotourism industry large cats have significant economic value in Africa and India and are sought out by tourists on both national and private reserves. Small cats primarily prey on rodents, hares, and rabbits, which helps control pest populations throughout much of their range. Large cats commonly prey on large herbivores, which reduces competition between livestock and native ungulates. . [Source: Erika Etnyre; Jenna Lande; Alison Mckenna, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Where feral domestic cats have been introduced, the diversity of small vertebrates (such as birds, lizards, and small mammals) has significantly declined. Felids attack and kill livestock, which can result in losses for farmers. Wild cats are capable of transmitting pathogens to domestic cats. Large cats occasionally kill and eat people, though a majority of attacks are often the result of accidental confrontations or involve sick or injured animals. In the Sunderbans of India, the largest contiguous parcel of halophytic forest in the world, tigers kill several dozen people each year.
Major challenges to felid populations include habitat loss or fragmentation, management of cat-human interactions, the collection and killing of felids for the pet and fashion trades, and disappearance of natural prey. Additionally, reduced population sizes increase vulnerability to extinction due to natural disasters, epidemics, and inbreeding depression. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Redlist of Threatened Species, 29 of the 36 recognized species of felids are currently in decline, and five of the remaining seven species have insufficient population data to determine demographic trends. Iberian lynx are listed as critically endangered and are one of the most endangered animals on the planet, with a maximum of 143 individuals remaining in two separate breeding populations. Including tigers and snow leopards, six other species are listed as endangered.
Currently, conservation efforts are focused on habitat preservation, captive breeding, and reintroductions. Numerous cat species have been reintroduced or translocated throughout parts of their range where they were once extinct. The majority of felid reintroductions fail due to a lack of careful planning and execution, which is directly linked to a lack of time and money. In addition, a majority of large cat reintroductions fail because management teams don't take into consideration four important points. First, reintroduction efforts must consider the conditions under which past translocation events were successful, especially the movement of animals into established populations. Second, management teams often fail to appropriately train captive-bred animals to be successful predators in their native habitat. Third, prior to a reintroduction or translocation event it is imperative that the various genetic and morphological differences between different subpopulations are well understood. Finally, the support and receptivity of local human communities must be assessed prior to reintroducing a potentially dangerous predator. Many felid populations are currently in decline largely because of persecution by humans. If felid reintroduction is not supported by local communities, such attempts are likely to fail. /=\
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, David Attenborough books, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.
Last updated January 2025