While the cats are one of the most loving animal that you can have as pets, wild cats are usually not recommended to be taken pets. There are various species of wild cats. Here we have the list of rare wild cat species that are hard to find.
1. Caracal Cat
The Caracal Cat is considered as one of the most important wild cat species. This is a medium sized cat which normally lives in Africa, Middle East and Indian subcontinent. It has normal weight of around 8-16 kg. They have long legs, a short face, long tufted ears and long teeth. This cat was first described in 1777.
These cats are normally active at night and they are also considered as highly secretive and difficult to observe. They normally live alone or in pairs they can leap higher than 3 meters. The breeding of these cat take place throughout the year when both sexes become sexually mature at the age of one year. The prominent feature of this cat includes the 4.5 centimeters long black tufts on the ears. It is also pertinent to mention here that the skull of caracal cat is high and rounded.
Source: Wikipedia
2. Bornean Bay Cat
The Bornean Bay cat is also included in the list of rare wild cat species. These cats have been historically recorded as rare and today they are found in rare numbers. These cats were first described in 1874 by John Edward Gray. Different types of research studies have shown this fact that the Bay cats are much smaller than the Asian Golden Cats.
Its fur is of a bright chestnut color and the tail of these cats is elongated with tapering at the end. The ears of these cats are rounded and covered with a short blackish-brown fur at the outer side.
Source Wikipedia
3. African Golden Cat
This wild cat is mainly distributed in the rainforests of West and Central Africa. The body size of African Golden cat ranges from 61 to 101 cm with a tail having length of 16 to 46 cm. This cat has also been included in the list of vulnerable by IUCN.
The African golden cats are about two times the size of a domestic cat. Their round heads are very small as compared to their body size. It is considered as heavy built cat with long legs and relatively a short tail. The length of the body ranges between 61 to 101 cm. These cats have variable fur colors ranging from chestnut or reddish-brown.
Source: Wikipedia
4. Chinese Mountain Cat
This is also considered as rare wild cat. The Chinese Mountain cat is also known Chinese desert cat and the Chinese steppe cat. This cat has also been classified as Vulnerable by IUCN since 2002. It is estimated that the effective population size of these cats may be fewer than 10,000 mature breeding individuals.
These cats have sand-colored dark guard hairs. Their ears have block tips which increase the beauty of these cats.
They have relatively broad skull with black tail which is black at its tip. It is normally 69-84 cm long and its legs and tail bear black rings. These cats are considered active at night and they normally breed between January to March.
Source: Wikipedia
5. Black-footed Cats
The black-footed cats are also considered as rare wild cat species. These cats are also known as small-spotted cats and is the smallest African cat. Different types of research studies have also proved this fact that these cats are smallest wild cats in the world.
These cats have average weight of around 2.45 kg. Females are smaller with a maximum head-to-body length of 36.9 cm. It is an interesting fact about these cats that despite its name, only the pads and underparts of the feet of cat are black. These cats have stocky build with round ears, large eyes and short black-tipped tail.
Source: Wikipedia
6. Margay
This cat is also included in the list of rare wild cat species and is native to Central and South America. These cats live in primary evergreen forests. These cats were hunted illegally till 1990 for the wildlife trade and this thing resulted in large population decrease of these species.
These cats are similar to larger ocelot in appearance. They normally weigh from 2.6 to 4 kg with a body having length of around 48-79 cm. The fur of this cat is brown and is marked with different rows of dark brown or black rosettes streaks.
Source: Wikipedia
7. Sand Cat
These cats are also known as the sand dune cat. Different types of research studies have shown this fact these cats are only cats that are living foremost in true deserts. These cats are widely distributed in the deserts of North Africa and Southwest and Central Asia. These cats are also found in both sandy and stony deserts.
These cats have thickly furred feet and they are considered well adapted to the extremes of a desert environment. The head of these cats is sandy brown, whereas the lower and upper lips, chin, throat and belly are white.
Source: Wikipedia
8. Fishing Cat
The fishing cat is also considered as one of the most rare wild cat species. It is a medium sized wild cat which is normally found in South and Southeast Asia. Different types of research studies have shown this fact that fishing cat populations are threatened by destruction of wetlands.
The Fishing cats are considered as twice the size of the domestic cats. They have stocky, muscular build with medium to short legs. The face of these cats is elongated with a distinctly flat nose and ears set far back on the head. These cats have feet that less completely webbed than those of leopard cats.
Source: Wikipedia
9. Pallas’s Cat
These cats are also known as manul and they are small wild cat with a wide but fragmented distribution in the grasslands and montane steppes of Central Asia. Different types of research studies have shown this fact that these cats have been negatively affected by habitat degradation, prey base decline and hunting. These cats have been classified as Near Threatened by IUCN since 2002.
The normal size of these cat is nearly equal to the size of domestic cat. Its body is around 46 to 65 cm long and its tail is 21 to 31 cm. It has normal weight of 2.5 kg to 4.5 kg. There are clear black rings on the tail and dark spots on the forehead.
Source: Wikipedia
10. Andean Mountain Cat
The Andean Mountain cats are also considered as one of the rarest wild cats of the world. These cats are native to high Andes that has been identified as Endangered by IUCN. This is due to less than 2500 individuals which are considered to be there in the world.
These cats have an ashy-gray fur, a gray head, ears and face. These cats have white area around the lips and cheeks. There are two dark brown lines which run from the corners of the eyes to across the cheeks. There are also found some black spots on the forelegs.
Source: Wikipedia
