Junior Relations: The Smaller Wild Cats

Here are the wild cats most closely related to our pet and Siamese cats. Interestingly, two of them are closely related to Siamese cats in both character and appearance.

Whether we are talking about the Siamese cat, domestic cat or the feral cats we see on our exotic holidays, the latest genetic research shows they can all be traced back to five foundation cats - but this is very scientific and I won't get into it here.

Many wild cats naturally interbreed with domestic cats and some are being used by breeders to produce new breeds like the Bengal and Savannah cats. If you are interested in learning more about these new breeds (and some use the Siamese cat as part of its breeding programme), you'll find more in the hybrid breeds section.

Many 'sub-groups' belong to each of these wild cat groupings. You'll find differences in fur colour, size and extent of territory. Here are the major groups of small wild cats:

• African Desert Cat: only found in Africa


• African Golden Cat: only found in Africa


• Asiatic Desert Cat: West and Central Asia


• Asiatic Golden Cat: (Also called Temminck's Golden Cat in the UK) Asia


• Bay Cat: Borneo (also called Bornean red cat) Very rare elusive cat and not photographed till 1998


• Black-footed Cat: only found in Africa


• Bobcat: North America, it naturally has a very short tail and likes catmint like many of our domestic cats


• Canadian Lynx: North America


• Caracal: Africa and SW Asia. Marco Polo said the Grand Khan of Cathay was able to train them to hunt


• Chinese Desert Cat: China and like the sand cat has the protection of fur covering the foot pads


• Eurasian Lynx: Europe and Asia


• European Wild Cat: freely breeds with the domestic cat, which has resulted in the wild cat often being more of a hybrid rather than a pure breed. Usually (but interestingly not always) the resulting kittens cannot be tamed. Also the wild cats pick up domestic cat diseases against which they have no protection. It is believed that our pet cats' ancestors have some of this wild cat blood.


• Fishing Cat: S.E. Asia and N.E. India Yes, it really does catch fish and other water creatures


• Flat headed Cat: Malaya, Sumatra and Borneo


• Geoffroy's Cat: South America. It got its name from French naturalist Geoffroy St. Hilaire. It is hunted for its fur


• Iriomote Cat: This new one was discovered only in 1964 on an island called Iriomotejima in Japan


• Jaguarundi: Mexico, Central and South America. It is also called the weasel cat because it looks very much like the weasel family


• Jungle Cat: S. and S.E. Asia, Middle East and Egypt. This cat is also believed to share blood ties with our Siamese and domestic pets


• Kodkod: claim to fame being that it is the smallest cat in the western hemisphere


• Leopard Cat: E. and S.E. Asia and India


• Manul: Central and West Asia, also known as Pallas's Cat


• Marbled Cat: S.E. Asia


• Margay: Central and South America. It is a beautiful spotted cat that is unfortunately hunted for its lovely coat


• Mountain Cat: Parts of the Andes Mountains


• Ocelot: another cat hunted for its beautiful coat


• Pampas Cat: South America


• Puma: North and South America (cougar is another name for this one)


• Rusty spotted cat: India and Sri Lanka


• Sand Cat: Africa, Arabia and S.W. Asia. As its name suggests it is found in hot arid regions and has thick fur between its foot pads to survive desert life. It is also quite small but with a broad head, a little like our entire tom cats with their prominent cheeks.


• Serval: Africa, and half of the new Savannah breed


• Spanish Lynx: Spain and Portugal


• Tiger Cat: South America


• Domestic Cat: no description needed!

And then in 1996 all cat classifications changed. The Taxonomic Advisory Group - a group of scientists that decide how animals are classified - decided that just five cats should be in the Felis section as opposed to the thirty or so above. These five are:

• Chinese Desert Cat


• Jungle Cat


• Sandcat


• Blackfooted Cat


• Wildcat of Africa and Eurasia

Return from Wild Cats to Siamese Cat History