Leopard Cat

The Cat Survival Trust

The Leopard Cat

Felis (Prionailurus) bengalensis Kerr

Photo: Robert C. Martin
©ArtWolfe

Contents
	Description Distribution Diet Behaviour Reproduction Conservation Status Captive Breeding and Leopard Cats in Captivity Further Reading

Other names
	English:	Bengal cat
	French:	chat léopard du Bengale
	German:	Bengalkatze
	Spanish:	gato bengali, gato de Bangala

Description

The leopard cat is a beautiful spotted cat which is similar in size to a tall domestic cat. Their coats are generally pale brown/tawny yellow, but this colouring is extremely variable, and may be bright reddish or grey. Underparts are white and they are marked with dark spots, bands and blotches. There are usually four longitudinal black bands running from the forehead to behind the neck. The ears of a leopard cat are long and rounded with a white spot on the black backs. Two whitish stripes run up from the internal corners of the eyes and there are one or two white streaks across the cheeks. The tail is spotted at the base and ringed indistinctly toward the tip. The soles of the feet are dark brown, and the legs are relatively long.
Characteristically the leopard cat has a small head and narrow muzzle. The skull is short and rounded and the orbits of the eye sockets are open at the back. Usually the anterior upper premolar is present.
Leopard cats are usually classified in the genus Felis, but Wozencraft (1993) in his recent review of cat taxonomy put them in the genus Prionailurus. This reflects that the leopard cat’s relationship with the other members of the genus (the flat-headed cat P. planiceps; rusty-spotted cat P. rubiginosus; fishing cat P. viverrinus) is closer than it is to the other cats.
There are between seven and ten recognised leopard cat subspecies:

F. (P.) b. bengalensis	India to Indo-China and Yunnan
F. (P.) b. borneoensis	Borneo
F. (P.) b. chinensis	China and Taiwan
F. (P.) b. euptilura	The Far Eastern forest cat, East Siberia
F. (P.) b. horsfieldi	Kashmir to Sikkim
F. (P.) b. javanensis	Java and Bali
F. (P.) b. manchurica	Manchuria
F. (P.) b. minuta	Philippines
F. (P.) b. sumatrans	Sumatra
F. (P.) b. trevelyani	North Kashmir to South Baluchistan, Pakistan

This list does not contain Tsushima cat, which was only recognised by science in 1988, when it was given species status. It is now believed to be a variety of the leopard cat. It is smaller and darker than the typical leopard cats and its population appears to have been separated from the mainland leopard cats for a long time. One article in the newsletter of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group, Cat News, stated that the Tsushima cat was a member of the Siberian subspecies, P. b. euptilura (More on the Tsushima Cat. Cat News 12, 1990, p. 23). Previously, Professor P. Leyhausen stated that specimens from the island of Tsushima “clearly belonged to the subspecies P. b. manchuricus” (New Cat Not New? Cat News 11, 1989, p.18).
These subspecies and those of many other animals are the subject of much taxonomic debate, and many are disputed. Much more genetic evidence is required before subspecies can be accurately determined, if they ever can be.
The Sumatran subspecies has fewer and smaller markings than the typical mainland forms. In contrast to the bright and quite rufous Bornean subspecies, the Javanese and Balinese leopard cats have rather dull coloration. The Pakistani leopard cat is rather grey. The largest subspecies is the one which occurs the farthest north, P. b. manchurica, the grey coat is thicker and less distinctly marked than the other subspecies. As the scientific name suggests, the Philippine race is the smallest.

Principal dimensions

	Overall	Males	Females
Head and Body lengths (cm)	44-107
Tail lengths (cm)	15-44
Weight (Kg)	3-7
Weight (Kg) (Tsushima cat)		4	3

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Distribution and Habitats

Leopard cats are one of the most common and widely distributed felids, from the dense tropical forests of Sumatra to the Manchurian and Siberian taiga. They are not restricted to primary forests, being found in scrublands, second-growth woodland, semi-deserts, and even agricultural regions, especially near water. They are tolerant of human activity, often being found close to villages.
Distributed as far north as North Korea and the Amur basin and as far south as Bali, the leopard cat’s range extends towards Pakistan through northern India, the southern Himalaya, Bangladesh, Burma, and Indo-China. They are found on the Philippines, Borneo and Java and several island near Japan.
The island of Tsushima is 700 km², with steep mountains and ravines. On the map it appears as a tiny dot just off the south coast of Korea
The map shows the distribution of Leopard Cats in grey.
The map is based on information in the Wild Cats Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan published by the IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group in 1996. See our Books page for more details.

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Diet

Leopard cats are, like most felids, opportunists, and they will prey on hares, rodents, reptiles, moles, insects, amphibians, game birds, fish, mouse deer and the fawns of roe deer. Grass and eggs may supplement their diets. They are known to raid poultry and to tackle aquatic prey in the water.

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Behaviour

Primarily nocturnal, leopard cats hunt both on the ground and in trees. They are also reported to swim very well. A male’s home range has been measured as 9.0 km². Although leopard cats are solitary, several males may chase one female when she is in season.
Many cats delineate their territories using their faeces and spray urine as scent markers. Adult leopard cats are said to urinate and defecate in water to mask their traces. This behaviour has also been noted in captive animals. Juveniles will bury their fæces near the den. This avoids drawing attention to themselves. Leopards take significant numbers of leopard cats.
In captivity they are highly susceptible to disturbance and have been known to kill their own offspring. Male leopard cats will participate in rearing their young, unlike most felids.

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Reproduction

One to four (usually two or three) kittens are born, about May, in a hollow tree or rock cavity. Gestation takes about 56 to 72 days. At birth the kittens weigh about 75 to 130 grammes. They open their eyes when they are about ten days old, and start to eat meat by 23 days. Sexual maturity is reached at 18 months. If the kittens are removed from the mother, she is able to have another litter that year. A captive leopard cat has lived for 13 years.

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Conservation Status

Fifteen adult leopard cats are killed to make one fur coat
Skins of spotted cats are always in demand for clothing. Leopard cats have been heavily persecuted and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) holds the leopard cat on Appendix II, strictly regulating international commerce. P. b. bengalensis has been placed on Appendix I which prohibits all international trade in products of that subspecies.
Populations of Tsushima cats are protected and consist of about 100 individuals.
The leopard cat is one of the first non-domestic cats to be successfully artificially inseminated. Two cubs were born. In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) has also produced good results in leopard cats. These are potentially very powerful tools for future conservation.
The IUCN Red List has the Philippine leopard cat as Vulnerable but other leopard cats as Least Concern.(Cat News 23, 1995, p.210)
Insufficient information exists about the numbers of leopard cats in the wild to really assess their status. Although subspecies may be threatened, the species is sufficiently widespread to withstand a lot of human encroachment.

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