144 articles
Abyssinian cat
Abyssinian cat: a medium-sized, ticked-coat cat breed first shown as Zula at the 1871 Crystal Palace show; genetically from the Indian Ocean coast and Southeast Asia, registered by CFA since 1906, active and people-oriented.
African leopard
African leopard (Panthera pardus pardus), nominate leopard subspecies of sub-Saharan Africa; solitary nocturnal ambush predator, 17–90 kg; Vulnerable, ~44,800–142,600 remain, 41% of historic range lost.
African wildcat
The African wildcat (Felis lybica), also called the Afro-Asiatic wildcat, is a small wild cat found across Africa and Asia and the wild ancestor of the domestic cat.
Aging in cats
Aging in cats: domestic cats age through mature adult (7–10), senior (10+), and geriatric (15+) stages; brains atrophy like human brains, with a 15-year-old cat equating to an 80-year-old human.
American Bobtail
American Bobtail: a medium-to-large North American cat breed with a natural 1-4 inch bobtail from a dominant mutation. Developed from feral bobtailed cats in the late 1960s; TICA-recognized 1989, CFA championship 2006; affectionate, dog-like temperament.
American Shorthair
American Shorthair: pedigreed natural breed of working cat from US settler-era rodent hunters; CFA-recognized since 1906, medium-to-large, over 100 colors, distinct from random-bred Domestic Shorthair.
Amur leopard
Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis), also Far East or Manchurian leopard, a critically endangered leopard subspecies of the Russia-China border forests; fewer than 30 in the 1970s, now roughly 130 in Russia plus about 30 in China, with joint censuses recording over 200.
Arabian leopard
Arabian leopard (Panthera pardus nimr), smallest leopard subspecies, critically endangered with 100–120 wild individuals in Oman and Yemen; extinct or nearly so in Saudi Arabia; recovery relies on captive breeding and reintroduction programs.
Arctocephalus pusillus
Arctocephalus pusillus, the brown fur seal, is the largest fur seal, with two subspecies: the Cape fur seal of southern Africa (1.5-2 million) and the Australian fur seal of Bass Strait (about 90,000).
Asian golden cat
Asian golden cat (Catopuma temminckii), also Asiatic golden cat or Temminck's cat: a polymorphic, forest-dependent wild cat from Nepal, northeast India, China, Southeast Asia and Sumatra, weighing 9–16 kg, CITES Appendix I, roughly 7,000 mature individuals.
Asiatic cheetah
Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus), critically endangered Asian cheetah subspecies surviving only in Iran's central plateau; fewer than 100 remain, threatened by poaching, road deaths, sanctions, and war.
Asiatic lion
Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica), the lion population surviving only in Gujarat's Gir Forest, India; 891 lions in 2025, low genetic diversity, now taxonomically grouped in P. leo leo.
Bali tiger
Bali tiger (Panthera tigris balica), extinct tiger subspecies endemic to Bali, Indonesia, described by Schwarz in 1912. Smallest tiger subspecies, males under 100 kg; last one shot 27 September 1937; closest living relative the Sumatran tiger.
Barbary lion
Barbary lion, or Atlas lion, an extinct-in-the-wild North African lion population of Panthera leo leo ranging Morocco to Libya; last photo 1925, last shot 1942, putative descendants in Moroccan Royal captive lineage.
Bengal cat
Bengal cat: domestic cat breed from Asian leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) crosses, founded by Jean Mill in 1963, TICA-recognized 1986; rosetted coat, glitter gene, about 3.48% leopard cat DNA, high-energy temperament.
Bengal tiger
Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), the Indian-subcontinent tiger subspecies, Endangered, found in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan; India holds about 3,682 of roughly 5,700 wild tigers; threatened by poaching, habitat loss, and human-tiger conflict.
Big cat
Big cat: informal term for large felids, chiefly the five Panthera species (tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, snow leopard); Pantherinae diverged from Felinae about 10.8 million years ago; roaring tied to hyoid anatomy; tigers endangered with about 5,700 left.
Birman
Birman (Sacred Cat of Burma): color-pointed semi-longhair cat with blue eyes and white gloves and laces on all four feet. Founded in France from a pair shipped from Burma around 1919; CFA registration 1967.
Black cat
Black cat: a domestic cat with a melanistic all-black coat caused by a recessive ASIP gene deletion. Known for medieval witchcraft stigma, black cat bias in shelters (higher euthanasia, lower adoption), and no evidence of temperament differences.
Black panther
Black panther: not a species but a melanistic (all-black) big cat, usually a leopard in Asia/Africa or a jaguar in the Americas; recessive ASIP mutation in leopards, dominant MC1R in jaguars, about 11% of leopards globally.
Black-footed cat
Black-footed cat (Felis nigripes), smallest African wild cat, 1–2.5 kg, endemic to southern Africa; nocturnal, Vulnerable IUCN, population about 13,867, threatened by poisoning, habitat loss, and AA-amyloidosis.
Bobcat
Bobcat (Lynx rufus, red lynx), a medium-sized North American wild cat with a bobbed tail, ranging from southern Canada to Oaxaca, Mexico; IUCN Least Concern with a stable US population of roughly 2.3 to 3.6 million.
Bombay cat
Bombay cat: man-made cat breed from crossing black American Shorthair with sable Burmese, created by Nikki Horner in Kentucky; jet-black patent-leather coat, copper eyes, mini-panther look; CFA championship 1976, TICA 1979.
Burmese cat
Burmese cat: domestic cat breed founded from Wong Mau, a brown female imported from Burma to San Francisco in 1930 by Dr Joseph Thompson; compact, muscular, gold-eyed, people-oriented; CFA colors sable, champagne, blue, platinum; WNK4 hypokalemia DNA test.
Canada lynx
Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), also Canadian lynx or lynx du Canada: boreal North American wild cat dependent on snowshoe hares; IUCN Least Concern, threatened in contiguous US, endangered in Nova Scotia.
Cape fox
Cape fox (Vulpes chama), also called silver jackal or silwervos, is the smallest canid and only true fox of sub-Saharan Africa, a Least Concern, monogamous, nocturnal rodent-eating fox of arid southern Africa.
Cape lion
The Cape lion was a population of lion that lived in southern South Africa and was exterminated in the mid-nineteenth century, historically noted for its large black mane.
Caracal
Caracal (Caracal caracal), also called desert lynx or rooikat: a medium-sized tufted-eared wild cat of Africa and Asia, IUCN Least Concern globally but rare in Asia, able to leap 3 m to catch birds.
Caracat
The Caracat is a rare hybrid cat created by crossing a wild caracal with a domestic cat, usually a ticked Abyssinian. It is not recognized by major registries like TICA.
Caspian tiger
Caspian tiger (Panthera tigris virgata), or Turan tiger, an extinct Central Asian tiger population, last killed in Turkey in 1970; genetically near-identical to the Amur tiger, now being restored in Kazakhstan via Amur tiger releases since 2026.