144 articles
Javan tiger
Javan tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica), an extinct tiger subspecies endemic to Java, Indonesia; last recorded 1976 at Meru Betiri, IUCN-listed Extinct; closest living relative the Sumatran tiger; 2019 hair-sample survival claim rebuffed as Numt contamination.
Javanese cat
Javanese cat, also called Oriental Longhair in some registries: a Siamese-type colorpoint longhair created about 1978 from Balinese and Colorpoint Shorthair crosses; CFA Championship 1986, Balinese division since 2008.
Jungle cat
Jungle cat (Felis chaus), also reed cat or swamp cat, a Least Concern wild cat of wetlands and open habitats from Egypt to Southeast Asia, closely related to the domestic cat, not the lynx.
Kanaani cat
Kanaani (Canaan Cat): rare domestic cat breed from 1990s Israel, founded by Doris Pollatschek from Felis lybica and street-cat stock; WCF-recognized 2008, green-eyed, spotted, energetic, and nearly extinct.
Khao Manee
The Khao Manee (เขามณี), also called the Khao Plort or diamond eye cat, is a rare natural cat breed from Thailand, pure white with vivid blue, green, yellow, or odd eyes.
Killing of Cecil the lion
Killing of Cecil the lion: 2015 death of a 13-year-old collared study lion in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park, shot by American dentist Walter Palmer; sparked global trophy-hunting debate, the CECIL Act, and import bans.
Kitten
Kitten: a juvenile domestic cat from birth to 1 year, also called a baby cat or young feline. Defined by veterinary life-stage guidelines; eyes open at 7-10 days, socialization window 2-9 weeks, weaned by 8-10 weeks.
Kodkod
Kodkod (Leopardus guigna), also guiña or güiña, is the smallest wild cat of the Americas, a Vulnerable spotted felid confined to temperate forests of southern Chile and adjacent Argentina, threatened by habitat loss, persecution, dogs, and roads.
Korat
Korat (Si-Sawat), a rare natural Thai cat breed with a silver-tipped blue single coat, heart-shaped head, and green eyes; a "good luck" cat recorded in the Smud Khoi of Cats (1350-1767), imported to the US in 1959, CFA-recognized 1966.
Larry (cat)
Larry the cat, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, is the tabby-and-white former Battersea stray resident at 10 Downing Street since 15 February 2011, serving under six prime ministers from David Cameron to Keir Starmer.
Leopard
Leopard (Panthera pardus): a big cat of genus Panthera with rosetted coat, native to Africa and southern Asia, nine subspecies, IUCN Vulnerable, CITES Appendix I since 1975, range down 61% since 2007 assessment.
Leopard cat
Leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), also Mainland leopard cat, a small spotted wild cat of South, Southeast, and East Asia; IUCN Least Concern, split from Sunda leopard cat in 2017, ancestor of the Bengal cat breed.
Leopardus
Leopardus (Gray, 1842), the American spotted cats or ocelot lineage, a Neotropical genus of small wild cats including the ocelot, margay, Andean cat, pampas cats, Geoffroy's cat, guigna, and tiger cats; 2n=36 chromosomes, highly discordant phylogeny, up to 13 species, new species L. tilcayo described 2026.
Leopardus colocola
Leopardus colocola (pampas cat, colocolo, gato pajero), a small South American wild cat described by Molina in 1782. A 2021 revision split the complex into five species; L. colocola sensu stricto is restricted to central Chile and is Near Threatened.
Leopardus geoffroyi
Leopardus geoffroyi, Geoffroy's cat (gato montés), a small 3-6 kg Neotropical wild cat from southern Bolivia to Patagonia; spotted, nocturnal, Least Concern, CITES Appendix I, hybridizes with L. guttulus in southern Brazil.
Leopardus guttulus
Leopardus guttulus, the southern tiger cat or southern tigrina, is a small Vulnerable Neotropical wild cat of central/southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, split from Leopardus tigrinus in 2013 and hybridizing with Geoffroy's cat.
Leopardus jacobita
Leopardus jacobita, the Andean cat or Andean mountain cat (gato andino), is an Endangered small wild cat of the high Andes and Patagonia in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru, with about 2,177 mature individuals, black nose, ringed bushy tail, and mountain vizcacha prey.
Leopardus tigrinus
Leopardus tigrinus, the northern tiger cat or oncilla, a small Vulnerable Neotropical wild cat from Costa Rica and Panama to central Brazil; split from L. guttulus in 2013, about 9,000–10,000 mature individuals, declining from habitat loss.
Liger
A liger (Panthera tigris x panthera leo) is the hybrid offspring of a male lion and a female tiger, produced only in captivity and known as the largest living cat.
Lil Bub
Lil Bub (2011-2019) was an American internet celebrity cat from Indiana with dwarfism, polydactyly, and osteopetrosis, famous on Tumblr and YouTube, subject of a genome study, and fundraiser behind Lil BUB's BIG Fund for the ASPCA.
Lion
The lion (Panthera leo) is a large, social cat of the family Felidae that lives in prides on African savannas, with a small remnant population in India's Gir Forest.
List of fatal cougar attacks in North America
Fatal cougar attacks in North America: deaths caused by cougars (mountain lions, Puma concolor) in the US and Canada. About 4–6 attacks yearly; 29 fatal among 386 encounters; recent deaths in Colorado (2026) and California (2024).
Lykoi
Lykoi (werewolf cat), a cat breed from a natural HR-gene coat mutation giving partial hairlessness and black roan coloring; founded 2011 by the Gobbles and Patti Thomas, recognized by TICA (2017) and CFA (2023).
Lynx
Lynx is a genus of wild cats that includes the Canada, Eurasian, Iberian, and bobcat. Each species is ecologically distinct, with the Canada lynx specializing in snowshoe hares.
Maine Coon
Maine Coon: large natural longhaired cat breed from Maine, official state cat since 1985, CFA championship 1976, males 18-22 lb (TICA), prone to HCM, hip dysplasia, SMA, PKDef.
Malayan tiger
Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni), Harimau Malaya, a critically endangered tiger subspecies endemic to Peninsular Malaysia; fewer than 150 remain after the 2016–2020 National Tiger Survey, threatened by Vietnamese poaching syndicates, prey depletion, and habitat loss.
Manx cat
Manx cat: tailless domestic cat breed from the Isle of Man, caused by an incomplete dominant gene; also the longhaired Cymric; rumpy, stumpy, and tailed types; prone to Manx syndrome spinal defects.
Mapogo lion coalition
Mapogo lion coalition: six male lions (Makulu, Dreadlocks, Pretty Boy, Rasta, Kinky Tail, Mr. T) that dominated South Africa's Sabi Sand Game Reserve, roughly 2006 to 2012, controlling about 70,000 hectares and eight prides before falling to the Majingilane and Selati coalitions.
Margay
Margay (Leopardus wiedii), also called tigrillo or little ocelot: a small spotted Neotropical wild cat from Mexico to northern Argentina, Near Threatened, highly arboreal with 180-degree hind-paw rotation, suppressed by the ocelot effect.
Meow
Meow: the human-directed vocalization of the domestic cat Felis catus, absent in adult cat-to-cat communication; acoustically shorter and higher-pitched than wildcat meows, shaped by domestication and human perceptual bias.