High-altitude American

sea level. High altitude means cold nights, so this grayish cat has dense shaggy fur. The tail’s wide stripes make it look like a raccoon’s...

Little spotty

four feet long, and their close relative the margay (Felis wiedi) is a sort of mini-ocelot, only about two feet long, tail included. In oth...

Pet otter?

house cats before Columbus arrived, there is some evidence that they had tamed a native cat called the jaguarundi. This long-bodied brown ...

Can Felis silvestris mate with Felis catus?

The answer is yes, but you probably would not like the results. This is especially true of cases where a European wildcat tom impregnated a ...

“Whole” cats

A male cat who has never been neutered is called “whole.” While we might debate the subject of whether an adult male human can be happy and ...

The African wildcat

Felis silvestris lybica ranges over much of Africa but it has become rare. It is grayish-brown in color and has distinctive striping on the ...

“Fixing,” “spaying,” “neutering”

A female pet is spayed, which means her ovaries and uterus are removed. (Interestingly, it comes from the old French word espeer, meaning “t...