Andean Mountain Cat Description

The Andean mountain cat has a sweet, domestic cat-like appearance and is similar in size to a large domestic cat.

This cat lives high in the Andes, a barren, rocky, inhospitable landscape with little vegetation. The climate is harsh and temperatures low at around freezing point.. The coat is therefore dense, full, soft and long at 40 mm long on the back of the cat and the tail is bushy and long. Long tails are designed to aid in balance.

Andean mountain cat - photo by Jim Sanderson Ph.D.

The Andean cat has a silver gray spotted and striped tabby and white coat. The undersides are white with a black spotted pattern. The legs are banded with bars.

The skull of this wild cat has "inflated ear bullae". The ear bullae are the middle ear chambers of each ear that contain the bones of the middle ear that transmit sound to the inner ear. This cat species may have exceptional hearing as a result.

The head is round and echos the domestic cat in appearance but has a wild look as expected.

African Golden Cat Description

Sightings of this elusive wild cat are rare, which is why there are so few photographs of it. There is one that is circulating in books and on internet. Here is a nice video however (sometimes they get pulled):



This cat weighs from 8 to 16 kilograms or 18 to 35 pounds (lbs), which is about mid-range for all wildcat species. This is about twice the size of a good sized domestic cat. Males are larger than females. This is perhaps the only wild cat that can have a coat that is either unspotted or spotted. There is a spectrum in between. It is thought that the cats found in the western regions: Guinea-Bissau to Ghana are heavily spotted while those in the east, Uganda and Kenya, are more likely to be unspotted. The coat can change color too.

Spotted African golden cat skins. Photo Wikimedia Commons

The coat is obviously of a golden color but perhaps more accurately described as being orange to sepia-gray. In one survey of 186 pelts it was found that 46% were gray, 50% were red phase and 4% melanistic (Van Mensch and Van Bree 1969). This forms the background color in spotted individuals.

Typical of wildcats the undersides are white or off-white. The belly has dark spots.

The African golden cat has a broad face with a solid muzzle The ears are medium in size with black backed ear flaps. The tail is short at about one third the length of the body and head combined.

The head like the body can be unmarked except for white patches of fur on the inside of each eye and around the mouth and on the cheeks, or it can patterned with stripes and spots.

The fur from the top of the head to the shoulders points forwards. There are melanistic African golden cats.