Ocelot Kitten - photo by Just chaos. These were the best pictures that I could find of an Ocelot Kitten that I was free to publish on this website.
People search for "Ocelot Kitten" - why? For two possible reasons. One to see a picture of an Ocelot kitten and the other to source breeders of the Ocelot so that they can adopt one as a pet. The well known artist Salvador Dalí kept an Ocelot as a pet, travelling with the cat.
Ocelot kitten for sale - photo by dzaks. I think that this was taken in Panama in 2002. She/he doesn't look too happy.
So, if visitors want to see a picture of an young Ocelot they are here. What about buying one as a pet? Well, the Ocelot as we know is a medium sized wildcat. You can read and see a bit about the Ocelot and this cat's habitat here: Ocelot habitat.
The Ocelot weighs 11.5–16 kg (25–35 pounds). Another wildcat that has been tamed to be a domestic cat/pet is the Serval. The Serval is more "rangy" in conformation (and as a result is a great jumper) and weighs 9 to 20 kg (20-44 lbs), so is a little bigger at the higher end.
There will be similarities at a fundamental level in caring for either of these two cats as a domesticated cat. I discuss the Serval generally on this page: Serval. And I discuss some of the complexities of keeping a Serval on this page: Serval Cats.
The basic issues are: compliance with local legislation, dietary requirements, veterinarian requirements (can your vet provide suitable veterinary care?), declawing (no and no again but some people do, why get a cat like this if we are going to make the cat less than the cat we liked in the first place), moral issues (do we want to keep a wildcat in our own zoo? - see range below).
An Ocelot kitten will become a cat and the Ocelot is mostly nocturnal and very territorial so will fight strongly to occupy his/her territory. Are we introducing an Ocelot into a household/space/enclosure where there are existing cats? If so this looks complicated. Ocelots need a range of 18 km² (7 sq miles) to hunt prey that consists of small mammals that include rabbits and rodents, birds and fish, for example. Do we have small pets such as hamsters, guinea pigs?
In 2006 IUCN Red List the Ocelot is considered as "least concern" currently, apparently. The Texas Ocelot is considered endangered under the same list. I would suspect obstacles to considering keeping this cat as a pet on a number of levels the first being legalities on the basis of the cats conservation status. The Serval cats link above has some links to USA State websites which may provide some clarification.
The Ocelot was (still is?) hunted for her fur, which is outstanding. It is a spotted tabby pattern (rosettes and black spots). The coat is similar to the Clouded Leopard another very strikingly attractive cat.
Although this page is primarily about wild Serval cats I have built a page on the domestic aspects of this cat – Serval and the second half of this page addresses domestic cat companion matters in relation to this cat. They are quite frequently domesticated and what better way to show this than a picture of Kathrin Stucki of A1 Savannahs with a tame Serval boy (above). This cat is very much like a domestic cat but not quite like a domestic cat; there is that edge of the wild in him.
Here he is in a video:
Here is a picture of the Serval in the wild:
Introduction
This is a medium sized wildcat whose main habitat is the savanna in Africa. The cats size can be seen very clearly in the heading picture of Kathrin Stucki. Notable features of this cat are its rangy conformation, long legs, large ears, small head relative to body size and strongly spotted coat. Its body is designed to hear particularly accurately, jump athletically and run fast (up to 50 mph – the domestic cat has a top speed of about 30 mph).
In comparison with the domestic cat this cat weighs in the range 20 (female) to 57 lbs (male), the lower end of this scale being the top end of domestic cat weights (see Largest Domestic Cat Breed).
Here are a couple of videos by me:
The classic markings are black tabby spots on a well ticked yellow/tawny ground but it can be melanistic (black) and white.
The scientific name is Leptailurus serval. The Serval is closely related to the African Golden Cat and Caracal.
IUCN Assessment as to survival in the wild
Assessment is on two levels, it seems. South of the Sahara desert they are classified as "Least Concern” – the species has been evaluated but does not qualify for any other category:
Serval cats are “relatively abundant” in this area, hence the classification.
North of the Sahara in Morocco, northern Algeria and Tunisia they are assessed as “regionally Critically Endangered” - Critically endangered is the highest risk category assigned by the IUCN for wild species. Critically endangered means that a species numbers have decreased, or will decrease, by 80% within three generations (src: Wikipedia) :
Range Habitat and Ecology
The Serval occupies large areas south of the Sahara what called “sub-Saharan Africa”. They do not occupy the desert or tropical rainforest. North of the Sahara they occupy fragmented habitat in low populations.
Serval range. Published under Wikimedia® creative commons license = Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Apparently Servals are common in most reserves. Outside the parks their population is uncertain. They are found in long grass in savanna landscapes but can also be found higher above sea level up to 3,800 on Mount Kilimanjaro and in forest. They prey on rodents (in wetlands) in the long grass, listening and then jumping up high and pouncing on the prey stunning and killing. They are also able to catch birds in flight (as the bird takes off).
Threats and Conservation
Threats include:
wetland habitat loss/degradation through human activity
burning of grassland
overgrazing of livestock
skin trade (skins seen in Morocco for example)
medicinal and ceremonial use of body parts (e.g. Nigeria)
killed by farmers to protect livestock
Conservation includes:
Listed in CITES Appendix II (“…lists species that are not necessarily now threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled.”)
hunting banned or regulated in many African countries
they occupy protected reserves (e.g. Aberdare Mountains N.P. (Kenya))
Some more:
Serval Cats (focus on legal stuff)
Tame Serval (more on the boy cat featured on this page)
Photo of Serval Cat in the wild on the road: by Duncan Fawkes - published under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs creative commons License -- this site is for charitable purposes in funding cat rescue.
Photo of white Serval: licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
This section deals mainly with domestic Serval topics
Serval cats - fine photo - by patries71 - see base of post for licensing
This medium sized and athletic African wildcat is one of the ancestral parents of the domestic wildcat, hybrid the Savannah cat. Some people say that the Ashera GD of LifeStyle Pets Inc. (Allerca cats) is an unregistered Savannah cat. Even if it is (there is no strict evidence), the Ashera GD is claimed to be hypoallergenic and no cats are claimed to be hypoallergenic other than the Ashera GD and the other Allerca cats that are said to be hypoallergenic
Serval cats are closely related to the Caracal. The Caracat is one of the ancestral parents of a lesser known domestic cat wildcat hybrid called a Caracat.
The Caracal is not a tamed wildcat that can has on occasiona become a pet cat but the Serval quite definitely is. I believe that the only place where this happens is in America and if not there are very few tamed or domesticated Serval cats in Europe or the rest of the world except perhaps in zoos.
What I mean is this. Serval cats despite their size and nature and the demands that that places on a human companion are treated as domestic cats in some households.
I have written a full page on the main site about the Serval cat:- see the Serval cat. This covers topics such as behavior and a nice story about a Serval cat in a London restaurant in the heart of the West End in 1923 - yes 1923. Domestication of this cat is nothing new.
I also put down a marker on this page as to what really are the bigger and more important issues namely, the legal requirements. Despite being tamed this is a bona fide wildcat and not a hybrid (F1, F2 hybrids can be a handful -see F1 Savannahs and Helmi and Ken Fick living with a Chausie another wildcat hybrid). I would particularly recommend reading Ken and Helmi's thoughts about living with an F1 hybrid domestic cat/wildcat before anyone proceeds to acquire any first generation wildcat hybrid never mind a tamed wildcat, which will magnify the demands and "problems". You might like to see an F1 Chausie in a face off with a parrot or playing in a bathful of water. I am not being negative I hope just realistic and sensible.
In addition to the Flick's excellent advice here are some pointers from a very sensible breeder of Serval cats. Her name is Tina Chandler and I use my words having read hers, and she says she doesn't want to be negative either (she is being wisely realistic becuase if we fail to manage this cat properly she/he may be confiscated by the local authority and euthanased and we owe every cat a lot more than that):
it is better to adopt a kitten as one can better bond with a young cat and wildcats and hybrids are able to bond very strongly - very affectionate. Also a Serval kitten will be socialized with other pets and learn to live with them. An adult Serval may not take kindly to the introduction of another pet and if the other pet is the right type and size may consider the pet to be prey.
once weaned Serval cats are "high energy" (do you have to time and commitment to manage this energy?).
there may be legal requirements - these need to be thoroughly checked before going any further - see some contact details and thoughts are below.
cats spray for territorial reasons. Neutering cats stops or eases the "problem". Servals are wildcats and do the same. Neutering and spaying may not remove the problem (this is not a problem for the cat). Can we cope with that? A lot of people can't, I suspect. To me this and the characteristics of this fine cat means people shouldn't adopt unless they have the space and an enclosure (see building an enclosure).
other pets need to be considered. Serval cats are very efficient hunters (50% success rate - frightened?).
There are also moral decisions to be made and veterinarian issues. I discuss these briefly below.
Serval cat photo copyrightHelmi Flick - this is a thumbnail -click on the image for more.
Legal Stuff
For me the first thought that comes to mind when thinking of living with Serval cats is, "Are there regulations and legal requirements governing the keeping of wildcats?" And the answer probably is a yes but what exactly are they? I am not going to research State by State as it is too time consuming. You will find that there is a gradual tightening up of stat-by-state regulations on the keeping of wild cats or what is termed "exotic animals". Please check the law of the state concerned. This is very important and should be the starting point if you have the idea of owning a serval as a pet (ill-advised in my view).
Veterinarians
The point that I am making here is this. Is your local vet up to scratch on African wildcats? It is not automatic that a vet will be able to treat an exotic wildcat as well as a domestic cat. OK, they are both cats and therefore very similar but there may some differences and if there are does the veterinarian know them? I wouldn't blame anyone if he didn't. In all professions there are specialists because there is too much to know and to experienced at as a "generalist". I'd make sure that my local veterinarian was good at treating wildcats and Serval cats before adopting.
Moral Issues
I know that I have mentioned this before but some people haven't seen the description of Serval cats on the main site (see this picture if you've missed it). When we adopt and keep a Serval cat we are putting that cat in an unnatural environment for our benefit. Might it be better if we made efforts to ensure that Serval cats were protected in their natural outdoors environment? This would help the cat, not us. Click here to see what I said on the main site.
Serval cats - photo heading this section (bottom section): This photograph is published under a Wikimedia® creative commons license license = Attribution-ShareAlike License
We don't normally think about training a cat except perhaps to use the litter, maybe the cat flap or at a more adventurous level a human toilet - cat toilet training, which is quite a popular idea. Yet the cats I have lived with have always used the litter perfectly without training; it comes naturally to a cat usually. The same goes for using a cat flap. A bit of simple encouragement might be needed to use a cat flap but in my experience cats get used to them pretty easily.
But what about training a cat generally? We consider that dogs can be fairly easily trained and cats we believe can't be trained or we don't bother to or don't need to train them. Dogs are pack animals and look more to human companions for the lead when it comes to doing things. Cats are more solitary and do their own thing but can adapt well to communal living in fact, after all they live with us - see sociable cats.
One established way to train dogs (and now cats) is with the help of a clicker. It's called clicker training, unsurprisingly. And I like the idea. I like the idea of training my cat to do more than the usual stuff. Plus it means a lot more interaction with her. That translates to more activity for our cats too and in a world where a lot of cats are full-time indoor cats activity and mental stimulation are pretty well essential to keep 'em healthy.
Clicker training is part of the process of reward based training. All of us, yes, humans too, can be trained by the giving of rewards for a task completed. I guess everything we do is for a reward, so reward based training underpins a lot of what we do. With an companion animal the clicker is clicked just after the successful completion of the task and just before the reward is given (usually a bit of her favorite food). It seems that the click is a marker, a sound, which accurately pin points the moment when the task was completed so that the pet can better recognize what she is being rewarded for and relate action to reward, thereby facilitating the learning process. The action, click, reward sequence is a combination of events that makes training a cat more efficient and successful.
Here is a video about clicker training a cat:
I am going to give it a try. One thing my girl cat has never been able to do is sit on my lap. This is because she is a stray cat who I believe was frightened of doing this with her first human companion for some reason. She used to live with a person near to my home at the time in Central London until the person abandoned her.
I am going to try and train her to sit on my lap. I would love this as it would (should I hope) make her life better and help make our already close bond even closer. Training a cat can be fun too.
Cougar wild cat - have we seen anything more beautiful and splendid than the face of this fellow animal? great photo by digitalART2 well done.
There has been a report recently about a spate of Cougar sightings by the residents of a town in the USA - Blackstone Va. This town is in Eastern USA where it is almost certain that all Cougars have been removed through our activity except in Florida where there are about 100. The Florida Cougar is critically endangered.
The Blackstone rush of Cougar sightings were reported by the local media (15 stories - is that right?). The editor of the local paper is the Mayor of the town I believe. The point is this. A small newspaper needs stories and Cougars create that kind of middle America readable story and it fills papers and heaven knows I am sure that it is hard sometimes to fill a local newspaper.
This creates more stories, more Cougar sightings and hysteria eventually takes over. And the media started it. Worse it's the innocent Cougar that gets the worst of it all as people will be more likely to kill one if one actually turns up, which thankfully will almost certainly not happen.
So what happens is this; the local people start believing that there are Cougars about. When they see something that might look like a Cougar at a distance (and a lot of animals in the dark or dusk might) they report it and get a little panicky. You get old people with eyesight to match sitting on their porches in the evening convincing themselves that a massive Cougar is about to turn up.
In fact the wild Cougar is not that large (about the size of a person) and can be frightened off using proper techniques. I wonder if the local paper wrote about that and conservation and how the Cougar has been killed off in Eastern USA and will be almost certainly become extinct in the wild in the USA generally within say 50 years unless for example sport hunting of the Cougar is banned. These are the real issues the big issues but unfortunately they are a little boring to local people sitting on their porches looking out for that ellusive big cat..........
I don't think we should devote much time to a cat with four ears because it is simply an anatomical abnormality. Another one is cats with more than the usual number of toes - see American Polydactyl cat. Humans can be polydactyl too. Humans can also have less than the usual number of toes or fingers. This is called split foot - see CHARGE syndrome, split foot and cats. A more technical name for split foot is Syndactyly.
Humans can also have 4 nipples and so on and so on. I know people are sometimes interested in this kind of thing but I think it is more the media than the people. Not many people search the Internet for a cat with four ears compared with American Shorthair cat for example.
The extra ear flaps or pinnae of a cat with four ears is not a functional piece of anatomy, it seems. In the case of YODA, the 2 extra flaps (in fact it was 4 extra flaps in my opinion as I think Yoda had 6 ears) were not attached to the skull. In other words there were no extra ear canals as well. They were vestigial extra flaps no more - cosmetic defects or perhaps not a defect at all as he became very well known because of them. Yoda was picked up in a bar in the US. Kittens apparently were being handed around to poeple who might like one. That doesn't sound that great. Yoda is microchipped as he might be stolen due to his celebrity. I can't publish a picture of Yoda, the cat with four ears because the photographer sold the rights to an agency and I think they will charge for the right to publish and it is not worth paying for that right.
In the case of Yoda it seems that his extra ear flaps pushed his functional ear flaps lower down the head as they look a little out of place. This doesn't seem to have had effect on his hearing.
I've changed my mind about Cornish Rex Cats after seeing this picture on Flickr®, which is published here under a creative commons license - Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License. A fine photograph. I like the way the Dax's fur is reflected in the background colors and textures.
Cornish Rex Cats - kitten - he is called Dax - photo by Kattenpraat
The first of the "mutants" (as the authors of Robinson's Genetics for Cat Breeders & Veterinarians call this breed) was the Cornish Rex (1950). The individual cat was called Kallibunker. See his picture below (this I believe is Kallibunker - wrong? then please tell me in a comment)
Kallibunker
Photo above: Kallibunker - you can see how the ears have grown because of selectively breeding for large ears. Cat breeders like big ears! Of course Kallibunker was "discovered" in Cornwall, England. This is in the far south west of England where the human population is lower. It is a popular tourist area for Brits.
You can see a lot more including some great show cat pictures by the celebrated Helmi Flick on this page: Cornish Rex cat
Cornish Rex Coat
The mutated gene that gives the wavy coat in Cornish Rex cats is recessive. It is symbolized by the letter r. The coat is soft to the touch and like a mole-skin apparently. There are it seems no guard and awn hairs. The hairs are often distinctly wavy; a marcelled effect or curls (marcelled refers to people's hair styles that have deep wavy curls made by using curling irons). See the picture opposite for this effect. This is a cropped image copyright Helmi Flick.
The whiskers are shorter and frequently bent. The whiskers are a good marker to identify this breed in young cats.
The coat can be thin or a thick covering. Robinsons calls it a "pelage". A dictionary definition of the word pelage states that it means the coat of an animal consisting of hair fur or wool....Not very enlightening really.
There is a long haired variety of this cat breed. Although the hair lengths are longer that usual they are shorter than a non-rex coated longhaired cat and the hairs are thinner. This indicates the long haired gene (symbolized by the letter l) can work independently of the mutated rex gene.
This is a fine picture of an American Wirehair cat by Helmi Flick, the best cat photographer. You can see this picture and more on this page: American Wirehair.
This is an odd-eyed cat. Robinson's Genetics for Cat Breeders & Veterinarians (4th Ed.) says that it is thought that the gene that gives this shorthaired cat the rough and unruly coat is monogenic with incomplete penetrance but dominant to the normal coat. The gene is a mutated gene. The gene symbol is Wh. Normally a shorthaired cat's coat has an even texture provided it is groomed normally. The American Wirehair cat's coat has the usual three "layers" of hairs, guard, awn (bristle) and down (wool hairs) but they are not normal.
The hairs are thinner than normal and curved. This particularly affects the awn hairs, which have an exaggerated undulation. This is a sparse wiry coat that is coarse but pleasant to touch. It is steel wool in the form of fur. The coat comes in a range of colors and patterns.
Gloria Stephens in the Legacy of the Cat suggests that the American Wirehair cat is not as robust as the American Shorthair. The skeleton is medium in size and not as substantial as the Shorthair. However, this is a muscular, agile, independent and active cat.
I conclude, on the Rare Cat Breeds page of the main website that this is a rare cat breed. In measuring rarity out of 10, where 10 is the most rare, this breed came 8 on my assessment. There are rarer breeds (e.g. the Sokoke). In confirmation of that assessment, Gloria Stephens says that in all the years that she was judging, she only saw one Wirehair cat.
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