Intro: this page contains some opinions too! Here are 20 facts about the closest relations of the domestic cat. The Near Eastern wildcat aka North African wildcat is the ancestor of the domestic cat. There is one group of small … continue reading…
NEWS AND COMMENT-CONWY, NORTH WALES: This is a bizarre story which makes me scratch my head in bemusement. Arguably, there are no Scottish wildcats left on the planet because the very rare ones that might look like Scottish wildcats are … continue reading…
The European Wildcat is, like other Wild cat species, under continual pressure from human population growth and activity. The wildcat is the ancestor of the domestic cat and therefore they are arguably the ‘authors of their own demise’ in that … continue reading…
Take a domestic tabby cat, make them a little larger, make them more substantial with a thick and slightly longer and denser coat, make the tabby markings a little less pronounced and give the cat that classic, unneutered jowly appearance … continue reading…
Based on a mitochondrial DNA study the umbrella label of “African wildcat” can be broken down into the Near Eastern wildcat (North African wildcat), the Asian wildcat (Asiatic wildcat), and the Southern African wildcat. We should also include the domestic … continue reading…
Introduction The description “African-Asian wildcat” describes two subspecies of wild cat whose combined distribution is from the southernmost tip of the African continent, through the Middle East and East towards a region north and east of India in a wide … continue reading…
My reading of a very long and detailed report on a study indicates to me that the experts no longer know for sure what they’re looking for in terms of the genetic profile of the Scottish wildcat. They say that … continue reading…
The question is a sensible one because all of the world’s half a billion domestic and feral cats originate in a domesticated North African wildcat (Far Eastern wildcat or African-Asian wildcat). It happened about 10,000 years ago. Nowadays there are … continue reading…
I am picking up on a study that I have written about before which genetically analysed the Chinese mountain cat to confirm (1) that it is a subspecies of wildcat and not species in its own right and (2) that … continue reading…
Recent research tells us two things about the Chinese mountain cat aka Chinese desert cat: they are hybridized and they were not involved in the cat domestication process. Hybridization Hybridization is sometimes referred to as ‘genetic admixture’. Over many years … continue reading…
If you are photographing a Scottish wildcat (and it will be in captivity almost certainly) you are going to get a fierce look as you can see in this photograph because they are renowned for their aggressivity in the nicest … continue reading…
Pete Macnab was out for a stroll with his 11-week-old son and a friend when they encountered what they believed to be a young, domestic tabby cat in Huntly’s Cave, north of Grantown in Moray, Scotland. The young cat was … continue reading…
As this photograph was taken in what appears to be a German zoo, I will presume that it is a European wildcat. It as taken by Melanie Kahl of BUND Bundesverband for the BUND Wildkatzen-Symposium 2016. That is the Bund … continue reading…
Artist Peter Hall was on a game drive in the central regions of Kruger National Park in South Africa, reports the EarthTouch News website. A “game drive” is one in which the participants sit in 4×4 vehicles looking out at … continue reading…
We know that the Scottish wildcat is either extinct in the wild in Scotland or very nearly so because of long-term hybridisation with domestic and feral cats. These two species i.e. the wildcat and the domestic cat readily mate. It … continue reading…
