This is an excellent picture of a ‘tiger cat’ which is unrelated to the cat family but is a carnivores marsupial called the tiger quoll or spotted-tail quoll. Wikipedia calls it a tiger quoll. The name ‘tiger cat’ is a misnomer. Bad names for wild species can happen. The Chinese desert cat is another example because it does not really live in the desert. The only true desert cat is the sand cat. The cat with the most names is probably the mountain lion.
Tiger cats live in eastern Australia and compete with feral cats for prey such as birds and possums. They climb into trees when hunting. They are nocturnal. There are similarities in behaviour to feral cats.
IMPORTANT NOTE: There is a genuine small wild cat which is also called the tiger cat (Leopardus tigrinus). This is the little spotted cat or Oncilla. This is one of the smallest South American wild cats. The build is delicate and the coat is covered in dark spots some of which have pale centres. This is a picture of the genuine tiger cat:
This wild felid is found from Costa Rica in Central America down to northern Argentina. You can read more about this cat by clicking on this link.
SOME MORE ON SMALL WILD CAT SPECIES:
