What wild cat has the longest fur?

This is a no brainer. In first place is the Manul or Pallas’s cat and second is the snow leopard. The lynx has dense medium-long fur too. I think we can say that Pallas’s cat is a long-haired cat while the snow leopard is a medium long-haired cat if we are to use cat breeder’s language.

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Manul Portrait. Photo by Tambako The Jaguar

Pallas’s cat’s coat is described as:

“long, and its fur is so thick that it makes the 2-4 kilogram animal look much larger than it really is…”

Snow Leopard at High Altitude

The snow leopard’s coat is described as:

“In winter the cat’s ears become almost invisible, hidden by its long, dense fur…”

Obviously both these cats live in cold climates. Pallas’s cat lives in elevations ranging from 1,000 to 4,000 meters. It lives in the uplands of central Asia, in hilly areas and steppes with rocky outcrops. In central Asia the temperature is often -50°C where snowfall is light. The manul’s fur is pale and shaggy. It blends into the surroundings. This cat is known to be able to hide even when it should be visible.

The snow leopard is “found in the high mountain regions of Central Asia”. They live on 40° slopes much of the time. They are specialist rock climbers. Snow leopards are high altitude animals.

Notes:

1. Descriptions taken from Wild Cats of the World by Mel and Fiona Sunquist.
2. You can use the custom search at the top of the page to find many articles on these wild cat species.