Carnivora
Felis silvestris
SUMMARY
The wildcat weights about 3 to 5 kg. The males are usually larger. The body length is about 50 to 70 cm and the tail is 21 to 30 cm. The tail is about twice the size of the hind foot. The tail is very characteristic because of the cylindrical shape, the bushy coat and the black spot in the back edge. The basic color of their fur is dark brown and gray with black stripes. They have five fingers in their forepaws and four fingers in their back paws. The breeding occurs in winter and births occur in the spring. Females are pregnant about 60 days and give birth to 1 – 8 juveniles. Sexual maturity comes at 10 – 22 months. In the wild they can live about 15 years and in captivity about 30 years.
We can see many similarities with their close cousins, the domestic cats. First of all they can interbreed. This is a problem because of the danger of loss of the characteristics of the species, especially in small populations. They communicate with each other just like the domestic cats: with movements of the tail, with facial expressions, with sounds (a big variety) etc. They have a well-developed sense of smell, vision and hearing. They eat small rodents, birds, reptiles, amphibians, eggs, insects, arachnids etc.