Description: The tail is rather short and bushy. Coat: Grey to yellowish-brown to medium brown with black stripes, which are very variable. Tail usually black tipped and sometimes has black rings. Underparts and white as are whiskers. The back of the ears are brown and the eyes greenish yellow with pupils that contract to slits. The nose is flesh coloured and the outline is black.
Size: Head and body length 50-80cm, tail length 21-37cm. Females are usually smaller than males.
Weight: 3-13kg.
Senses: Compaired to domestic cats they are good climbers and although they hunt mostly on the ground they do take to the trees readily.
Habitat: Open forests, scrub, woodland and steppe.
Range: They mark territories that they hold singly, they mark with their scent glands, typically the anal and pad glands. They use trees as scratch posts, simultaneously sharpening their claws and marking with their scent.
Distribution: Europe (excluding Scandinavia, Iceland and Ireland), Turkey, Caucasus; Africa. In Britain they are confined to the Highlands of Scotland.
Status: One of the cats main problems is domestic feral cats interbreeding with them and causing them to bred out. It is often difficult to tell the difference between wild feral cats and true wild cats. Originally our domestic cats where bred from the wild animal and so they can still interbreed easily. Pure bred Wild Cats are threatened by interbreeding with domestic and feral cats (Felis catus), the hybrids are fertile and can continue to dilute the pure breed. Due to its habit of taking poultry, it has been hunted to extinction in some areas.
Daily Rhythm: Active at dawn and dusk, sometimes hunting by night. They make dens in hollow trees or rock crevices, but sometimes they rest in the sun in bushes or small clearings.
Voice: Cannot roar, hisses and growls to show anger or fear and purs and meows for other purposes. They are most vocal during the breeding season.
Enemies: Larger or similar sized mammalian predators will compete with or even kill wild cats. Large owls may take adults and kittens. Kittens are in most danger from predation, they may be taken from the den by mammalian carnivores or snakes. Cats will defend their home by arching its back and raising the dorsal fur; they growl, hiss and spit at thier enemy striking out with extended claws when the warning is not heeded.
Prey: Small mammals (mice, voles, rabbits, hares), birds, lizards and frogs. Mostly mice and voles.
Food and Feeding: Usually kills its own prey, occasionally takes carrion. They use stealth, like many cats, to capture their prey, either waiting for the prey to come close enough or stalking closer to their prey before they make pounce. Hunting is usually a solitary activity although sometimes they will hunt close together. Young are most likly to hunt with their mothers or a sibiling and pair may hunt together or close together.
Grouping: Generally solitary, except during the mating season when they pair for some time.
Breeding: They are generally solitary outside the breeding season, when they pair to mate. The mating season takes place in February-March. Females will not tolerate males within their ranges at any time other than the breeding season. Females come into heat every 6 weeks for 2-3 days at a time if they are not impregnated. Females sit whilst they copulate. Males attract females by yowling.
Gestation: 63-69 days.
Litter Size: 2-6.
Young Description: The kittens have yellowish fur with darker spots, kittens may appear to be much darker than adults due to close pattern. Their eyes are closed at birth and open at about 10 days old. The young weigh 40-55g at birth, 500g at one month and by the time they reach 3 1/2months they are half the adult weight.
Nest: The breeding den is usually lined with grass, fur or bird feathers, the den is located within a rocky crevice or in a hollow tree.
Young Care: The female rears the kittens alone and they become independent, after learning to hunt with her, at 3-4 months. They start to leave the den at about 4-5 weeks and practice hunting and other adult behaviours through play. At about 2 months old they begin hunting with their mother.
Sexual Maturity: Females 10 months and males 12.
Longevity: 12-15 years.

Geographical Variations:
Felis sylvestris libyca
Distribution: North Africa.

Felis sylvestris caffra
Distribution: South Africa.

Felis sylvestris brockmani
Distribution: Horn of Africa.

Felis sylvestris ocreata
Distribution: Ethiopia

Felis sylvestris griselda
Distribution: South West Africa.

Felis sylvestris sarda

Felis sylvestris ugandae

Felis sylvestris rubida

Felis sylvestris haussa

Felis sylvestris foxi

Felis sylvestris mellandi

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