Pictures and facts about the Chinese desert cat

Pictures of the Chinese desert cat are copyrighted by their owners

Chinese desert cat

Order : Carnivora
Family : Felidae
Subfamily : Felinae
Species : Felis bieti

The Chinese Mountain Cat (Felis bieti) or Chinese Desert Cat as it was known before 1992, had its name changed in Bejing (1992) by Chinese specialists, who argued that cats seen in the desert were misidentified Asian wildcats and not Felis bieti. They have been reported living in the Daban and Datong mountains near Xining, at elevations ranging from 2800 m to 4100 m. The Chinese Mountain Cat has been surviving in one of the most difficult environments found in the world.

Also called the 'Chinese Grey cat', the Chinese Mountain Cat is of stocky physique, a little bit larger than a domestic cat, with short legs. Usually, the color is light gray (fawn) during wintertime, and would turn to a darker hue during the summer. Chinese Mountain Cat's ears are of light red-brown, with tips of short hair tufts. The pelts of Chinese Mountain Cats make appearances at the markets, although they are fully protected by the Chinese government.

A Chinese Mountain Cat is basically crepuscular (active during twilight) and nocturnal, they hunt in the dawn hours and late night time. The reproduction period of these cats runs from January to March and the female Chinese Mountain Cat attends to the newborns in burrows, with just one entrance. They have lost a great part of their habitat, and their kind is now among the most endangered cats on the face of the earth. There's no interest in its conservation because it's poorly known.

Their diet consists of rabbits, rats and birds (also pheasants). The majority of the rodents they catch are pikas, white tailed pine voles and mole rats,

Interesting fact: Chinese mountain cats are not social animals and the females and the males live apart from each other.

Link: On august 2007, National Geographic caught the Chinese Mountain Cat on camera in the wild

Facts about the Chinese desert cat

The Chinese desert cat is distributed throughout the rocky steppes, brush-covered or forested mountains in central Asia, southern Mongolia and the western Chinese provinces of Gansu and Sichuan near the border with Tibet, but is not generally found in deserts habitats as its name implies.

year(s) Compatibility: Uncertain (as compared to other exotic cats) Category: Mammals » Exotic Cats Animal Description: The Chinese Mountain Cat, also known as the Chinese Desert Cat, is one of the least-studied of the exotic cats. (Full text)

The Chinese Desert Cat is a well-proportioned domestic-sized cat. (Full text)

Description The Chinese desert cat is very closely related to the wildcat (Felis silvestris) and the jungle cat (Felis chaus); it may yet prove to be a subspecies of one of these two. (Full text)

The map shows the area where Chinese Desert Cats are found in grey. (Full text)

The head of the chinese desert cat is somewhat broad and sports short darkened tufts on its ears. (Full text)

Introduction The Chinese mountain cat (Figure 1), Felis bieti, is one of the most poorly known living felids. (Full text)

Felis bieti is a good species included in the genus Felis, but showing some primitive characters that could be misleading about its relationships. (Full text)

Physical appearance: The Chinese desert cat is very closely related to the wildcat (Felis silvestris) and the jungle cat (Felis chaus); it may (Full text)

Chinese Desert Cats are active at night; they hunt for rodents, pikas and birds. (Full text)

In view of the fact that Felis bieti is endemic to China and that little is known about its status, consideration should be given to placing it in Category I. (Full text)

Their older common name, Chinese desert cat, is a little misleading as these felids are rarely found in desert areas. (Full text)

A very rare cat, the Chinese desert cat is a well-proportioned cat- sized cat. (Full text)