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Leopard Cats

Leopard Cats (Prionailurus bengalensis) should not be confused with Leopards. The Leopard Cat gets its name from its spotted coat which makes it look like a minature Leopard. Leopard Cats are small cats but are bigger than domestic cats (normally 2.5 - 4 kg) and are common across much of Asia. They have hybridised with domestic cats, both in the wild and in captivity.

At least two Leopard Cats have been killed in Scotland, in 1988 and 1989.

See Jedburgh Leopard Cat for additional information.

In 1988 a leopard cat was shot and killed by a farmer at Widecombe-in-the-Moor, Devon, (England) while in January 1994 it was revealed that a leopard cat had been killed 'seven years earlier' (in 1987) near Brading on the Isle of Wight (England).

We do not have pictures of the Scottish Leopard cats, but here is a photo of the Leopard Cat which was killed on the Isle of Wight

That is a most interesting photograph, I was curious as to the story of the cat. From the picture, it appears to have unusual characteristics for a Leopard Cat. Most noticeable are the ears, which look to be very small. The Leopard Cats are known to have fairly large ears more similar to a Serval. The cat itself seems to be somewhat large as well. The range of size for a Leopard cat is generally between seven to fifteen pounds. Lying across this chair, this cat looks to be more in the twenty-five pound range.

Is it possible this could be one of the Bengal Hybrids ?

Ben Willis, Scottish Big Cats

Concerning the leopard cat photo, if it was verified to be a leopard cat, it probably is. However, judging by merely by the picture itself, it doesnt look like a leopard cat.

As I had said, the ears look to be too small, the overall body appears to be larger than a leopard cat, and the tail is somewhat robust for the small tree dwelling cat. Leopard cats are small, about the size of a domestic or smaller, they have a long slender tail, and the ears are tall more similar to a serval.

If I was asked to identify this cat based entirely on the one photo, I would be inclined to say its a Golden Cat. The Golden Cat is generally light tan, but at least twenty-five percent have the same spotted patterns we see here. They are also larger, between fifteen to thirty-five pounds, have a thicker tail, and shorter ears more similar to what I see in this picture. There are rarely melanistic Golden Cats and one was recently photographed in China.

In any case, pictures can be decieving, and a second one of the same cat could look altogether different. I would be interested in more information concerning concerning this cat.

Ben Willis, Scottish Big Cats

The spotted cat photograph was taken in 1994.

I shall now quote from the Eastern Daily Press of Wednesday, January 12th 1994:

Title: Pictures said to prove big cats are on the prowl

Experts are hailing pictures of a leopard-type animal shot on the Isle of Wight as proof that fearsome big cats are roaming the countryside. The three-and-a-half-foot long spotted creature shot by Stuart Skinner and his friend Jason Ward is believed to be either an ocelot or a serval - both endangered species, and amongst the rarest creatures on earth.... Carpenter Mr. Skinner, 21, shot the animal with his 20-bore rifle, helped by farm worker Mr. Ward, 21, when it was caught in a fox trap they set up on a farm where Mr. Ward worked near Sandown. The pair shot the creature some time ago, but kept quiet for fear that they had done something wrong. Mr. Skinner, from St Helens, Isle of Wight, said: "Only when we got closer did we see it was not a fox. We could not believe our eyes. It looked like a leopard - had big teeth - and was dead." He said the animal had been killing ducks and chickens.

May be able to dig up more on this one later should it be required?

Bob & Lyn Engledow, Operation Big Cat!

Thanks for finding that article, I was somewhat curious. The cat might be an Ocelot, but definitely not a serval. Ocelots were fairly popular pets in the United States in the 60's an 70's. They were expensive compared to any of the domestics at around six hundred dollars. In 1994, the cats were probably about as expensive as today which is a staggering eight to ten thousand dollars. Few people own ocelots today because of the expense and they are endangered.

If the cat pictured is an ocelot, someone lost a pet and a fairly significant investment.

The golden cat, which I suspected it might be, isnt known to be imported for pets, so more likely it is an ocelot.

Ben Willis, Scottish Big Cats

I'm late as always, but I have found some more information on the Leopard cat that was shot on the Isle of Wight. There was a report in the Sun (a "tabloid" British paper) on 11th January 1994. It apparently printed a photo (I assume it is the same) of a cat which was shot near Brading on the Isle of Wight (on the south coast of England). The cat was "identified by experts as a Serval or Ocelot. Markings and ear-shape suggest that this particular mystery cat is actually a Persian Leopard Cat, (Felis bengalensis.)"

I'd agree that the cat looks big, but as domestics are smaller than Leopard Cats, wouldn't a Bengal be smaller, rather than larger than a pure Leopard cat? It seems that male leopard cats are normally up to 4 kg in weight but in Russia they have grown up to 7 kg. Hmmm, having just done a rough calculation 7 kg corresponds to about 15 pounds, so that ties in with your figure of 7 to 15 pounds. If the cat is 25 lbs as you suggest, it would be enormous for a Leopard Cat.

Note that the Isle of Wight cat was identified "by experts" as a serval or ocelot. Next part of the jigsaw: It seems that three young Servals escaped on the Isle of Wight in 1973. Now servals are reported to weigh up to 18 kg - about 40 pounds. Could the servals have hybridised with domestics and the offspring then mated with a Leopard cat to produce this animal? Or has the Leopard cat simply been placed on a small child's chair?

I seem to remember that there is a photo of a Leopard cat on David Walker's excellent website http://www.ukbigcats.tsx.org/
David, do you have any information on that particular Leopard cat?

Chris Smith, Scottish Big Cats

I don't believe the experts could have possessed much expertise if they deduced this cat to either an ocelot or serval, there is a major difference in the two. I would most definitely say it isnt a serval as the ears are much too small and the shape of the head is different. I may be completely incorrect about the weight of the cat at 25 pounds, it could be only around fifteen.

Judging by the picture, the cat could be an ocelot, a jungle-cat, a golden-cat or a domestic bengal. A lady in California has told me of having a bengal which weighs thirty-eight pounds, even though its probably obese.

I think it is possble that an escaped serval might breed with domestics. A freind of mine in Michigan recently lost her pet serval and spent most of the month of July chasing it while it had befreinded a group of domestic cats. Servals are known to get along well with other pets, unlike many of the other exotic cats.

There is one matter though which many breeders believe discounts the possibility of the smaller exotic cats cross-breeding and producing in the wild. Most of the smaller exotics in captivity commonly kill the kittens, requiring them to be removed and hand raised by the breeders. For some reason, they are known to reject what they consider are mutated or inferior. I have known the same to occur with domestic cats where the mother for no apparent reason abandons one or all of a litter. Since this culling process doesnt occur in captive raised cats, it may account for certain adverse physical and behavioral characteristics.

I have considered whether this rejection might explain why the melanistic cougars are so exceptionally rare or non-existant. Rarely born in a litter, the mothers could possibly kill or eat melanistic cubs whenever they are born or anytime afterward. In domestic cats which are generally born in the spring when flies are at their peak, black kittens are much more prone to flies. As a result the rest of the litter is moved, leaving the black one. In adult black cats or dogs, commonly flies are much more attracted to them. But, this is just my possible theory which may be altogether wrong.

Ben Willis, Scottish Big Cats

It is certanly not a serval or golden cat. The golden cat's spots are usually either small or rosettes.

However, it look exactly like a leopard cat, actually. The tell tale sign is the spotted tail- Most other wild cats have BANDING, more or less, on the tail, but the leopard cat has just spots.

It DOES look big, though.

Regards, Jan Panduro

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