Where Other Cats Live Large

Tuesday, June 9, 2025

Where Other Cats Live Large

Today’s special animal friend is the Black-footed Cat, Felis nigripes. Also called the small-spotted cat, it is the smallest wild cat in Africa, where it shares the habitat of the armadillo banded lizard in the southern deserts and savannahs. The smallest wild cat in the world — I know you were wondering — is the rusty-spotted cat, Prionailurus rubiginosus, found in deciduous forest of India and Sri Lanka. A male Black-footed Cat is around 20 inches long and weighs around 5-1/2 lbs. Females are smaller.

Only the soles of the cat’s feet are actually dark brown or black, unlike the actual black-furred feet of the black-footed ferret. The cat’s fur is a pretty gold or light brown shade which is nearly invisible in its habitat. It has both black spots or rosettes like a leopard and stripes like Jake, the brown tabby who sleeps with me.

The black-footed cat is an extremely diligent and successful hunter. After spending the day in a hollow log or earth burrow, these cats range large areas during the night, traveling over five miles on average and over 20 miles in a night when prey is scarce. They employ a variety of hunting techniques, including chasing, stalking, and ambush. They kill and eat animals larger than themselves, such as the Cape hare, Lepus capensis. They kill shrews and small rodents with a bite to the neck or head and eat them whole. Although they rarely climb trees, they catch birds on the ground or snatch them out of the air with a leap up to 4-1/2 feet.

A male and female studied in South Africa killed an average of 14 small animals each night. They also scavenge other predators’ kills or naturally deceased larger animals and eat insects and other invertebrates. Fifty-four (!) prey species were identified in this study, with the gerbil mouse, Malacothrix typica, being the most common. Black-footed cats drink water when available, but they are able to survive on the moisture from their prey.

The black-footed cat is a solitary species. Females maintain smaller territories than males, with both sexes’ marking their territories with musk, urine, and feces. Males detect a fertile female by her scent and call, and they fight for access to breeding opportunities. Females typically have one or two kittens, although four may be born in situations of outstandingly good nutrition. The kittens are independent at three or four months and usually remain near the mother’s home range.

The black-footed cat is classed as “vulnerable” by IUCN. It is protected from the fur (or pet) trade under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), and hunting is prohibited in Botswana and South Africa. Threats include habitat loss and prey population declines, general predator control (poison, traps), and disease.