The Asian Leopard Cat
The Leopard Cat (Felis bengalensis) is a small wild cat of Southeast Asia. On average it is as large as a domestic cat, but there are considerable regional differences: in Indonesia the average size is 45 cm, plus 20 cm tail, while it is 60 cm/40 cm in the Amur region. The fur is also quite variable: it is yellow in the southern populations, but silver-grey in the northern ones. The chest and the lower part of the head are white. Leopard Cats bear black markings, that may be - dependent on the subspecies - spots or rosettes. It is a nocturnal animal, and usually eats rodents, birds, fish, reptiles, small mammals. It is usually a solitary animal except for the mating season. It has litters of 2 to 4 kittens and the gestation period can vary from 65 to 70 days.
The habitat of this cat is forests and rainforest both in low and mountainous areas, usually not arid areas. It lives close to watercourses and may be found in heights up to 3000 m. The Leopard Cat can climb trees skillfully. It is also able to swim, but will seldom do so.
The Leopard Cat is a nocturnal animal hunting for rodents, hares, birds and even bats
SUBSPECIES OF THE ASIAN LEOPARD CAT:
felis bengalensis, India, Bangladesh, Southeast Asian mainland, Yunnan
Felis bengalensis borneoensis, Borneo
Felis bengalensis chinensis, China, Taiwan
Felis bengalensis euptailura, eastern Siberia, Mongolia
Felis bengalensis horsfieldi, Himalaya
Felis bengalensis iriomotensis, Iriomote
Felis bengalensis javaensis, Java
Felis bengalensis manchurica, Manchuria
Felis bengalensis minutus, Philippines
Felis bengalensis sumatranus, Sumatra
Felis bengalensis trevelyani, eastern Pakistan
(the information above was taken from Wikipedia.com )
Some Asian Leopard Cats will breed with domestic cats. This is how the Bengal breed got it's start. The first 3 generations are not considered domestic but after the 4th generation offspring can be registered and are considered domestic. 4th generation Bengals only have 6% wild blood. Each generation after that the blood % is cut in 1/2. SBT generation bengals often have less then 1% wild blood.
Asian Leopard Cats are no longer needed to be used for the bengal breed, however some people do breed Asian Leopard Cats in captivity and use the offspring to breed with domestics. Asian Leopard cats are no longer caught in the wild for breeding programs.
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