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Genus Catopuma

The Bay Cat (Catopuma badia) is a cat of the island of Borneo. Very recently this cat was unknown to the word save for some skins collected in 1874.  Recently photos have been taken and the mystery is unfolding. The cats diet most likely consists birds small mammals, carrion and monkeys. It is thought is danger of extinction as the Bornean rainforest shirks due to deforestation.

The Asiatic Golden Cat (Catapuma temminckii) is a resident of the bush covered areas along the Himalayas border to southeast Asia. this cat comes in many different shades. Gold, red, and  gray are all acceptable and the cat may have spots and stripes or just be plain. It eats terrestrial mammals ,birds ,reptiles and some poultry from farms.

Genus Prionailurus

The Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) is a small cat that is not a leopard. It is valued for its fur and for breeding with domestic cats to make a half bred known as the Bengal. It is one of the most common cats in Southern Asia and is not intolerant of people making stock for domestic breeding easer to come by. But as to remaining common the chances are not so good as people kill them for this valued fur and even for food.   They are good hunters preying on small reptiles, rodents, amphibians and small deer. In caves they search fallen fallen bats and swifts. They are versatile cats and even good swimmers, but only as large as house cat.

The Flat-headed Cat (Prionailurus planicaps) is a cat that just looks more like a civet. It has rounded ears and eyes that are close together. One of the reasons for the cat's odd looks is that it is semi-aquatic and the close eyes make its binocular vision better for water hunting.  The claws are only semi retractable so that they can hold on to a slippery fish. Even the dentition has modified to give this cat backward curving pre-molars for holding a wet fish.

The Rusty-spotted Cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) is much smaller than a house cat and weighs only about 2 pounds making it the smallest cat in the world. This cat is very active but nocturnal. the live in a variety of habitats in Sri Lanka and India. They are agile in the trees so are thought to eat arboreal animals and in cities  they are known to hunt rats, mice and poultry. they are hunted by people and deforestation is another threat.
The Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) is one of the rare cats really fond of water. The water is its main food source, as the name suggests. It hunts fish, frogs and crustaceous in murky water with its keen sense of touch. Swimming is even a common option of this feline. The cat even has somewhat webbed toes. It's habitats are marshes, mangroves swamps, and beside streams and rivers in dense rainforest. 

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Last Updated 07/10/03 

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