The Golden Cat belongs to the medium sized group, together with the Caracal and Serval. Golden Cats are robustly built and weigh between 8 and16kgs.
NAME
The Golden Cat gets the name from its reddish coat. The full common name is the African Golden Cat which distinguishes it from the similar Asian Golden Cat. There are no other English common names, although the greyish form used to be called the silver cat, until it was established they were in fact the same species.
IDENTIFICATION
The Golden Cat's coat can vary from reddish to grey, with or without spots. The underside is pale to white often with blotches. Melanistic and partially black cats have been recorded.
The cat has a stocky build and a short tail. The small, rounded face has few markings and the ears are black. More...
The solitary Golden Cat feeds mainly on rodents and birds, and is active at dawn and dusk (crepuscular) and at night (nocturnal). Watch a video...
DISTRIBUTION
The Golden Cat occurs in the tropical forests of equatorial Africa from Senegal, Sierra Leone and Liberia in the west, through Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and a minimal distribution in Uganda and Kenya in the east.
