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Ancestor: Wild Forest Cat

Size: Smallest species: 23 cm Largest species: 45cm

Dietary Needs: Small freshly caught prey, doesn't tolerate non-fresh food unless it desiccates quickly or otherwise preserves naturally. Prey includes lizards, birds and mice. They also eat bird eggs (if they can break them) and lizard eggs. They usually eat them by making a hole in the shell and lapping up the contents like water. Insects and other invertebrates make up a small part of their diet.

Life Cycle: In the late winter and early spring, small groups of adults may form in truce zones between territories, where they can seek a mate. Pairing doesn't last more than a day or two, by which point they split ways and the female goes to have the kittens in a secluded place. Pregnant females might migrate to more densely shrubby habitat to increase the chances of their kitten's survival.

In some latitudes the females can have up to two litters in a year. This depends on the severity of a dry season or a winter, generally somewhere in the middle is preferred - in climates with a mild winter and a summer that isn't too dry, two litters are most possible. There is anywhere between 3 and 8 kittens in a litter. The kittens grow fast, reaching full independence in only 3 months. Under pressure they can become independent sooner than that.  Out of the whole litter, usually only 1/3 survives to such an age.

Other: These long-bodied cats have excellent weaving and winding movement capabilities, making them not only fast moving around obstacles but also quiet about it. They live in dense, often thorny shrubs for protection and safety, but can quietly travel through grass and go undetected. They occupy small territories due to their size, needing only prey that is also very tiny so a small area can support them. Much of their prey is birds at roost or birds and mice in nests while they sleep. They creep up on their sleeping prey and don't make a sound until they are within lunging range, ensuring a kill. They are very patient cats.

They climb in different ways. Sometimes they balance gracefully on branches, sometimes they grasp the branches from beneath the branch and appear to "walk" upside down along it. They can also climb vertical trunks using their claws. Due to their size they are very timid and rarely seen. 

Very solitary, they don't like to share.