Not all padlcats of the South Cardiva Islands specialised themselves closer to oceanic living. Some found ways to survive inland, first by sticking close to the rivers, until some had evolved longer limbs and greater terrestrial mobility to chase down fast lizards and avoid being chased down themselves. Lizards are only capable of short bursts of speed, not sustained chases, and thus are usually ambush predators. Many larger predatory lizards are capable of tracking potential prey at a more conservative pace, using the scent of body fluids, footprints and other sources of odours. The cats have redeveloped their ancestral land-movement-based reflexes and the ability to go from rest to maximum sprint in a mere second or two to foil an ambush attempted by a lizard.

River dwellers typically remained small, and retained their family social structure similar to the ancestral padlcats that survived the recent rafting event. They are expertly amphibious, having both excellent land-based movement reflexes and speed, and in the water speed also, as well as the ability to power against the prevailing current and make sharp sudden turns into passing prey.

Some padlcats moved away from the rivers completely and lost their close association with the water. They are usually found in the absence of other padlcats species, away from rivers and water sources, except on occasion to drink from them. They hunt lizards almost exclusively, except for unusually desperate times that might push them to try fishing.

Back on Earth the ancestor of domestic cats, the African wildcat, would hunt many small animals from birds to mouse-like creatures, but they would also hunt rabbits and hares, and on occasion even young artiodactyl animals such as newborn antelope. These prey (larger than their typical birds and mouse-likes) would be taken out with a bite to the back of the neck, severing or at least critically damaging the spinal cord, rendering their prey paralyzed and powerless. For those with fragile skulls a bite to the back of the head could puncture the cranial cavity and pierce the lower brain where vital, unconscious functions are controlled.

The same killing technique is used here by the inland padlcat descendants on lizards. Lizards run more on instinct than mammals do, and their reflexes can be lightning fast, so the inland padlcats have regained the stealthy silence that their ancestors had when stalking the African deserts and savannahs for mice, birds and rabbits. A kill must be delivered accurately because some of their lizard prey can tank a lot of damage to other non-vital parts of their body before they stop fighting.

If the lizards flee, they can't outrun the cats for too long as they are only capable of short bursts of intense activity, being ectothermic reptiles with low baseline metabolic activity. They simply don't consume or burn the calories needed fast enough to keep up sustained chases and flights like African mammalian megafauna can. So when they are chased they need to lose the cat's attention as quickly as possible. Some do this via the ancient lizard technique of autotomy, having tails that disconnect from the body and then flail so wildly that they "jump" around might cause the cat enough visual confusion that it loses sight of where the lizard ran to and hid. There are few species incapable of autotomy, usually larger species with some kind of tail specialization like whipping.

If this fails (or the lizard can't do this) sometimes disappearing into the foliage is the lizard's best bet, if it gets enough of a head start on the terrestrial padlcat. But for larger lizards, a head-on confrontation with the cat may be unavoidable if the lizard is to stand a chance. Lizards that turn around and fight back are only the larger species that can't hide as easily.

During a conflict, some lizards fight back by having their mouth (and sharp teeth) facing the cat at all times, threatening to deliver a crippling bite wound that may also get infected. Against juvenile and inexperienced cats, some kind of visual display, again, usually with the mouth but also contrasting colouration or eye spots, can unnerve the predator. Others whip the cats with their long, whip-like tails. In some cases this may be enough to deter the cat into finding another ambush opportunity instead of continuing this particular fight.

But cats have proven to be overpowered predators in spite of the quick reflexes and built-in instincts of the lizards. Many lizard species were hunted to extinction when the terrestrial padlcats appeared. Of those that survived, some are armoured with thick scales and even osteoderms. In all cases, the survivors evolved in some way or other, or had some pre-existing adaptation that could help them avoid becoming a cat's meal.