Felidae facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Felines Temporal range: Upper Oligocene – Recent
Tiger, the largest feline found in nature.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Feliformia
Family:	Felidae G. Fischer de Waldheim, 1817
Subfamilies
Felinae Pantherinae †Machairodontinae

Felidae is the scientific name for the family of animals we call cats. This group includes all types of cats, from your small pet cat to huge wild cats like lions and tigers. These amazing animals are mammals and belong to the Carnivora order, which means they are meat-eaters.

The first cats appeared about 25 million years ago. Today, there are 41 different kinds of living cat species. All these cats are related, meaning they all came from the same ancient ancestor.

What Makes Cats Special?

Cats have bodies that are strong, lean, and very flexible. Their limbs are muscular, helping them move quickly and powerfully. Most cats have a tail that is about a third or half the length of their body. Some, like the bobcat, have shorter tails.

Cats walk on their toes. This is called being digitigrade. Their paws have soft pads, and most cats can pull their claws back into their paws. This keeps their claws sharp for hunting. A cat's tongue feels rough because it's covered with tiny, spiky bumps. These bumps help them scrape meat off bones and also help them groom their fur.

Types of Cats

Smilodon skull. This shows the huge mouth of the sabre-toothed cat, Smilodon populator.

Scientists divide the cat family (Felidae) into three main groups, called subfamilies:

• †Machairodontinae: These were the ancient sabre-toothed cats. They are now extinct.
• Pantherinae: This group includes the "big cats" like the tiger, lion, jaguar, and leopard.
• Felinae: This group includes the cougar, cheetah, and all the smaller cat species, including your pet cat.

Besides the big cats, other wild cats include the lynx, caracal, and bobcat. All cats, big or small, are predators. This means they hunt other animals for food.

How Cats Evolved

A comparison of Panthera and Felis cats.

A reconstructed skull of the sabre-toothed cat, Smilodon.

The American lion was a very large mammal that lived long ago and is now extinct.

Cats first appeared in Asia. From there, they spread to other continents by crossing land bridges. These were strips of land that connected continents when sea levels were lower. For example, cats crossed the Bering land bridge between Asia and North America many times.

Scientists have studied cat DNA to understand their family tree. They found that ancient cats developed into eight main groups. About 60% of the cat species we see today appeared in the last million years.

Cats are closely related to linsangs. They are also related to civets, hyenas, mongooses, and Madagascar carnivores. All these animals belong to a larger group called Feliformia.

One interesting fact about all cat species is that they have a special genetic change. This change means they cannot taste sweetness!

Cat Family Tree

Genetic studies help us understand how different cat species are related. Scientists have found eight main genetic groups for living cats:

• Group 1: Panthera (like lions and tigers), Uncia (snow leopards), Neofelis (clouded leopards)
• Group 2: Pardofelis (marbled cats), Catopuma (Asian golden cats)
• Group 3: Leptailurus (servals), Caracal (caracals), Profelis (African golden cats)
• Group 4: Leopardus (ocelots, margays)
• Group 5: Lynx (lynxes, bobcats)
• Group 6: Puma (pumas), Acinonyx (cheetahs)
• Group 7: Prionailurus (leopard cats), Otocolobus (Pallas's cats)
• Group 8: Felis (domestic cats, wildcats)

The last four groups (5, 6, 7, 8) are more closely related to each other than to the first four groups. They form a special branch within the Felinae subfamily.

Cat Species List

Domestic cat

Lion

Jaguar

Margay

Leopard cat

Snow Leopard

Geoffroy's cat

Here is a list of some of the different types of cats, organized by their scientific genus:

• Genus Acinonyx
  • Cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus
• Genus Caracal
  • Caracal, Caracal caracal
• Genus Catopuma
  • Bay cat, Catopuma badia
  • Asian golden cat, Catopuma temminckii
• Genus Felis
  • Chinese mountain cat, Felis bieti
  • Jungle cat, Felis chaus
  • Pallas' cat / Manul, Felis manul
  • Sand cat, Felis margarita
  • Black-footed cat, Felis nigripes
  • Wildcat, Felis silvestris
    • Domestic cat, Felis silvestris catus
• Genus Leopardus
  • Pantanal cat, Leopardus braccatus
  • Colocolo, Leopardus colocolo
  • Pampas cat, Leopardus pajeros
  • Geoffroy's cat, Leopardus geoffroyi
  • Kodkod, Leopardus guigna
  • Andean mountain cat, Leopardus jacobitus
  • Ocelot, Leopardus pardalis
  • Oncilla, Leopardus tigrinus
  • Margay, Leopardus wiedii
• Genus Leptailurus
  • Serval, Leptailurus serval
• Genus Lynx
  • Canada lynx, Lynx canadensis
  • Eurasian lynx, Lynx lynx
  • Iberian lynx, Lynx pardinus
  • Bobcat, Lynx rufus
• Genus Pardofelis
  • Marbled cat, Pardofelis marmorata
• Genus Prionailurus
  • Leopard cat, Prionailurus bengalensis
  • Iriomote cat, Prionailurus iriomotensis
  • Flat-headed cat, Prionailurus planiceps
  • Rusty-spotted cat, Prionailurus rubiginosus
  • Fishing cat, Prionailurus viverrinus
• Genus Profelis
  • African golden cat, Profelis aurata
• Genus Puma
  • Puma, Puma concolor
• Subfamily Pantherinae
  • Genus Neofelis
    • Clouded leopard, Neofelis nebulosa
    • Sunda clouded leopard, Neofelis diardi
  • Genus Panthera
    • Lion, Panthera leo
    • Jaguar, Panthera onca
    • Leopard, Panthera pardus
    • Tiger, Panthera tigris
  • Genus Uncia
    • Snow leopard, Uncia uncia

Related pages

• Smilodon

See also

In Spanish: Félidos para niños