36 Types of Wild Cats

The cat family or Felidae is a diverse family which consists of various types of different cats. Generally all cats are wild in nature but some cats are used in domestic as pets.

The grayish brown coat, black-tipped ears, and whiskered face resemble many species of lynx. The bobcat may be considered a “big cat”.

The 36 species of the wild cat family are spread across most of the globe excluding the continents of Antarctica and Australia and some island groups. Most people are relatively familiar with the big cats of the world (lion, tiger, puma, leopard, snow leopard jaguar, cheetah, lynx) but they are not familiar with smaller types of wild cats.

The various species of felids vary greatly in size. One of the smallest is the black-footed cat, measuring 35 to 40 cm (14 to 16 in) long which are found in the forests of Brazil which falls among the Forest wildcats (silvestris group).  Some of these wild cat species are naturally solitary and secretive, so they have been rare as long as they have existed.