Cats-Only Veterinary Care

Conservation Status
Unknown

Description
The Chinese mountain/desert cat is one of the least-known cats. Except for the colour of its fur, this cat resembles a European Wildcat.  It has a stocky build, with relatively short legs. Its coat is pale grey-fawn in winter, somewhat darker brown in the summer, and marked with indistinct horizontal stripes on the sides and legs. Its ears have slight dark brown tufts. The tail is fairly short, about 40% of head-body length; it is banded with 5-6 dark grey bands, and has a black tip.  Chinese mountain cats are predominantly nocturnal

Size
This cat is a bit larger than a domestic feline. It is 27–33 in (68.6–83.8 cm) long, plus a 11.5–16 in (29.2–40.6 cm) tail. The adult weight can range from 4.5 to 9 kg (10 to 20 lbs).

Habitat
It inhabits sparsely-wooded forests and shrublands, and is occasionally found in true deserts. It can live in environments as much as 3,000 meters (10,000 feet).

Diet
Rodents are the major prey, primarily mole-rats, white-tailed pine vole, and pikas. Birds, including pheasants, are also caught.

Breeding
2-4 young are born after an unknown gestation period.

Range
The Chinese Mountain Cat is endemic to China and has a limited distribution over the northeastern parts of the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai and northern Sichuan

Other Names
Chinese desert cat (English)
chat de Biet (French)
Graukatze (German)
gato de Biet, gato del deserto de China (Spanish)
mo mao, huang mo mao, cao shihli (Chinese)
shel misigi (Kazakh)
qel müshüki (Uygur)