Conservation Status
Endangered. Population decreasing.
Description
The thick fur is generally dark reddish-brown tinged grey, with a more reddish head and whitish underparts. Except for the relatively faint facial streaks, it is largely unpatterned. The legs are fairly short, and the small ears are short and round and set well down on the sides of the head. The webbed paws help the cat gain better traction in muddy environments and water, and are even more pronounced on this cat than those on the paws of the Fishing Cat. The shape of the head is atypical for a cat. Even more than the fishing cat, the flat-headed cat appears remarkably adapted to a life of fish-eating. It has large, close-set eyes which provide maximal binocular vision, and the anterior upper pre-molars are larger and sharper relative to other cats, common in mammals that hunt slippery prey. The fleshy sheaths that cover a cat’s claws are shortened in the flat-headed cat, so that only about one-third of each claw is covered when retracted. While the flat-headed cat’s claws do not rub against the ground when walking, they are always visible. Flat-headed cats are primarily nocturnal.
Size
This cat is only half the size of its domestic cousin. It has a head-and-body length of 41-50 cm (16-20 in), and a short tail of 13-15 cm (5-6 in). It weighs 1.5-2.5 kg (3.5-5.5 lbs). Wild adults have weighed 1.5-2.5 kg. The tail is very short, only 25-35% of head body length.
Habitat
It occurs in forest, and nearly always near water.
Diet
It mostly hunts for frogs, fish and crustaceans, but will also catch rats and chickens. Flat-headed cats are most frequently observed at night along riverbanks, hunting frogs and fish. In captivity, flat-headed cats enjoy a basin of water, playing or simply sitting in it for hours. They have been observed to wash objects, raccoon-style. Live fish are readily taken, with full submergence of the head, and the fish were usually carried at least two meters away, suggesting a feeding strategy to avoid letting aquatic prey escape back into water.
Breeding
1-2 young are born after a gestation of about 56 days. These cats can live longer than 14 years in captivity.
Range
Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia
Other Names
chat à tête plate (French)
Flachkopfkatze (German)
gato cabeciancho (Spanish)
kucing hutan, kucing dampak (Indonesia)
kucing hutan (Malaysia)
gaung bya kyaung (Myanmar)
maew pa hua baen (Thailand)
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| Flat-Headed Cat (Prionailurus planiceps) |
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