Weighing just 1.5 kilograms, black footed cats are possibly the smallest species of cat on earth, rivalling the rusty spotted cat Prionailurus rubiginosus and the kodkod Oncifelis guigna.

Their soft, dense coat ranges from dark to pale tawny gold, with a bold pattern of rounded dark brown to black spots which sometimes merge into bands or rings. Their large eyes are amber or greyish brown. The chin, chest, belly and insides of the legs are whitish, and the backs of the ears are pale brown. There are two dark streaks across each cheek, and dark bars on the forelegs and haunches. The shortish tail, about half the body length, has two or three black rings, tapering to a black tipped point. As special adaptations to their desert habitat, these cats have a broad skull with large, rounded ears, and hair on the black soles of the feet to protect them from the hot sands. They often completely flatten their low set ears in an ‘aggressive’ posture, an adaptation to hunting in areas with little or no cover.

Black footed cats are located only in three countries of southern Africa: Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. They are found primarily in short to medium length grass plains, scrub desert, and sand plains, including the Kalahari and Karoo Deserts. Areas of grass with high rodent and bird densities are optimal habitat.

An incredibly tenacious, unsociable little cat, it is reported that they attack small sheep four times their weight, hanging onto the neck until the jugular vein is pierced. The natives have a legend claiming the ‘Ant Hill Tiger’ can bring down giraffe! In reality, as opportunistic hunters they feed on a variety of mice, gerbils, birds, insects, reptiles and eggs. Two thirds of their diet is rodent, and one black footed cat can consume 3,000 rodents each year. They consume 200 - 300 grams of food per night, about 1/5 of their body weight.They have also been known to eat dead springbok lambs, although they don’t actually kill the animals. Rodents and spiders are the preferred prey items, although the larger males can take adult Cape hare which weigh approximately the same as the cat. They have also been observed eating eggs, crushing them gently between their jaws, then licking the contents clean. These tiny cats can get their moisture requirements from their prey, but will drink water if it is available.

They are strictly nocturnal animals, sheltering during the heat of the day in termite mound holes or burrows abandoned by other animals. Their activity in the wild varies with the length of the night, leaving and returning to their dens within 30 minutes of sunset and sunrise. Hunting techniques include waiting up to 40 minutes at rodent burrows, or flushing nesting birds by walking very fast through the grass. Enemies include venemous snakes, jackals and large owls.

They readily climb trees and fence posts to investigate for bird nests, but generally there is little food in the scarce acacia trees compared to rodents and birds resting on the ground at night. For a cat with a head-body length of 35 - 45 cm that, while attacking flying birds, makes frequent jumps of up to 2 metres distance and 1.5 metres high cannot, as previously thought, describe them as poor jumpers.

Because of the scarcity of prey in the desert, they cover large distances each night, from 4.5 to 16 km, and average 8.5 km. Radio telemetry studies found home range sizes for females are 12 square km, while older males have much larger ranges. The home range of the males overlaps that of several females. Their meow is said to be comparable to the roar of a tiger, only an octave higher, and carries over great distances to communicate with others and locate mates.

Sexually mature at 12 to 20 months, black footed cats are solitary animals, with males and females coming together only for mating. Although the females are in estrous for thirty-six hours, they are willing to breed for only five or ten. This short breeding susceptibility period is indicative of a carnivore living in an arid region with a low food supply, who cannot afford to share territory with a mate for very long. In addition, as a small animal, they cannot afford to be exposed and diverted in the open for any length of time.

After a 63 - 68 day gestation, one to four kittens are born at the bottom of a burrow weighing 60 - 84 grams. Females have two litters per year. The mother frequently changes dens, probably to avoid attracting predators. The young black footed cats develop much faster than domestic cats, and are not bound to the nest for long. Their eyes open at around seven days, and they are independent at three months. They begin hunting at an early age, another indication of life in a harsh environment. When the mother calls an alarm, the young scatter and freeze until the danger has passed.

The black footed cat is one of the few small wild cats that has a Species Survival Plan. A studbook, originated at Frankfurt Zoo in 1988, records bloodlines and births in captivity. Cats are transferred to various breeding institutions, according to their background, and that of their proposed mates. They have lived to 15 years in captivity.

Black footed cats have never been common anywhere in their range, and face several man-made threats to their survival. Overgrazing by livestock is prevalent throughout their range, and habitat deterioration can lead to a reduced prey base. Indiscriminate poisoning of carcasses to kill caracals Caracal caracal and jackals will also affect the black footed cats since they readily scavenge. Poisoning of locusts which would be eaten by the cats also poses a serious danger. Cats also fall victim to dogs, used to chase or dig out jackals during problem animal operations. Interbreeding with feral domestic cats can dilute the genetics of the black footed cat, which is an increasing threat to a number of small wild cats. They are fully protected in South Africa and Botswana, but receive no legal protection in Namibia. CITES has placed them on Appendix I.

See our Photo Gallery for more black-footed photos.