No one knows how many there are, but scientists do know the black-footed cat is rare compared to the other small cats of southern Africa. There has been only one field study of the black-footed cat with research spanning a decade. In this 60 km² study area, Sliwa (2004) found the density of adult cats to be 0.17 per square kilometer. In low-quality habitat densities are possibly very much lower. The population is noted as decreasing due to habitat degradation by grazing and agriculture, as well as by poison and other indiscriminate methods of pest control.