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{{short description|Small wild cat}}
{{subspeciesbox
| name = Asiatic wildcat
| image = Felis_silvestris_ornata.jpg
| genus = Felis
| species = lybica
| species_link = African wildcat
| subspecies = ornata
| authority = [[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1830–1832
| range_map = Felis lybica distribution.jpg
| range_map_caption = {{leftlegend|Green|Range of the Asiatic wildcat}}
}}

The '''Asiatic wildcat''' ('''''Felis lybica ornata'''''), also known as the '''Indian desert cat''', is an [[African wildcat]] [[subspecies]] that occurs from the eastern [[Caspian Sea]] north to [[Kazakhstan]], into western [[India]], western [[China]] and southern [[Mongolia]].<ref name=wc1996>{{cite book |title=Wild Cats: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan |publisher=IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group |last1=Nowell |first1=K. |last2=Jackson |first2=P. |year=1996 |location=Gland, Switzerland |chapter=Asiatic Wildcat ''Felis silvestris'', ''ornata'' group (Gray 1830) |pages=99−101}}</ref><ref name=catsg>{{cite journal |author1=Kitchener, A. C. |author2=Breitenmoser-Würsten, C. |author3=Eizirik, E. |author4=Gentry, A. |author5=Werdelin, L. |author6=Wilting, A. |author7=Yamaguchi, N. |author8=Abramov, A. V. |author9=Christiansen, P. |author10=Driscoll, C. |author11=Duckworth, J. W. |author12=Johnson, W. |author13=Luo, S.-J. |author14=Meijaard, E. |author15=O'Donoghue, P. |author16=Sanderson, J. |author17=Seymour, K. |author18=Bruford, M. |author19=Groves, C. |author20=Hoffmann, M. |author21=Nowell, K. |author22=Timmons, Z. |author23=Tobe, S. |year=2017 |title=A revised taxonomy of the Felidae: The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group |journal=Cat News |volume=Special Issue 11 |pages=17−20 |url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/32616/A_revised_Felidae_Taxonomy_CatNews.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y}}</ref>
There is no information on current status or population numbers across the Asiatic wildcat's range as a whole, but populations are thought to be declining.<ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |title=''Felis lybica'' |name-list-style=amp |author=Ghoddousi, A. |author2=Belbachir, F. |author3=Durant, S.M. |author4=Herbst, M. |author5=Rosen, T. |year=2022 |article-number=e.T131299383A154907281 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T131299383A154907281.en |access-date=27 July 2022}}</ref><ref name=Jutzeler2010>{{cite journal |last1=Jutzeler |first1=E. |last2=Xie |first2=Y. |last3=Vogt |first3=K. |year=2010 |title=Cats in China: Asian wildcat |journal=Cat News |issue=Special Issue 5 |pages=42–43 |url=http://www.catsg.org/fileadmin/filesharing/5.Cat_News/5.3._Special_Issues/5.3.5._SI_5/Jutzeler_Xie_Yan___Vogt_2010_Asian_wildcat.pdf}}</ref>

==Taxonomy==
[[File:Thomas_Hardwicke02.jpg|thumb|Illustration of an Indian desert wildcat from Thomas Hardwicke's collection]]
''Felis ornata'' was the [[scientific name]] used by [[John Edward Gray]] in the early 1830s as a caption to an illustration of an Indian wildcat from [[Thomas Hardwicke]]'s collection.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gray |first1=J. E. |year=1830–1832 |title=Illustrations of Indian Zoology; Chiefly Selected from the Collection of Major-General Hardwicke, F.R.S. Volume 1 |location=London |publisher=Treuttel, Würtz, Treuttel, Jun. and Richter |page=Plate 2 |chapter=''Felis ornata'' Gray. Beautiful cat |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/IllustrationsIn1Gray/page/2}}</ref> In subsequent years, several naturalists [[Scientific description|described]] spotted wildcat [[zoological specimen]]s from Asian range countries and proposed names, including the following:
*''Chaus caudatus'' by Gray in 1874 was a skin and skull from the [[Bukhara Region]] in Uzbekistan.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gray |first1=J. E. |year=1874 |title=On the Steppe-Cat of Bokhara (''Chaus caudatus'') |journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London |pages=Plate VI−VII, 31−33 |url=https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofgen74zool/page/n65}}</ref>
*''Felis shawiana'' by [[William Thomas Blanford]] in 1876 was a pale wildcat skin from [[Yarkant County|Yarkand]] in [[Xinjiang]], western China.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Blanford |first1=W. T. |year=1876 |title=Description of ''Felis Shawiana'', a new Lyncine cat from Eastern Turkestan |journal=The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=49−51 |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofasiat4521876asia/page/49}}</ref>
*''Felis (Felis) kozlovi'' by [[Konstantin Satunin]] in 1904 was a wildcat skin from an oasis in the [[Turpan Depression]] in western China.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Satunin |first1=K. |year=1904 |title=Neue Katzenarten aus Central-Asien |trans-title=New cat species from Central Asia |journal=Annuaire du Musée Zoologique de l'Académie des Sciences de St. Pétersbourg |volume=9 |pages=524−537 |url=https://archive.org/details/ezhegodnik09zool/page/532}}</ref>
*''Felis (Felis) murgabensis'' and ''Felis (Felis) matschiei'' by [[:de:Ludwig Zukowsky|Ludwig Zukowsky]] in 1914 were wildcat skins and skulls from the [[Murghab River]] in Afghanistan and [[Geok Tepe]] in Turkmenistan, respectively.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zukowsky |first1=L. |year=1914 |title=Drei neue Kleinkatzenrassen aus Westasien |trans-title=Three new races of small cats from West Asia |journal=Archiv für Naturgeschichte. Abteilung A |volume=80 |issue=10 |pages=124−146 |url=https://archive.org/details/archivfurgeschic8012berl/page/n315}}</ref>
*''Felis ornata nesterovi'' by Alexei Birulya in 1916 was a female wildcat skin from [[Lower Mesopotamia]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Birulya |first1=A. |year=1916 |title=De Felibus asiaticis duabus novis |trans-title=About two new Asiatic cats |journal=Annuaire du Musée Zoologique de l'Académie des Sciences de St. Pétersbourg |volume=21 |issue=Supplement |pages=I−II |url=https://archive.org/details/ezhegodnik21zool/page/n578}}</ref>
*''Felis ornata issikulensis'' by [[Sergey Ognev]] in 1930 was a skin and skull of a male wildcat from the southwestern shore of Lake [[Issyk-Kul]] in [[Kyrgyzstan]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ogneff |first1=S. I. |year=1930 |title=Übersicht der russischen Kleinkatzen |journal=Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=48−85 |url=https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Zeitschrift-Saeugetierkunde_5_0048-0085.pdf}}</ref>
In the 1940s, [[Reginald Innes Pocock]] reviewed the collection of wildcat skins and skulls in the [[Natural History Museum, London]] and subordinated all the spotted wildcat specimens to ''Felis lybica'', arguing that size of skulls and teeth do not differ from those from African range countries.<ref name=Pocock1951>{{cite book |last=Pocock |first=R. I. |chapter=''Felis lybica'', Forster |title=Catalogue of the Genus Felis |publisher=Trustees of the British Museum |location=London |date=1951 |pages=50−133 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/catalogueofgenus00brit#page/50/mode/2up}}</ref>

== Characteristics ==
[[File:Asian Wildcat (Felis lybica ssp. ornata).jpg|thumb|Asiatic wildcat]]
The Asiatic wildcat's fur is light sandy coloured with small rounded spots on its upper body. These spots are solid and sharply defined, and do not occur in clusters. The spots on the chest and abdomen are much larger and more blurred than on the back, and usually do not form transverse rows or stripes on the trunk. Its colours and patterns vary greatly. The hairs along the spine are usually darker, forming a dark gray, brownish or ochreous band. The upper lips and eyelids are light, pale yellow-white. The facial region is of an intense gray colour, while the top of the head is covered with a dark gray coat. In some individuals, the forehead is covered in dense clusters of brown spots. A narrow, dark brown stripe extends from the corner of the eye to the base of the ear. The lower neck, throat, neck, and the region between the forelegs are devoid of spots, or only with indistinct spots. The thighs are distinctly striped. The underside is whitish, with a light gray, creamy or pale yellow tinge. The tail is mostly the same colour as the back, with the addition of a dark and narrow stripe along the upper two-thirds of the tail; it appears thin, as the hairs are short and close-fitting. The tip of the tail is black, with two to five black transverse rings above it.<ref name=Geptner1972>{{cite book |title=Mlekopitaiuščie Sovetskogo Soiuza. Moskva: Vysšaia Škola |publisher=Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation |last1=Heptner |first1=V. G. |last2=Sludskii |first2=A. A. |orig-date=1972 |year=1992 |location=Washington DC |trans-title=Mammals of the Soviet Union. Volume II, Part 2: Carnivora (Hyaenas and Cats) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UxWZ-OmTqVoC&pg=PA398 |chapter=Asiatic Wildcat |pages=398–497 |isbn=90-04-08876-8 }}</ref>

The Asian wildcat has a long, tapering tail, always with a short black tip, and with spots at the base. The forehead has a pattern of four well-developed black bands. A small but pronounced tuft of hair up to one cm long grows from the tip of each ear. Paler forms of Asian wildcat live in drier areas and the darker, more heavily spotted and striped forms occur in more humid and wooded areas. The throat and ventral surfaces are whitish to light grey to cream, often with distinct white patches on the throat, chest and belly. Throughout its range the Asian wildcat's coat is usually short, but the length of the fur can vary depending on the age of the animal and the season of the year. Compared to the domestic cat, Asian wildcats have relatively longer legs. Males are generally heavier than females.<ref name="wc1996"/>

In [[Pakistan]] and India, wildcats have pale sandy yellow coats, marked with small spots that tend to lie in vertical lines down the trunk and flanks.<ref name=Roberts>{{cite book |last1=Roberts |first1=T. J. |year=1977 |title=The Mammals of Pakistan |location=London |publisher=Ernest Benn |isbn=978-0-510-39900-9 |chapter=''Felis lybica'' |page=138−140}}</ref><ref name="wcow">{{cite book |last1=Sunquist |first1=M. |last2=Sunquist |first2=F. |year=2002 |title=Wild Cats of the World |location=Chicago |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/wildcatsofworld00sunq/page/92 92–98] |chapter=African-Asian wildcat ''Felis silvestris lybica'' and ''Felis silvestris ornata'' |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hFbJWMh9-OAC&pg=PA92 |isbn=978-0-226-77999-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/wildcatsofworld00sunq/page/92 }}</ref>
The wildcats of [[Central Asia]] have a more greyish-yellow or reddish background color, marked distinctly with small black or red-brown spots. The spots are sometimes fused into stripes, especially in the Central Asian regions east of the [[Tian Shan Mountains]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Groves, C. P. |year=1980 |title=The Chinese mountain cat (''Felis bieti'') |journal=Carnivore |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=35–41}}</ref>

The Asiatic wildcat weighs about {{convert|3|-|4|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Roberts/><ref name="wcow"/>

== Distribution and habitat ==

[[File:Felis lybica distribution.jpg|thumb|Distribution of Asiatic Wildcat in light green]]

The [[Caucasus]] is the transitional zone between the [[European wildcat]] to the north and west, and the Asiatic wildcat to the south and east. In this region, the European wildcat is present in montane forest, and the Asiatic wildcat is present in the low-lying [[desert]] and semi-desert areas adjoining the [[Caspian Sea]]. It usually occurs in close proximity to water sources, but is also able to live year-round in waterless desert. It ranges up to {{cvt|2000|to|3000|m}} in mountain areas with sufficient dense vegetation. Snow depth limits the northern boundaries of its range in winter.<ref name=Geptner1972/>

In [[Iran]], the Asiatic wildcat has been recorded in [[aridity|arid]] [[plain]]s, lush [[forest]]s, [[coast]]al areas and [[mountain]]s, but not in extremely high elevations and deserts.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The status of Wildcat in Iran - a crossroad of subspecies? |year=2016 |last1=Ghoddousi |first1=A. |last2=Hamidi |first2=A. Kh. |last3=Ghadirian |first3=T. |last4=Bani'Assadi |first4=S. |journal=Cat News|issue=Special Issue 10 |pages=60–63 }}</ref>

In [[Afghanistan]], the Asiatic wildcat has been recorded prior to 1973 in the central [[Hazarajat]] mountains and the steppe region, near [[Shibar Pass]] and [[Herat]], and in [[Bamyan Province]].<ref name=Habibi1977>{{cite book |last1=Habibi |first1=K. |year=2003 |title=Mammals of Afghanistan |location=Coimbatore, India |publisher=Zoo Outreach Organisation |chapter=Asiatic Wildcat ''Felis lybica ornata'' |isbn=978-81-88722-06-8}}</ref>

In [[India]], the Asiatic wildcat inhabits the [[Thar Desert]] and is associated with [[scrub desert]].<ref name=Sharma1979>{{cite journal |author=Sharma, I. K. |year=1979 |title=Habits, feeding, breeding and reaction to man of the desert cat ''Felis libyca'' (Gray) in the Indian Desert |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=76 |issue=3 |pages=498–499}}</ref> In 1999, it was still reported as common in the [[Rajasthan]]i districts of [[Bikaner district|Bikaner]], [[Barmer district|Barmer]], [[Jaisalmer district|Jaisalmer]], [[Pali district|Pali]] and [[Nagaur district|Nagaur]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Sharma, S. |author2=Sharma, S. K. |author3=Sharma, S. |year=2003 |title=Notes on mammalian fauna in Rajasthan |journal=Zoos' Print Journal |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=1085–1088 |doi=10.11609/jott.zpj.18.4.1085-8|doi-access=free }}</ref> Only four sightings were reported in the Thar Desert between 1999 and 2006.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dookia |first1=S. |year=2007 |title=Sighting of Asiatic Wildcat in Gogelao Enclosure, Nagaur in Thar Desert of Rajasthan |journal=Cat News |issue=46 |pages=17–18 }}</ref> It has been recorded in [[Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pande |first1=A. |last2=Vasava |first2=A. |last3=Solanki |first3=R. |last4=Bipin |first4=C. M. |author5-link=Yadvendradev Vikramsinh Jhala |last5=Jhala |first5=Y. V. |title=Photographic records of the Asiatic Wildcat from two states of India |journal=Journal of Threatened Taxa |date=2013 |volume=5 |issue=17 |pages=5283–5287 |doi=10.11609/JoTT.o3351.5283-7|doi-access=free }}</ref> in [[Madhya Pradesh]] and [[Mirzapur]] forests.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sinha |first1=D. |last2=Chaudhary |first2=R. |title=Wildlife Inventory and Proposal for Sloth Bear Conservation Reserve in Marihan-Sukrit-Chunar Landscape of Mirzapur Forest Division, Uttar Pradesh |date=2019 |publisher=Vindhyan Ecology and Natural History Foundation |location=Mirzapur |isbn=978-93-5279-561-1 |page=39 |url=https://vindhyabachao.org/mirzapur-wildlife |access-date=9 August 2019 |archive-date=7 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807002224/https://vindhyabachao.org/mirzapur-wildlife }}</ref>

In [[Pakistan]], it was known from arid regions in the [[Sindh Province]].<ref name=Roberts/>

In the 1990s, wildcats were reported common and populations stable in the lowlands of [[Kazakhstan]]. A pronounced loss of range has been documented in [[Azerbaijan]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Belousova, A.V. |year=1993 |title=Small Felidae of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Far East: survey of the state of populations |journal=Lutreola |volume=2 |pages= 16–21 }}</ref>

Within China, the Asian wildcat is distributed in [[Xinjiang]], [[Qinghai]], [[Gansu]], [[Ningxia]], [[Shaanxi]], and [[Inner Mongolia]]. Records from northern [[Tibet]] as well as [[Sichuan]] are questionable.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Smith |editor1-first=A. T. |editor2-last=Xie |editor2-first=Y. |year=2008 |title=A guide to the Mammals of China |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=New Jersey |isbn=978-0-691-09984-2 |last1=Wozencraft |first1=W. C. |chapter=Felinae |pages=390−398 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ka-9f68nPT4C&pg=PA390}}</ref> Prior to 1950, it was the most abundant cat in Xinjiang occurring along all major river basin systems and [[Taklimakan desert]] but later it got confined to three regions of southern Xinjiang only like the [[Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture]], [[Aksu Prefecture|Aksu]] and [[Hotan Prefecture]]s. It was thought to decline rapidly in the Xinjiang desert region of China mainly because of excessive hunting for the pelt trade followed by shrinkage of its habitat due to cultivation, oil and gas exploration and excessive use of [[pesticides]].<ref name=Abdukadir2010>{{cite journal|author=Abdukadir, A. |author2=Khan, B. |author3=Masuda, R. |author4=Ohdachi, S. |year=2010 |title=Asiatic wild cat (''Felis silvestris ornata'') is no more a 'Least Concern' species in Xinjiang, China |journal=Pakistan Journal of Wildlife |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=57–63 |url=http://eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2115/49688/1/Issue%202%20Article%204%5B1%5D.pdf}}</ref>

== Ecology and behaviour ==
Asiatic wildcats are frequently observed in the daytime. They use rock crevices or [[burrow]]s dug by other animals.<ref name=Geptner1972/>

===Hunting and diet===
In [[Turkmenistan]], the Asiatic wildcat feed on [[great gerbil]]s, [[Libyan jird]]s, [[Afghan vole]]s, [[long-clawed ground squirrel]]s, [[tolai hare]]s, small birds like [[lark]]s, [[lizard]]s, [[beetle]]s, and [[grasshopper]]s. Near [[Repetek Biosphere State Reserve]], the wildcat is responsible for destroying over 50% of nests made by [[desert finch]]es, [[streaked scrub warbler]]s, red-tailed warblers, and [[Streptopelia|turtledove]]s. In the [[Qarshi]] steppes of [[Uzbekistan]], the wildcat's prey, in descending order of preference, includes [[great gerbil]]s, [[Libyan jird]]s, [[jerboa]]s, other [[rodent]]s and [[passerine bird]]s, [[reptile]]s, and [[insect]]s. Wildcats in eastern [[Kyzyl Kum]] have similar prey preferences, with the addition of [[tolai hare]]s, [[Midday jird]]s, [[small five-toed jerboa]]s, and [[Trapelus|steppe agama]]s. In [[Kyrgyzstan]], the wildcat's primary prey varies from [[Tolai hare]]s near [[Issyk Kul]], [[pheasant]]s in the [[Chu River|Chu]] and [[Talas River]] valleys, and mouse-like rodents and [[gray partridge]]s in the [[foothills]]. In Kazakhstan's lower [[Ili River]], the wildcat mainly targets rodents, [[muskrat]]s, and [[Tamarisk jird]]. Occasionally, remains of young [[roe deer]] and [[wild boar]] are present in its faeces. After rodents, birds follow in importance, along with reptiles, [[fish]], insects, [[egg]]s, [[grass]] stalks and nuts.<ref name=Geptner1972/>

In the scrub habitat of western [[Rajasthan]], they live largely on desert [[Gerbillinae|gerbil]]s, but also hunt [[hare]]s, [[rat]]s, [[dove]]s, gray [[partridge]]s, [[sandgrouse]]s, [[peafowl]], [[bulbul]]s, [[Old World sparrow]]s and eat eggs of ground birds. They have also been observed killing [[cobra]]s, [[Echis|saw-scaled vipers]], [[sand boa]]s, [[gecko]]s, [[scorpion]]s and [[beetle]]s.<ref name=Sharma1979/>

Results of a feed item analysis of Asiatic wildcats in the [[Tarim Basin]] revealed that their primary prey was the [[Yarkand hare]] followed by [[Midday jird]], [[long-eared jerboa]], [[poultry]] and small bird, fish, [[five-toed pygmy jerboa]], [[Agamidae|Agamid lizards]] and [[sand lizard]].<ref name=Abdukadir2010/>

===Parasites and infestations===
The wildcat is highly parasitised by [[helminth]]s. Some wildcats in [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] carry the helminth species ''[[Hydatigera taeniaeformis]]'', ''[[Diphyllobothrium]] mansoni'', ''[[Toxocara]] mystax'', ''[[Capillaria (nematode)|Capillaria]] feliscati'' and ''[[Ancylostoma caninum]]''. Wildcats in Azerbaijan carry ''Hydatigera krepkogorski'' and ''Toxocara mystax''. In Transcaucasia, the majority of wildcats are infested by the [[tick]] ''[[Ixodes ricinus]]''. In some summers, wildcats are infested with [[flea]]s of the genus ''[[Ceratophyllus]]'', which they likely contract from [[brown rat]]s.<ref name=Geptner1972/>

== Threats ==
Female Asiatic wildcats mate quite often with domestic males, and [[hybrid (biology)|hybrid]] offspring are frequently found near villages where wild females live.<ref name=Geptner1972/>
They have been hunted at large in Afghanistan; in 1977 over 1,200 pelts manufactured into different articles were on display in [[Kabul]] bazaars.<ref name=Habibi1977/>

== Conservation ==
The Asiatic wildcat is included on [[CITES Appendix II]]. It is protected in Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, [[Tajikistan]], [[Mongolia]], China and [[Russia]]. In Afghanistan, it has been placed on the country's first Protected Species List in 2009, banning all hunting and trading within the country, and is proposed as a priority species for future study.<ref name=iucn/>

==References==
{{Reflist|35em}}

==External links==
{{Commons|Felis silvestris ornata}}
{{Wikispecies|Felis silvestris}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=102 |publisher=IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group |title=Asiatic Wildcat}}

{{Carnivora|Fe.}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q377282}}

[[Category:Mammals described in 1832]]
[[Category:Taxa named by John Edward Gray]]
[[Category:Wildcats]]
[[Category:African wildcat subspecies]]
[[Category:Fauna of Iran]]
[[Category:Mammals of Central Asia]]
[[Category:Mammals of Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Mammals of India]]
[[Category:Felidae of India]]
[[Category:Mammals of China]]

Asiatic wildcat - Revision history

Commercial Noida at 06:50, 27 March 2026