wildcat

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A European wildcat, Felis silvestris, with a thick striped coat stands alert on snow-covered ground in winter.

Map showing the geographic ranges of wildcat subspecies (Felis silvestris) across Europe, Africa, and Asia, each range color-coded: European wildcat in purple, African wildcat in red, Asiatic wildcat in blue, Southern African wildcat in yellow, and Chinese mountain cat in green. The map highlights how these ranges cover large portions of each continent and overlap in some areas.

A European wildcat, Felis silvestris, stands in snow with one paw on a dead rabbit, its prey, during winter.

An African wildcat (Felis lybica) with a slender body, grayish coat, and striped legs stands alert on a sandy patch surrounded by green grass in the Kalahari desert, South Africa.

A split image of a lion and an orange cat are shown against a vintage map.

wildcat: References & Edit History

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Article History

Type	Description	Contributor	Date
	Modified link of Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - A Suite of Genetic Markers Useful in Assessing Wildcat (Felis silvestris ssp.) Domestic Cat (Felis silvestris catus) Admixture.	Grace Young	May 02, 2026
	Add new Web site: Cambridge Core - The wildcat Felis silvestris in northern Turkey: assessment of status using camera trapping.	Grace Young	Dec 22, 2025
	Add new Web site: American Association for the Advancement of Science - Science - Genomic evidence for the Chinese mountain cat as a wildcat conspecific (Felis silvestris bieti) and its introgression to domestic cats.	Grace Young	May 07, 2025
	Add new Web site: Queen's University Belfast - Lateralization of spontaneous behaviours in the domestic cat, Felis Silvestris (PDF).	Emily Rodriguez	Mar 11, 2025
	Media added.	Meg Matthias	Jan 08, 2025
	Add new Web site: Frontiers - A common statement on anthropogenic hybridization of the European wildcat (Felis silvestris).	Gloria Lotha	Jun 13, 2024
	Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - A Suite of Genetic Markers Useful in Assessing Wildcat (Felis silvestris ssp.) Domestic Cat (Felis silvestris catus) Admixture.	Gloria Lotha	Jan 13, 2024
	Links and photos added.	The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica	Sep 29, 2023
	Add new Web site: National Geographic - Animals - Scottish Wildcats Are in Danger of Extinction. Here's How to Save Them.	Gloria Lotha	Sep 25, 2023
	Add new Web site: AfriCat - The AfriCat Foundation - African Wildcat.	Satyavrat Nirala	Aug 04, 2015
	Added mentions of several subspecies and clarified taxonomy.	Richard Pallardy	Feb 20, 2014
	Added new Web site: How Stuff Works - Animals - Wildcat.	Shiveta Singh	May 27, 2008
	Article added to new online database.	The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica	Jul 23, 1999