feline: Quick Facts

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Facts

Also Known As	Felidae • cat

Photos and Videos

Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) with tufted ears and spotted fur walking through snow in a winter landscape.

Jaguar (Panthera onca) with a spotted coat stands among green foliage, looking directly at the camera.

A clouded leopard

A Leopardus tilcayo cat with a spotted coat walks alertly through leaf litter at the Senda Verde animal refuge in Bolivia, surrounded by blurred green foliage.

A woman with dark hair looks up at a small spotted wildcat, Leopardus tilcayo, inside a wire enclosure surrounded by dense greenery at an animal refuge in Bolivia.

A snow leopard (Panthera uncia) with thick spotted fur sits on a snowy slope, surrounded by falling snow and blurred wintry trees in the background.

Illustration showing the side view of a cat's head with its brain highlighted, alongside a labeled diagram of the cat brain identifying the olfactory bulb, cerebrum, and cerebellum.

Two anatomical diagrams of a domestic cat's paw show a cross-section of the claw retracted on the left and extended on the right, illustrating how the claw is drawn in or exposed.

Observe a predatory lion pride in a typical day of grooming, playing, hunting, eating prey, and sleeping

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

Four kittens with different fur patterns-three tabby and one black-and-white-lying together in a box, illustrating genetic variation among offspring.

Learn why only domestic cats purr and not other felines

Why are cats unable to detect sweet tastes?

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Topics

gsa’Felinae Machairodontinae panther Acinonyx Panthera Felis lynx puma leopard viverrid mongoose

Lion (panthera leo)

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Lion (panthera leo)

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Cougar in woods. Cats, felines, puma.

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Young chimpanzee dressed in a shirt and sweater vest, scratching his head thinking. (primates)

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The bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is seen in Switzerland on December 2024

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Cougar in woods. Cats, felines, puma.

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Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters

Animal Group Names

Dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius). Animals, mammals.

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Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)

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Giraffe standing in grass, Kenya.

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