Wild European forest cat

For centuries, the enigmatic and elusive Wild European Forest Cat has been roaming the forests of Europe. This wild cat, in contrast to domestic cats, lives in the deep forests, far away from populated areas. For those who enjoy animals, its independent spirit and aptitude for survival make it an intriguing subject.

The thick, striped coat of this wild cat is well-known for assisting in its ability to blend in with its surroundings. Despite having a look that could make you think of a big, strong house cat, the wild European forest cat is actually a predator that can hunt and survive on its own.

Native to the forests of Europe, the Wild European Forest Cat is a rare and elusive feline renowned for its strong hunting instincts and independence. It is more of a solitary animal with a thicker coat than domestic cats. Its build is also more muscular. Its existence is threatened by human encroachment and hybridization with domestic cats, so protecting its natural habitat is essential to its survival. Gaining knowledge about this unusual wild cat makes us realize how crucial it is to protect wildlife.

History of origin

According to the latest scientific data, wild cats appeared during the Pleistocene period, which ended about 11,700 years ago and was characterized by extremely harsh climatic conditions. An alternate offensive and retreat to the global continents of the glacial masses caused a spasmodic climate change, which served as the push of a strong activation of speculation processes. This has led to the emergence of a wide variety of new forms in the animal and plant world, better adapted to real life conditions (woolly rhinoceroses, mammoths, giant deer, cave lions, etc.). Not all animals were able to adapt to the constantly changing climate, many died out. But the cats succeeded, they mastered dense forests and highlands for living.

On Earth, wild cats have existed for nearly 12,000 years.

European Wildcat is the scientific name for the European wildcat. Felis silvestris Schreber, in Latin. Which can be translated as – "wild, living in the forest".

Scientists surmise that the domestication of cats happened when people started living sedentary lives and became heavily involved in agriculture. They stocked grain crops, drawing in a lot of rodents. which made them simple pickings for the cat.

Description of the species

The forest cat will undoubtedly pay visitors if it outfits its home close to humans. Because they frequently prey on poultry (ducks, chickens, and geese, among other animals), wild cats represent a serious threat to farmers. A wild animal seldom draws attention because it is very difficult to tell a wild forest cat from a typical domesticated cat visually.

A domestic cat and a wild cat from Europe are extremely similar.

Appearance

The wild cat has ocher inclusions and is smoky gray in color. There is a long, thin, nearly black stripe that runs the length of the spine, beginning at the shoulder blades and sporadically ending at the tail. Also running along the cheeks and crown are dark, thin longitudinal stripes. The paws’ outside and sides are uniformly variegated, light in tone, with tiny stripes or brown spots. The underside of the paws and the belly have extremely light, ochre fur.

The cat’s back has a dark stripe along it.

Compared to the other cat that lives with people, its fur is thicker and higher. The tail has multiple (5-7) transverse black encircling stripes. It is always dark at the tip. The fur gets thicker, fluffier, and more uniform in the winter. April and May are the months of spring molting; the winter coat regrows in November. The ocher-brown spots are more noticeable and the fur has a slightly more variegated summer color. The cat is able to blend in with the surrounding forest scenery as a result.

The following are the breed’s primary traits:

• The body length of males can reach 0.9 m, females – 0.7 m;
• weight greatly depends on the season, the abundance of prey and the age of the animal: male – 3.5-7.8 kg, female – 2.7-6 kg;
• height at withers: male – up to 0.43 m, female – up to 0.4 m;
• build is strong and dense;
• body is elongated, long;
• limbs of medium length, the hind legs are more powerful;
• The head is small with large massive jaws and a slightly elongated neat nose;
• Claw claws;
• The ears are small triangular slightly rounded, widely placed, there are no brushes at the ends (there are small separate hairs at the edges);
• The tail is short (compared to a home cat) with a fluffy and dense fur, the end of the stupid (like chopped off);
• The teeth are small, but very sharp;
• The mustache (vibrissas) is long, there are no eyelashes;
• Sometimes yellow green-yellow eyes are placed quite close to each other, equipped with an additional fold of conjunctiva (migacious membrane), which protects against various random damage and injuries.

The auditory and visual systems of the forest beast are fully developed, but its sense of smell is slightly less developed. Wild cats are typically far larger and more massive than domestic cats.

The cat’s mustache makes it easy for it to spot prey.

Vibrassae, or whiskers, are used by the cat to sense prey that is very near to its muzzle. Because of the way its eyes are made, the animal cannot see objects that are beneath its nose. The predator can detect even the smallest movements made by the victim in a timely manner.

Character

European wild cats have a wary and often aggressive character, they are not distinguished by friendliness. They always settle in solitude, because they are solitary predators. They unite only during the mating season. Each animal lives on an individual site of about 2-3 km² (in the mountains up to 50-60 km²), the boundaries of which it fiercely guards and protects. The entire area of ​​​​the territory is marked with the help of a fragrant secretion secreted by special anal glands. The owner leaves a characteristic smell peculiar only to him on bushes, trees, stumps and stones, rubbing his head or the back of his body against them. These animals do not like strangers, they do not take into account even their relatives.

Wild cats are hostile and violent.

Wild cats attempt to stay away from human habitation and avoid human contact. They move farther into the wild if people settle close to them.

Based on my own observations. Zoos often house wild cats. They feel pretty comfortable in large cages despite not being domesticated. particularly when eating well. However, they always have a very somber, even stern appearance. There is always a horde of visitors surrounding their enclosures because these perpetually depressed and unhappy animals look so strange. They continue to be stunning and powerful at the same time.

A wild cat draws attention to itself by wearing a dejected and unhappy expression.

Lifestyle and habits of a forest cat

Nighttime, evening twilight, and the early morning hours are when wild cats are most active. It prefers to sleep in its permanent den or another remote location during the day. As evening approaches, it goes hunting. Active one to two hours prior to dusk, after which it takes a brief rest. The animal returns to hunting just before dawn.

Often, wild cats hunt at dusk.

The European cat often hunts from an ambush, but can sneak up on its intended victim unnoticed. Having approached to the required distance, it makes several powerful jumps and grabs its prey with its claws. Sometimes it waits for its victim at the entrance to its burrow or secluded place. If an attempt fails, it almost never pursues the escaped trophy on the ground. However, in the excitement of chasing a squirrel, it can easily jump from branch to branch, like a marten. It tries to jump on the back of large prey, get to the neck and gnaw through the artery. It kills small rodents by biting through their scruff or neck, having previously grabbed them firmly with its claws.

Most of the time, a wild cat will wait for its prey to ambush.

The wild cat’s sense of hearing is superb. His ears can detect unusual high-frequency sounds (up to 25,000 vibrations per second) and rotate very quickly. It hears ultrasonic sounds produced by tiny rodents that resemble mice.

When rats emerge from their burrows, European cats are able to wait for them.

The wild cat has excellent vision in the dark. Its superior hearing allows it to successfully capture an animal that it cannot see. It is an expert climber of trees and can occasionally create a shelter near the top, high in the crowns. It can disappear during the day in overcast conditions. The animal will never leave its den unless it is absolutely necessary if it is raining. The wild cat would much rather wait out inclement weather in a dry shelter than in wet, rainy conditions. Hunting will have to wait another day.

The animal can swim, but it does so very grudgingly. It would much rather climb a tree than go into the water, even if it were in grave danger.

The meow of the European wild cat is deep and chesty.

A feral feline lets out a low, raspy mewl. However, these animals don’t often make much noise. They reserve the right to use different growls, hisses, and snorts to convey their emotions until the end of winter, when mating season starts. It can purr because of the peculiar anatomy of the vocal cords and larynx. A cat that is hostile or enraged will howl and whistle.

Diet

The diet of the forest cat is very diverse:

• birds (ducks, coots, quails,. pheasants);
• bird eggs and chicks;
• rodents (squirrels, voles, gerbils, rats, moles, hamsters);
• hares and rabbits;
• insects;
• snakes, lizards;
• freshwater fish, crayfish, snails, mollusks;
• muskrats, ferrets, martens and other small predators;
• green leaves of some grasses;
• cubs of ungulates (roe deer).

Since there is only enough food for one meal, wild cats hunt every day. The animal can travel up to 10 km at night and consume up to 20 small rodents, or roughly 500 g of meat. It devours the internal organs (liver, heart, etc.) of large game.

The animal hunts daily because there is only a limited amount of prey.

The forest cat sits on its hind legs and hunches over while it eats. It uses its side teeth to bite off pieces of food. Meat is never torn off by it.

The animals stand out due to their extreme gluttony. Even a tiny kitten, one or two months old, can consume roughly ten small rodents every day if there is an abundance of food.

Reproduction

About three years is when males reach sexual maturity, and two years is when females do. Winter is the main rutting season, which runs from January to March. Both sexes actively mark their territory during this time, and they also cry loudly and melancholy. A ready-to-marriage cat gives off distinct musky scents that draw in men. A group of people of the other sex congregate around her; they are highly combative and occasionally get into violent altercations. Males may be found in groups with both mongrel and similar-looking cats. They mate with the female, so there is seldom a purebred offspring.

When mating season arrives, wild cats aggressively mark their territory.

The fight for the female and the right to father future kittens is won by the strongest and most resilient male.

When a cat becomes pregnant, she makes a den for the birth and rearing of kittens in old unused burrows, crevices and cracks in rocks or in abandoned hollows of large trees. The bottom of the den is lined with feathers and grass, making a soft bedding for future children. Pregnancy lasts from 63 to 68 days. Usually there are 2-4 (rarely up to 7) kittens in a litter, which are born blind, deaf and covered with light fluffy fur. The weight of a kitten is approximately 200-300 g. After two or three days, the cubs are already crawling a little. After 11-15 days, they open their eyes. Menstruation The animals happily leave their den, frolic, run, play with each other and climb the nearest trees.

The European wildcat burrows or nests in rock crevices.

For up to four months, the mother breastfeeds them; however, starting at the age of one and a half months, they gradually start eating solid food, such as meat. At two months old, the kittens already follow their mother when she hunts for prey, teaching them all the necessary skills along the way. As a teaching tool, the cat brings live prey to the hole to show the babies. The mother actively guards her young and swiftly moves the kittens to a safer location when they are in danger. The mortality rate among the cubs is fairly high, even with the cat’s unceasing care and efforts to avoid leaving them for extended periods of time.

The cat starts taking the kittens on her hunts when they are two months old.

Compared to adults, the young have a more variegated color. The body is covered in a scattering of dark brown dots and specks; on the back, these merge into broad lines, and the tail and paws are covered in numerous transverse stripes. However, the kittens turn too grey-golden by five months. Around this time, females stay at their mother’s site while young males depart in search of their own hunting territory.

Male cats don’t help with the upbringing and education of the kittens. The female is the only one who can look after the children.

The female may occasionally give birth to kittens again. In late autumn or early winter, the newest kittens are born.

Lifespan in the wild

A wildcat’s lifespan in the wild is approximately fifteen years.

Enemies of the European cat

The untamed woodland feline has adversaries that pursue it. It is the wolves, foxes, lynxes, owls, and hawks that pose the biggest threat. However, the animal has adapted well to its natural habitat, making it very challenging to capture. A healthy animal can quickly and proficiently scale tall trees, making it easy for it to flee from practically any enemy on the ground. The cat is skilled at hiding and lurking in cracks in rocks.

The marten poses the biggest threat to juvenile and unskilled wild cats.

Martens pose a serious danger to young wild cats. Even though they are much larger than them, martens frequently prey on inexperienced young animals when hunting them.

Habitat and role in the ecosystem

The southwestern regions of Ukraine, Asia Minor, parts of Europe, and Russian territories up to the Caucasus Mountains are home to the wild forest cat. The animal favors isolated, dense, mixed-deciduous broadleaf forests (occasionally with conifers). can survive at elevations of more than 2-3 km in mountainous (rocky) regions. Sometimes it chooses to live along riverbanks, making its home in thickets of reeds or bushes.

Without getting too high, wild cats build permanent dens in fox and badger holes that have been abandoned or in the hollows of large trees. Dry bedding made up of feathers, tiny branches, grass, and leaves lines the interior of the housings. Temporary shelters can be little holes, depressions beneath steep rocky slopes, or just a thick tangle of branches. The beast frequently uses large bird nests that have been abandoned as a place to unwind (sapel).

A wild European cat can erect a makeshift shelter atop a tree.

He frequently switches up his roostering during the warm season in an attempt to avoid fleas and other blood-sucking parasites, which particularly bother the animal in the summer. It can spend a lot of time in one den during the middle of winter because deep snow makes movement difficult. There have been cases reported of forest cats being housed in sheds, granaries, cottages, and other buildings’ attics.

Since it will hunt poultry, an animal that has taken up residence close to human housing may actually cause harm. In the wild, the cat is more likely to benefit because it sometimes only eats small rodents. However, they have the ability to ruin the eggs and young of priceless birds (pheasants, travel, etc. p.).

The wild forest cat is thought to be a carrier of several serious infectious diseases, including toxoplasmosis and rabies, along with the fox.

European wild cat in captivity

The European wild forest cat is extremely hard to tame and hard to keep in captivity. The animal has very sharp vision in small areas. Training and education will not be able to overcome the genetically ingrained wildness and independence. But these creatures are kept in zoos all over the world, where they are able to procreate.

A wild European cat is very challenging to keep at home.

Based on my own observations. A wild kitten once visited our home a long time ago. It was found in the forest by a kind-hearted hunter we knew. The animal appeared to be between five and six months old. It refused to eat, hissed and purred nonstop, and hid beneath the closet. No one mentioned taking it up. The kitten posed a threat to others due to its sharp claws and teeth. For about two weeks, we made vain attempts to tame it, and the baby remained feral. It has grown incredibly thin and ugly over this time. I had to give it back to mother nature.

Features of content and care

A purebred cat would struggle to live in an apartment because it is very uncomfortable for a predator to do so. The urban environment is completely unsuitable for this animal. Wild kittens inherit their mother’s predatory instincts and their wariness of humans from the moment they are born. A wild animal needs a lot of room to move around and some degree of freedom because it is adapted to its natural environment. Thus, a private home where maintaining a cat in a large aviary is possible is more appropriate.

Purchasing young kittens (no more than 2-4 months old) from reputable breeders who have already produced multiple generations of domesticated wild animals is advised. The cat is tameable in this situation. It will never be affectionate, but it will still stand out for having a very independent, self-sufficient, and freedom-loving personality. Children raised in captivity become accustomed to people from an early age. Animals that were once predators start to become less so; they accept food from humans, become friendlier, and react to affection.

Purchasing kittens from reputable breeders is advised.

If there are other pets in the house, it is not advised to bring a wild cat in. They’re not going to be able to find friendships. Coexistence attempts can have tragic outcomes.

A wild European cat should eat as natural a diet as possible. Among the items in its diet are the following:

• lean meat (beef, chicken, rabbit, etc.);
• dairy products;
• river fish;
• by-products (liver, heart, lungs, etc.). p.);
• eggs.

You must provide vitamin and mineral complexes for your pet. Oat sprouts and young cat grass are highly favored by animals.

In captivity, wild cats should eat a balanced diet.

Eating a healthy diet is critical for wild cats. A deviation from the prescribed diet may result in an unbalanced concentration of calcium and phosphorus within the body, potentially leading to increased trauma and bone fragility in the animal. Large weight and a massive constitution make things much worse.

These predators require routine vaccinations, antihelminthic medication, claw trimming, and frequent eye and ear cleaning. Maintaining flea repellent (drops on collars, withers, etc.) is essential. The fur needs to be constantly combed, especially while it is molting.

Life expectancy and health

A wild European cat is genetically healthy and immune system robust. However, animals are prone to a number of illnesses when they have inadequate nutrition and unfavorable living circumstances:

1. Polycystic kidney disease. Multiple cystic formations in the renal pelvis, causing disruption of the urinary system.
2. Glycogenosis. A very rare hereditary pathology caused by a lack of special enzymes. Kittens die in the first months of life.
3. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. A hereditary pathology of the cardiovascular system.
4. Retinal dysplasia. Causes decreased vision.

A wildcat in captivity can live up to 30 years with proper care, a considerable longer time than they would in the wild.

Population of the species

The European wildcat’s range has shrunk dramatically in the last several years. The creation of suburban areas and the expansion of cities have significantly decreased the populations of these animals. In Europe, there are essentially none left. A significant decline in forest areas poses the greatest threat to the species. The maximum density is 20–30 individuals per hectare, although 2-3 pieces per km² are more common. Unfavorable weather conditions (very cold winters) and variations in the number of small rodents that resemble mice have a significant impact on the population size. The animal frequently gets caught in snares and traps intended for martens.

In recent decades, the population of European wild cats has declined dramatically.

Appendix II of the CITES Convention contains a list of wild cats native to Central Europe.

The wild cat is acknowledged as a rare, small species that is found only in a restricted area in Russia. safeguarded in several nature reserves and reserves (Tiberdinsky, Kavkazsky).

Feature	Description
Habitat	Dense forests and woodland areas in Europe
Size	Similar to a domestic cat, with a more muscular build
Fur	Thick, striped, and greyish-brown for camouflage
Diet	Primarily small mammals, birds, and insects
Lifestyle	Solitary and territorial, active mostly at night
Threats	Habitat loss and hybridization with domestic cats

Surviving in the forests of Europe, the wild European forest cat is an amazing species. Because of its shy and solitary nature, it can easily blend into its natural surroundings and live almost completely undetected by humans.

This wild cat has evolved to live independently and hunt small animals in the wild, despite having some traits with domestic cats. It contributes significantly to the ecosystem by keeping the balance of prey populations in its habitat.

The Wild European forest cat is still under threat, but protecting its natural habitat is essential to its survival. We can guarantee that this lovely wild species persists for many generations by protecting its habitat and endorsing conservation efforts.

Video on the topic

"Wild forest" cat 😉

Kuzya, you are good ? (European wild cat, Felis silvestris silvestris).

✨Story about European forest cats