The rusty-spotted cat is one of the cat family's smallest members, of which historical records are known only from India and Sri Lanka. In 2012, it was also recorded in the western Terai of Nepal. Since 2016, the global wild population is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List as it is fragmented and affected by loss and destruction of its prime habitat, deciduous forests.
Image: Rusty spotted cat 1
Image: Rusty spotted Cat distribution
Rusty-spotted cat in its natural habitat
Rusty-spotted cat photographed in the Anaimalai Hills
Felidae is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats. A member of this family is also called a felid. The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to the domestic cat.
Felidae
Extended claws on a house cat
Lionesses grooming each other
Megantereon model at Natural History Museum of Basel