There are no known wild predators to rusty-spotted cats. However, because of its small size, some speculate that they might be eaten by larger predators. It is further speculated that mating activity could increase their vulnerability, selecting for brief copulations.
The fur of rusty-spotted cats is short and brownish gray in color with a rusty tinge. The coat of the Sri Lankan subspecies is less gray and has more of a russet color. The underside and throat are white with darker spots and stripes. The back and sides are covered by rusty brown spots. There are four dark stripes running from above the eyes, between the ears and onto the shoulders. The cheeks of the face are marked by two streaks of darker fur and the ears are small and rounded. The soles of the feet are black and the tail is about half the length of the head and body. At about half the size of a domestic cat, this is considered the smallest cat species. Full grown females can weigh up to 1.4 kg and full grown males reach up to 1.7 kg. For about the first 100 days of development, males are smaller in size than females, but after that time, males have a greater average body weight.
Range mass: 1.7 (high) kg.
Sexual Dimorphism: male larger
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
The longest lifespan recorded was at the Frankfurt zoo with a rusty-spotted cat reaching 18 years of age.
Range lifespan
Status: captivity: 18 (high) years.
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 17.9 years.
Rusty-spotted cats inhabit mainly dry forest areas, but within the last few years a breeding group was found living in a human inhabited agricultural area in West Maharashtra, India. This species, along with other small cat species in the oriental region, may be surviving in agricultural areas because of large rodent populations. In southern India, the species is being found in rafters of abandoned houses in areas a considerable distance away from forests. Some rusty-spotted cat habitat is in semi-arid and tropical climates.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: forest
Other Habitat Features: agricultural
Rusty-spotted cats, Prionailurus rubiginosus, are found only in India and Sri Lanka. New localities that host this species are found with more research, increasing the known range of the species. The northern most location where the species has been sighted is in the Pilibhit forest division, which is in the Indian Terai region in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The first sighting of the animal in Central India was in the Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharastra; the animal has since been spotted in many parts of Maharastra, including West Maharastra where a breeding population was identified alongside agricultural and human dominated landscapes. The species is also found in the Varushanad Valley, Western Ghats, part of a biodiversity hotspot. Rusty-spotted cats also live in the state of Gujarat, where they occur in semi-arid, dry, tropical, and deciduous forests in the center of the state and also in the city of Navagam. These cats inhabit the the Nugu Wildlife Sanctuary, state of Karnataka, the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve in Andhra Pradesh, and other parts of Andhra Pradesh, such as the Nellore district.
Biogeographic Regions: oriental (Native )
Communications between rusty-spotted cats are scent oriented. Both males and females spray urine for scent-marking.
Communication Channels: chemical
Other Communication Modes: scent marks
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
The CITES Appendix 1 rating is only for the population of rusty-spotted cats in India. According to IUCN Red List, rusty-spotted cats have an estimated combined population total in India and Sri Lanka of under 10,000 mature individuals. There is no subpopulation with more than 1000 breeding individuals. The declining trend is due to habitat loss characterized by a decline in natural forest environments and an increase in agricultural areas.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: appendix i
State of Michigan List: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: vulnerable
At least in India, rusty-spotted cat deaths have occurred because the species is vulnerable to vehicular slaughter. However, the economic impact and number of cat deaths are minimal at only 2.8% occurrence of all vehicular mammal deaths observed.
There are no known benefits of rusty-spotted cats to humans.
Rusty-spotted cats are largely carnivorous and likely play a role in controlling populations of small vertebrates. If individuals in the wild eat fruits, as is observed in the zoo setting, then rusty-spotted cats might benefit plants through the distribution of their seeds in fecal matter.
Ecosystem Impact: disperses seeds
Species Used as Host:
Commensal/Parasitic Species:
The Sri Lankan subspecies of rusty-spotted cats (Prionailurus rubiginosus phillipsi) as adults in the wild eat birds and mammals and will occasional catch a domestic chicken. An adult in the Frankfurt Zoo is fed a daily diet consisting of beef muscles in large chunks and small strips, beef heart, two day-old chicks, one mouse and 2.5 grams of carrot, apple, boiled egg and cooked rice. In the zoo, the animals are also given mineral supplements daily, multivitamins weekly, and vitamins k and b are added to the diet twice per week. The animals are occasionally fed banana, germinated wheat or fish. On one occasion, a male adult cat at the zoo killed a rabbit weighing 1.77 kg. The cat at the time weighed 1.6 kg and the night after the killing ate 320 grams of the muscle meat. Wild caught kittens in the zoo were fed protein-rich mash and mice, rats and minced beef muscle and heart at 7 weeks old. The kittens at this time rejected the day old chicks that were offered. Rusty-spotted cats in human populated and agricultural areas are hypothesized to be successful because of their high numbers and the availability of rodents.
Animal Foods: birds; mammals; fish; eggs
Plant Foods: roots and tubers; seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit
Primary Diet: carnivore (Eats terrestrial vertebrates, Eats eggs); herbivore (Granivore ); omnivore
Though the mating system of rusty-spotted cats has not been explicitly studied, data available from their close relatives, leopard cats, suggests that this species may be polygynous. One male leopard cat's territory overlaps with several female territories, but territories of two females or two males never overlap. A territorial male can mate with all females within his territory. However, in zoos rusty-spotted cat males have been allowed to stay with females after mating and after the birth of kittens. The West Berlin Zoo recorded a male protecting young from zoo keepers and bringing meat to the kittens. These behaviors suggest their mating system may be monogamous.
Rusty-spotted cats mate year-round. Data indicate that 50% of young are born between July and October, which is not enough to consider rusty-spotted cats seasonal breeders. Captive individuals are recorded to begin mating activity at anywhere from 1 to 72 days after introduction (on average 7.8 days). In 49% of first introductions, mating occurred within 4 days. There is no evidence that the time between introduction of the male and mating has anything to do with the age of the female, time elapsed from the weaning, physical characteristics of the male, or the season. As in other small cats, mating includes a nape bite and straddling. Males average 7.64 mounts per hour, with each mount less than a minute long. Mating activity lasts from 1 to 11 days. The gestation period lasts between 67 to 71 days. In Sri Lanka, females were observed to give birth in hollow trees or under rock cliffs. Females in the Frankfurt Zoo repeatedly chose birthing spots that were on the ground. Birthing boxes were offered in both low and higher level areas, but the lower boxes were used. Each litter has from 1 to 3 offspring.
Breeding season: Breeding can occur at any time of the year.
Range number of offspring: 1 to 3.
Average number of offspring: 1.3.
Range gestation period: 67 to 71 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): Within the first years.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): Within the first years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization ; viviparous
Average number of offspring: 2.5.
Within an hour after birth, the mother leaves her young where she birthed them to eat and defecate. Mothers are not known to translocate their young or to carry food to them. The young start to come and go from the birth site between 28 and 32 days, and at least initially, their mother continues to remove their feces from the den. When the young emerge, they already have well-developed locomotion abilities, as reflected in their climbing onto and jumping down from wooden posts in the Frankfurt Zoo. Between 35 and 42 days of age, the young can climb downwards head first from steep branches. In one case a mother died when her offspring was only 5 weeks old, but the kitten never learned to climb downwards headfirst and continued to climb down backwards indicating extended juvenile learning periods occur. Between 47 and 50 days of age, the young can jump about 50 cm from a height of about 2 m. The young appear to tire quickly even when the mother remains active. At first, young sleep near or on their mother, retreating to where the mother lies down after her activity period. As they get older, they sleep on high ledges alone. Play was observed between siblings and between the young and mother, which appears crucial to locomotion development. Most interactions between mother and young are play oriented. In the Frankfurt Zoo, the young were removed from their mother between 3 and 9 months, but late removal never resulted in aggression between mother and offspring. Weaning starts between day 35 and 42. The young start to eat meat at around 40 days of age. Suckling was still observed up to day 60.
Parental Investment: precocial ; female parental care ; extended period of juvenile learning
The rusty-spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) is one of the cat family's smallest members, of which historical records are known only from India and Sri Lanka.[3] In 2012, it was also recorded in the western Terai of Nepal.[4] 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.[2]
Felis rubiginosa was the scientific name used by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1831 for a rusty-spotted cat specimen from Pondicherry, India.[5] Prionailurus was proposed by Nikolai Severtzov in 1858 as a generic name.[6] Prionailurus rubiginosus phillipsi was proposed by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1939 who described a specimen from Central Province, Sri Lanka and subordinated both to the genus Prionailurus.[3]
Phylogenetic analysis of the nuclear DNA in tissue samples from all Felidae species revealed that the evolutionary radiation of the Felidae began in Asia in the Miocene around 14.45 to 8.38 million years ago.[7][8] Analysis of mitochondrial DNA of all Felidae species indicates a radiation at around 16.76 to 6.46 million years ago.[9]
The Prionailurus species are estimated to have had a common ancestor between 8.16 to 4.53 million years ago,[7] and 8.76 to 0.73 million years ago.[9] The rusty-spotted cat possibly genetically diverged from this ancestor between 6.54 to 3.42 million years ago.[7] Both models agree in the rusty-spotted cat having been the first cat of this lineage that diverged, followed by the flat-headed cat (P. planiceps) and the fishing cat (P. viverrinus).[7][9] The following cladogram shows the phylogenetic relationships of the rusty-spotted cat as derived through analysis of nuclear DNA:[7][8]
Felidae Felinae PrionailurusLeopard cat
Fishing Cat
Flat-headed cat
Rusty-spotted cat
OtocolobusPallas's cat (O. manul)
other Felinae lineages
The rusty-spotted cat has a short reddish grey fur over most of the body with rusty spots on the back and flanks. Four blackish lines run over the eyes, and two of them extend over the neck. Six dark streaks are on each side of the head, extending over the cheeks and forehead. Its chin, throat, inner side of the limbs and belly are whitish with tiny brownish spots. It has a rusty band on the chest. Its paws and tail are uniform reddish grey.[5]
It is the smallest wild cat in Asia and rivals the black-footed cat as the world's smallest wild cat. It is 35 to 48 cm (14 to 19 in) in length, with a 15 to 30 cm (5.9 to 11.8 in) tail, and weighs only 0.9 to 1.6 kg (2.0 to 3.5 lb). The bushy tail is about half the length of the body.[10]
The distribution of the rusty-spotted cat is relatively restricted. It occurs mainly in moist and dry deciduous forests as well as scrub and grassland, but is likely absent in evergreen forest.[11] It prefers dense vegetation and rocky areas.[12][13]
In India, it was long thought to be confined to the south, but records have established that it occurs over much of the country.[11] It was observed in eastern Gujarat's Gir National Park, in Maharashtra's Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve and along India's Eastern Ghats.[13][14][15][16][17] Camera trapping revealed its presence in Pilibhit Tiger Reserve in the Indian Terai and in Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra.[18][19]
In western Maharashtra, the rusty-spotted cat is breeding in a human dominated agricultural landscape, where rodent densities are high.[20] In December 2014 and in April 2015, it was photographed by camera traps in Kalesar National Park, Haryana.[21] It was also recorded by camera traps in Mirzapur Forest Division of Uttar Pradesh in 2018.[22]
In March 2012, a rusty-spotted cat was photographed in Bardia National Park for the first time, and in March 2016 also in Shuklaphanta National Park, both in Nepal.[4][23]
In Sri Lanka, there are a few records in montane and lowland rainforest. There are two distinct populations, one in the dry zone and the other in the wet zone.[24] In 2016, it was recorded for the first time in Horton Plains National Park at elevations of 2,084–2,162 m (6,837–7,093 ft).[25]
Very little is known about the ecology and behaviour of the rusty-spotted cat in the wild. Captive ones are mostly nocturnal but also briefly active during the day.[10] Most wild ones were also recorded after dark. At Horton Plain National Park in Sri Lanka, they were mostly recorded between sunset and sunrise, with limited daytime activity.[25] Several individuals were observed hiding in trees and in caves.[26][27][28]
It feeds mainly on rodents and birds, but also preys on lizards, frogs, and insects. It hunts primarily on the ground, making rapid, darting movements to catch its prey. It apparently ventures into trees to escape larger predators. Captive females and males both scent-mark their home range by spraying urine.[10]
The female's oestrus lasts five days, and mating is unusually brief. Since the female is likely to be vulnerable during this period, its brevity may be an adaptation to help it avoid larger predators. She prepares a den in a secluded location, and after a gestation of 65–70 days gives birth to one or two kittens. At birth, the kittens weigh just 60 to 77 g (2.1 to 2.7 oz), and are marked with rows of black spots. They reach sexual maturity at around 68 weeks, by which time they have developed the distinctive adult coat pattern of rusty blotches. Rusty-spotted cats have lived for twelve years in captivity, but their lifespan in the wild is unknown.[10]
Habitat loss and the spread of cultivation are serious problems for wildlife in both India and Sri Lanka. Although there are several records of the rusty-spotted cat in cultivated and settled areas, it is not known to what degree these populations are able to persist in such areas. There have been occasional reports of rusty-spotted cat skins in trade.[11] In some areas, it is hunted for food or as livestock pest.[10]
The Indian population is listed on CITES Appendix I. The Sri Lankan population is included on CITES Appendix II. The species is fully protected over most of its range, with hunting and trade banned in India and Sri Lanka.[2]
As of 2010, the captive population of P. r. phillipsi comprised 56 individuals in eight institutions, of which 11 individuals were kept in the Colombo Zoo in Sri Lanka and 45 individuals in seven European zoos.[29]
In Sri Lanka, the rusty-spotted cat is known as kola diviya (කොළ දිවියා) or balal diviya (බළල් දිවියා).[30]
The rusty-spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) 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.
