The Scottish Wildcat
(felis sylvestris grampia)
Description | Conservation | History | Breeding program | Identification

Identify a wildcat

Identifying a wildcat can be a tricky thing that takes a little practice, and this has been a significant issue with their conservation; imagine the gamekeeper who glimpses a tabby on his grouse moor; is it a feral he needs to protect his grouse from? Or is it a wildcat he could get heavily fined for shooting? This has also been a problem with identifying where wildcats live with almost any tabby coloured cat being fair game to be identified as one.

Below you can find some simple guidelines to identifying a wildcat, and the differences between them, their domestic cousins, and the hybrid offspring of each, which are the really tricky ones to tell apart. The most obvious identifier is the tail; the wildcat's magnificent tail is very thick and clublike with big bold distinct rings around it, only the snow leopard has anything like such a thick tail in the feline world. Second are the coat markings; pure white patches or spotted markings are primarily domestic traits, as you can see in the photo above even the white muzz is actually a tawny brown colour, however a few spots or a very small white chest mark may indicate only very minor hybridisation that will fade over a generation.

Wildcat
Mostly brown with distinctive black tiger-stripe markings.
Thick, ruffled coat appearance.
Little or no spotted markings.
Little or no white patches.
Muscular solid body frame.
Vary thick tail with a blunt end.
Perfect black and brown rings circle the whole tail with a large black tip.
Jaw substantially larger and more robust, typically wide head and muzz.

Domestic cat
Variations of brown and black mackerel and blotched tabby markings.
Smooth and sleek coat appearance.
Fused stripes and spots common
White patches common.
Slim, lithe body frame.
Slim tapering tail.
Black and brown half rings join onto a dorsal stripe along the top of the tail.
Jaw slim and proportionate, typically slim head and muzz.

Hybrid
Mostly brown with black striped tabby markings.
Coat appearance variable.
Some spotted markings or stripes fused together.
Some white patches on throat and chest.
Variable body frame.
Thick tail with a blunt or tapering end.
Black and brown rings circle the tail joined together by a dorsal stripe along the top with a large black tip.
Jaw often larger and more robust, typically slightly wider head and muzz than domestic.

Photographs coming to this page soon.