African wildcat
Felis lybica Forster, 1780
The African wildcat (Felis lybica) is a mammal in the family Felidae, subfamily Felinae, within the order Carnivora. Its scientific name was given by Forster, 1780, and it belongs to the genus Felis in the suborder Feliformia.
Quick facts about the African wildcat
Other English names for it include Bush cat, Steppe cat, Asiatic wildcat and Indian desert cat. It is a living species, assessed globally as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- desert, grassland, shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the African wildcat
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the African wildcat live?
Not recorded
What is the African wildcat?
The African wildcat (Felis lybica) is a small wildcat species with sandy grey fur, pale vertical stripes on the sides and around the face. It is native to Africa, West and Central Asia, and is distributed to Rajasthan in India and Xinjiang in China. It inhabits a broad variety of landscapes ranging from deserts to savannas, shrublands and grasslands.
The African wildcat is the ancestor of the domestic cat (F. catus). Some African wildcats were domesticated about 10,000 years ago in the Near East. Interspecific hybrids between both species are common where their ranges overlap.
From the Wikipedia article “African wildcat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=African_wildcat&oldid=1370904147), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the African wildcat endangered?
The African wildcat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the African wildcat classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyFelidae
- genusFelis
- SpeciesFelis lybica Forster, 1780
Synonyms Felis chutuchta, Felis haussa, Felis lynx sardiniae, Felis reyi, Felis silvestris caudata, Felis silvestris chutuchta, Felis silvestris cretensis, Felis silvestris foxi, Felis silvestris gordoni, Felis silvestris griselda, Felis silvestris haussa, Felis silvestris iraki, Felis silvestris jordansi, Felis silvestris mellandi, Felis silvestris nesterovi, Felis silvestris ocreata, Felis silvestris reyi, Felis silvestris rubida, Felis silvestris sarda, Felis silvestris tristrami, Felis silvestris ugandae, Lynx lynx sardiniae, Lynx sardiniae
Other names and names in other languages (60)
- Afro-Asiatic wildcatEnglish
- Asiatic wildcatEnglish
- Bush catEnglish
- Chat sauvage d'asieEnglish
- Indian desert catEnglish
- Near eastern wildcatEnglish
- Steppe catEnglish
- WildekatAfrikaans
- GroukatAfrikaans
- VaalboskatAfrikaans
- قط ليبيArabic
- Gat salvatge africàCatalan
- Kočka plaváCzech
- Afrikansk vildkatDanish
- FalbkatzeGerman
- Afrikanische WildkatzeGerman
- Asiatische WildkatzeGerman
- Nubische FalbkatzeGerman
- Αφρικανική ΑγριόγαταGreek
- Gato MontesSpanish
- gato montésSpanish
- gato salvaje africanoSpanish
- Gato silvestreSpanish
- AfrikanvillikissaFinnish
- Chat ornéFrench
- chat gantéFrench
- chat sauvage d'AfriqueFrench
- Le Chat Sauvage d'AfriqueFrench
- חתול ברHebrew
- Afrička divlja mačkaCroatian
- Afrikai vadmacskánakHungarian
- afroázsiai vadmacskaHungarian
- Տափաստանային կատուArmenian
- Gatto africanoItalian
- Gatto Selvatico AfricanoItalian
- リビアヤマネコJapanese
- МәлінKazakh
- 아프리카들고양이Korean
- FalbkattNorwegian Bokmål
- Afrikansk VillkattNorwegian Bokmål
- Afrikaanse Wilde KatDutch
- phagaNorthern Sotho
- kot nubijskiPolish
- Gato-da-LíbiaPortuguese
- Gato-selvagem-africanoPortuguese
- Pisică sălbatică africanăRomanian
- Степной котRussian
- Степная кошкаRussian
- แมวป่าแอฟริกาThai
- Libya KedisiTurkish
- Afrika yaban kedisiTurkish
- PhageTswana
- PhaheTswana
- TibeTswana
- Кіт степовийUkrainian
- Кіт африканськийUkrainian
- Степовий кітUkrainian
- ingadaXhosa
- 非洲野貓Chinese
- 亞非野貓Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the African wildcat
Other species in the same genus Felis.
European wildcat
Felis silvestris
Jungle cat
Felis chaus
Sand cat
Felis margarita
Black-footed cat
Felis nigripes
Chinese mountain cat
Felis bieti
Martelli's wild cat
Felis lunensis
CompareAfrican wildcat vs European wildcatAfrican wildcat vs Jungle catAfrican wildcat vs Sand catAfrican wildcat vs Black-footed cat
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the African wildcat?
The African wildcat is a mammal in the family Felidae and the order Carnivora.
What is the scientific name of the African wildcat?
The scientific name of the African wildcat is Felis lybica, placing it in the genus Felis.
Who named the African wildcat and when?
The African wildcat was named by Forster, 1780.
Is the African wildcat endangered?
No. The African wildcat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List in a global assessment, which is not a threatened category.
What other names does the African wildcat have?
Other English names for the African wildcat are Bush cat, Steppe cat, Asiatic wildcat, Indian desert cat and Chat sauvage d'asie.
Is the African wildcat extinct?
No. The African wildcat is a living species according to the Catalogue of Life.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). African wildcat (Felis lybica). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-wildcat
“African wildcat (Felis lybica).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-wildcat.
@misc{african_wildcat_2026,
title = {African wildcat (Felis lybica)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-wildcat},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}