CreatureData

Black-footed cat

Felis nigripes Burchell, 1824

VUVulnerablemammals

The black-footed cat (Felis nigripes), also called the anthill tiger or small-spotted cat, is a mammal of the family Felidae in the order Carnivora. It is a medium-sized terrestrial carnivore by our size classification, with a representative adult body mass of 1.3 kg and values up to 2.1 kg, and a cathemeral activity pattern.

Black-footed cat (Felis nigripes)
Photo: Patrick Ch. Apfeld , derivative editing by Poke2001 · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the black-footed cat

Gestation lasts from 63 to 67 days, litters hold from 1 to 2 young, and sexual maturity is reached at 1.2 years. The IUCN Red List classifies the black-footed cat as Vulnerable, a threatened category.

Weight
1.3 kg – 2.13 kgsrc for Weight
Length
35 cm – 52 cmsrc for Length
Lifespan
13.8 years – 15.6 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
vertebratessrc for Main food
Habitat
grasslandsrc for Habitat
Gestation
63 days – 67 dayssrc for Gestation
Young per litter or clutch
1 – 2src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
14.3 months – 14.6 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
4src for Litters or clutches a year
Reproduction
Live birthsrc for Reproduction
Active
Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the black-footed cat?

BLACK-FOOTED CAT · LENGTH 52 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 52 cm, the recorded maximum length of the black-footed cat is about 31% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Photos of the black-footed cat

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Black-footed cat (Felis nigripes)
Pierre de Chabannes pour http://www.photozoo.org . · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Black-footed cat (Felis nigripes)
Zbyszko · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the black-footed cat live?

Not recorded

What is the black-footed cat?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The black-footed cat (Felis nigripes), also called the small-spotted cat, is the smallest wild cat in Africa, having a head-and-body length of 35–52 cm (14–20 in). Despite its name, only the soles of its feet are black or dark brown. With its bold small spots and stripes on the tawny fur, it is well camouflaged, especially on moonlit nights. It bears black streaks running from the corners of the eyes along the cheeks, and its banded tail has a black tip.

The first black-footed cat known to science was discovered in the northern Karoo of South Africa and described in 1824. It is endemic to the arid steppes and grassland savannas of Southern Africa. It was recorded in southern Botswana, but only a few authentic records exist in Namibia, in southern Angola and in southern Zimbabwe. Due to its restricted distribution, it has been listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2002. The population is suspected to be declining due to poaching of prey species for human consumption as bushmeat, persecution, traffic accidents, and predation by herding dogs.

The black-footed cat has been studied using radio telemetry since 1993. This research allowed direct observation of its behaviour in its natural habitat. It usually rests in burrows during the day and hunts at night. It moves between 5 and 16 km (3 and 10 mi) on average in search of small rodents and birds. It feeds on 40 different vertebrates and kills up to 14 small animals per night. It can catch birds in flight, jumping up to 1.4 m (5 ft) high, and also attacks mammals and birds much heavier than itself. A female usually gives birth to two kittens during the Southern Hemisphere summer between October and March. They are weaned at the age of two months and become independent after four months of age at the latest.

From the Wikipedia article “Black-footed cat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black-footed_cat&oldid=1384964851), 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 black-footed cat endangered?

The black-footed cat is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.

How is the black-footed cat classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderCarnivora
  5. familyFelidae
  6. genusFelis
  7. SpeciesFelis nigripes Burchell, 1824

Synonyms Felis nigripes nigripes, Felis nigripes thomasi

Other names and names in other languages (42)
  • Anthill tigerEnglish
  • Small-spotted catEnglish
  • Small-spotted catEnglish
  • DikkopkatAfrikaans
  • Klein Gekolde KatAfrikaans
  • MiershooptierAfrikaans
  • Swart-poot KatAfrikaans
  • SwartpootwildekatAfrikaans
  • قط أسود القدمينArabic
  • SchworzfuasskotzBavarian
  • kočka černonoháCzech
  • SchwarzfusskatzeGerman
  • Μαυροπόδαρη ΑγριόγαταGreek
  • Gato patinegroSpanish
  • gato de pies negrosSpanish
  • Pequeño Gato Con PintasSpanish
  • mustajalkakissaFinnish
  • Chat à pieds noirsFrench
  • Chat à pattes noiresFrench
  • Chat aux pattes noiresFrench
  • feketelábú macskaHungarian
  • Gatto dai piedi neriItalian
  • クロアシネコJapanese
  • 검은발고양이Korean
  • SvartfotkattNorwegian Bokmål
  • ZwartvoetkatDutch
  • kot czarnołapyPolish
  • Gato-de-patas-negrasPortuguese
  • Gato-bravo-de-patas-negrasPortuguese
  • Pisică cu picioare negreRomanian
  • Черноногая кошкаRussian
  • แมวตีนดำThai
  • kara ayaklı kediTurkish
  • SebalaTswana
  • KêkêtlaneTswana
  • Sebala-manokwaneTswana
  • Sebala-molokwaneTswana
  • SebalabalaTswana
  • SebalabolokwaneTswana
  • Кіт чорноногийUkrainian
  • Ingwe YeziduliXhosa
  • 黑足貓Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the black-footed cat

Other species in the same genus Felis.

LC, Least Concern
Sand cat (Felis margarita)

Sand cat

Felis margarita

Felidae

CompareBlack-footed cat vs European wildcatBlack-footed cat vs Jungle catBlack-footed cat vs Sand catBlack-footed cat vs Chinese mountain cat

Common questions

Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.

How heavy is a black-footed cat?

The black-footed cat has a representative adult body mass of 1.3 kg, with values up to 2.1 kg reported by our sources.

What does the black-footed cat eat?

The black-footed cat is a carnivore.

Is the black-footed cat endangered?

The black-footed cat is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.

How long does a black-footed cat live?

The black-footed cat has a lifespan of 13.8 years, with values up to 15.6 years reported by our sources.

How many young does a black-footed cat have?

A black-footed cat litter holds from 1 to 2 young, after a gestation period of 63 to 67 days.

What kind of animal is the black-footed cat?

The black-footed cat is a mammal of the family Felidae, subfamily Felinae, in the order Carnivora.

Who named the black-footed cat?

The black-footed cat, Felis nigripes, was named by Burchell, 1824.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Black-footed cat (Felis nigripes). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-footed-cat

MLA

“Black-footed cat (Felis nigripes).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-footed-cat.

BibTeX
@misc{black_footed_cat_2026,
  title = {Black-footed cat (Felis nigripes)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-footed-cat},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}