Golden cat
Caracal aurata (Temminck, 1827)
The golden cat (Caracal aurata) is a species in the family Felidae, order Carnivora. Recorded adults weigh about 10.7 kg and live up to 19.9 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.
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Quick facts about the golden cat
- Weight
- 10.7 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 19.9 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 21 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 81.3 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 21.4 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Scansorialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the golden cat live?
Not recorded
Is the golden cat endangered?
The golden cat is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- 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 Vulnerable species. What the categories mean.
How is the golden cat classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyFelidae
- genusCaracal
- SpeciesCaracal aurata (Temminck, 1827)
Synonyms Felis aurata, Profelis aurata, Profelis aurata cottoni
Other names and names in other languages (41)
- African golden catEnglish
- African golden catEnglish
- African golden catEnglish
- GouekatAfrikaans
- قط ذهبي إفريقيArabic
- سنور ذهبي إفريقيArabic
- Залатая коткаBelarusian
- Златна коткаBulgarian
- Kazh Alaouret AfrikaBreton
- kočka zlatáCzech
- Afrikansk guldkatDanish
- Afrikanische GoldkatzeGerman
- Αφρικανική χρυσή ΑγριόγαταGreek
- Afrika ora katoEsperanto
- Gato doradoSpanish
- Gato dorado africanoSpanish
- GbedadiEwe
- afrikankultakissaFinnish
- Chat doréFrench
- Chat doré africainFrench
- חתול זהוב אפריקניHebrew
- Afrička zlatna mačkaCroatian
- afrikai aranymacskaHungarian
- Gatto dorato africanoItalian
- アフリカゴールデンキャットJapanese
- ImbakaKinyarwanda
- 아프리카황금고양이Korean
- Gnaou ya zambaLingala
- AfrikagullkattNorwegian Bokmål
- Afrikaanse GoudkatDutch
- złotokot afrykańskiPolish
- Gato‑douradoPortuguese
- Gato Dourado AfricanoPortuguese
- Gato-dourado-africanoPortuguese
- Золотая кошкаRussian
- Afrikansk guldkattSwedish
- แมวทองแอฟริกาThai
- Altın KarakalTurkish
- Afrika altın kedisiTurkish
- Кіт золотийUkrainian
- 非洲金貓Chinese
Relatives of the golden cat
Other species in the same genus Caracal.
Caracal
Caracal caracal
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the golden cat?
An adult golden cat weighs 10.7 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the golden cat endangered?
The golden cat is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
How long does the golden cat live?
The golden cat has a recorded lifespan of 19.9 years.
How long is the golden cat pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 81.3 days.
What kind of animal is the golden cat?
The golden cat (Caracal aurata) belongs to the family Felidae in the order Carnivora.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - 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 - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
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). Golden cat (Caracal aurata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/caracal-aurata
“Golden cat (Caracal aurata).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/caracal-aurata.
@misc{caracal_aurata_2026,
title = {Golden cat (Caracal aurata)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/caracal-aurata},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}