# Fishing cat (*Prionailurus viverrinus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/fishing-cat  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus), also called the viverrine cat, is a mammal in the cat family Felidae, subfamily Felinae, within the order Carnivora. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial and nocturnal carnivore, with a representative adult body mass of 9.14 kg and a highest reported value of 10.65 kg. Gestation lasts 71 days, litters have 2 young, and the lifespan is 17.1 years, with a highest reported value of 17.2 years. The IUCN Red List classifies the fishing cat as Vulnerable (VU) in its global assessment, a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 9.14 kg – 10.7 kg |
| Length | 57 cm – 78 cm |
| Lifespan | 17.1 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 17.2 years |
| Main food | vertebrates |
| Habitat | riverine, wetland |
| Gestation | 63 days – 71.4 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 2 |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Carnivora
- family: Felidae
- genus: Prionailurus
- species: *Prionailurus viverrinus* (Bennett, 1833)

Synonyms: *Felis viverrina*, *Felis viverrinus*

## Common questions

### How heavy is a fishing cat?

A fishing cat has a representative adult body mass of 9.14 kg, and the highest value reported by our sources is 10.65 kg.

### What does the fishing cat eat?

The fishing cat is a carnivore, and its trophic level is also carnivore.

### Is the fishing cat endangered?

The fishing cat is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List in its global assessment, which is a threatened category.

### How long does a fishing cat live?

The fishing cat has a lifespan of 17.1 years, with a highest reported value of 17.2 years.

### How many young does a fishing cat have?

A fishing cat has 2 young per litter, after a gestation period of 71 days.

### Is the fishing cat active at night?

Yes, the fishing cat is nocturnal, and it has a terrestrial lifestyle.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/fishing-cat