Domestic Cat
Felis catus
Also known as: Cat, Feral Cat
Habitat
Ground
Diet
VertFishScav
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
2.9 kg
About This Species
The domestic cat is a globally distributed, human-associated species found in and around towns, farms and increasingly in wild habitats where free-roaming or feral populations establish themselves. It is primarily active around dawn, dusk and at night, hunting small mammals, birds and reptiles, and is most often seen near buildings, hedgerows or other cover offering both prey access and shelter.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- As a familiar domestic species there is no special protected-species distance to observe, though free-roaming and feral cats can be defensive if cornered and are best given space rather than approached directly.
- Because free-roaming cats are a significant predation pressure on native wildlife in many regions, sightings are generally of ecological interest rather than requiring conservation caution for the cat itself.
NEMammaliaCarnivoraFelidae
Seasonal Activity
176,229 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Carnivora
- Family
- Felidae
Traits
- Diet
- VertFishScav
- Foraging
- Ground
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 2.9 kg
- Home range
- 1.4 km²
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.