Rusty cat (spotty-red) - breed description

Among the feline family, the look of a rusty cat is distinguished by the most pronounced miniature. The animal is characterized by a clear elusiveness, than it stands out among other members of the feline family. The predator is covered with variegated hair, in connection with which it is given another name, which sounds like a spotted red cat.

What environment does it live in?

The habitat of this animal is the eastern and southern part of India. You can meet her in Sri Lanka. It prefers to be where the rocks and dense vegetation are located. She is a frequenter of lowland and mountain rainforests, walks among deciduous trees, meadows, bushes. This is the typical habitat of this animal. Often it can be found next to the dwelling of a person.

This species has a small population.Its value is not more than ten thousand representatives with a pronounced tendency to a constant decline. Negatively affected by activities related to deforestation, poaching and the threat from larger predators. The population of individual states of India uses cat meat in their diet. The small size of the population and the threat of its complete extinction was the reason for determining its place in the Red Book.

External shape

The appearance is associated with the following features:

1. The animals differ in small sizes, which are no more than 35-50 cm. And this is without taking into account the tail, the length of which, in turn, is 14-30 cm.
2. In adulthood, weight ranges from 0.9 to 1.6 kg.
3. The cat has a slender proportional body.
4. The head is flattened shape with a muzzle stretched forward.
5. Pupils of yellow-green large eyes have a vertical arrangement.
6. The muzzle is equipped with a long elastic mustache with white color.
7. The head is crowned with middle ears with rounded ends.
8. The body ends with a fluffy tail with a cylindrical shape.
9. If you stroke such a cat, there is a pronounced softness of its wool.It is gray or light brown, but the belly is white. The sides are characterized by rust marks. The skin is spotted in nature, but the spots are less pronounced than those of the Bengal cat. The spots are also located with a pronounced concentration along the vertebral line. The chest, abdomen and tail are marked by the presence of larger transverse spots. For the face is characterized by the location of dark and light stripes.

Characteristics of subspecies

In nature, there are two subspecies of this animal:

1. Prionailurus rubiginosus phillipsi. Habitat is Sri Lanka. The color is characterized by a rich ocher tinge with the presence of a fuzzy pattern.
2. Prionailurus rubiginosus rubiginosus. The distribution area is India. In color, such animals are gray, with clear stripes, the location of which are the shoulders and head. The remaining parts of the body are characterized by the presence of a less pronounced pattern.

Way of life

The whole life of an animal is associated with loneliness. The only exceptions are mating cases. During the daytime, the animal is forced to protect itself by hiding in a hollow tree or settling under its dense crown. So she goes through the day. At night the cat is forced to hunt in order to provide itself with food.But even so, she tries to stay near the trees, as in the case of imminent danger she can easily climb them. In the natural environment, the enemies are large predators, dogs and humans.

Such cats are prone to mark their territory. It ranges from 15 to 18 square kilometers. The cat jealously guards the limits of its territory and is always ready to join the fight for it. The animal takes extreme care. Appearing from the shelter under the night cover, it is able to perfectly disguise itself in the conditions of the existing landscape interior. Having a small size, the animal has all the habits characteristic of a large predator. Ingoda she manifests pronounced feelings of aggressiveness.

For food mainly uses animal food. The structure of its diet includes small rodents, frogs, insects, birds, lizards. The cat sets up an ambush for prey and takes possession of it, making a jump that is similar to a lightning. In the hunt, her sharp fangs render her great help. Having captured the victim, she immediately eats her without a trace. No inventory does not. Sometimes she can climb into the chicken coop and drag off a chicken or a whole young hen.Naturally, such attacks, to put it mildly, are not welcomed by local farmers. For this reason, they themselves ambush the cats, ruthlessly shooting them.

Breeding

The time of marriage games can be any period of the year, but most often this can be observed in the spring. Cat mates for five days. When ready for fertilization, the female lures the male. This contributes to the specific smell and characteristic sounds. Care of the males for them is accompanied by extreme emotionality. At the same time, males are especially tender and gallant. The female, on the contrary, shows constant signs of discontent, tries to reject the beau. The moment when the female gives consent is preceded by long courtship. At the onset of pregnancy, the couple breaks up.

When a cat is pregnant, she makes every effort to find a suitable den. Having found him, she carries out appropriate training, lining him with grass. Usually such a place is represented by a hollow tree, the space of a small cave. For one litter the cat brings from one to three kittens. Being born after the lambing, the kitten does not see or hear anything.In this case, its weight is not more than 80 g.

The breastfeeding period can last up to three months. At this time, the cat never leaves the kittens alone for long. Cubs grow very fast. By the end of the second week they begin to see. All day kittens passes in games. At this time, the female intensively teaches them to meat food. She also teaches them the basics of behavior in case of danger and teaches all feline hunting wisdom. By six months, the kittens enter into independent life.

In the wild, a rusty cat lives up to 12 years.

Home conditions

The idea to make a wild rusty domestic cat originated from the Indians. I must say that they did it well. Possessing a friendliness of character and playful disposition, the kittens got used to the person well.If someone is impressed by exotic breeds, then such a cat may well be sold to them by licensed breeders.

Feeding

The daily ration of the animal should consist of meat and feed, characterized by high quality. It is mandatory to introduce vitamin and mineral supplements in food. Required preventive vaccinations. They are carried out in accordance with the schedule set by the veterinarian.

Video: rusty cat