Research overview: welfare and husbandry of small captive wild cats

Small wild cats, servals, ocelots, fishing cats, sand cats, margays and others, are widely held yet receive less welfare research attention than big cats. This overview surveys their husbandry needs: the strong reliance on hiding, cover and vertical space documented in foundational small-cat studies, feeding enrichment to elicit hunting, species-specific requirements such as water access for fishing cats and arboreal structure for margays, and breeding and rearing factors that influence reproductive success. It examines stress sensitivity, the importance of refuge and complexity, and how findings from leopard cats and other small species shaped felid welfare science broadly. It discusses the pet-trade welfare issues affecting some small cats. The synthesis frames small-cat welfare as demanding species-tailored, cover-rich, behaviourally complex environments.