Research overview: pelage and morphology for wildcat identification

Distinguishing a true wildcat from a tabby domestic cat or hybrid is a practical taxonomic challenge with conservation stakes. This overview describes the morphological characters used, including a bushy tail with distinct black rings and a blunt black tip, a clear dorsal stripe ending at the tail base, well-defined but not broken body stripes, and larger size and skull dimensions. It explains how these traits were formalized into scoring systems, notably for the Scottish wildcat, to separate native cats from introgressed individuals. The piece notes the limits of morphology alone, since hybrids can score ambiguously, requiring genetic confirmation. It illustrates the broader interplay of morphology and molecules in felid taxonomy, here applied to the urgent task of identifying animals worthy of protection within a hybridizing population.