🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

Where small wild felids overlap with free-ranging domestic cats around settlements, hybridisation and disease transmission can threaten the genetic integrity and health of wild populations. This overv…

This overview reviews what the preserved hyoid bones of Smilodon suggest about the sounds the sabertooth may have made. In living cats, the structure of the hyoid apparatus correlates with whether a s…

Large felids under anesthesia frequently develop hypoxemia, low blood oxygen, due to the effects of recumbency and body mass on lung function, hypoventilation from anesthetic drugs, and ventilation-pe…

Field immobilization of leopards and snow leopards presents distinctive challenges, including the elusive, often nocturnal behavior of these cats, rugged or high-altitude terrain, and extreme cold in…

The diversity of immune genes, especially the major histocompatibility complex, strongly influences a population’s ability to resist infectious disease. This overview surveys research on felid immunog…

The conditions under which felid embryos are cultured after fertilization strongly affect how many develop to stages suitable for transfer or freezing. This overview surveys research on in vitro cultu…

Applying in vitro fertilization to endangered cats aims to produce embryos from valuable individuals, including those that cannot breed naturally, for transfer to surrogates or for banking. This overv…

Sex-biased dispersal is widely interpreted as a mechanism that reduces the chance of mating with close relatives, helping felids avoid the fitness costs of inbreeding. This overview surveys evidence t…

Inbreeding in small captive populations can reduce fertility, increase juvenile mortality, and cause physical and reproductive abnormalities, collectively termed inbreeding depression. This overview s…

Small, closed captive populations risk losing genetic diversity, raising the chance that deleterious recessive alleles pair up and reduce health, fertility and survival, a phenomenon known as inbreedi…

Small or isolated cat populations frequently show the hallmarks of inbreeding depression, including reduced fertility, abnormal sperm, congenital defects, weakened immunity, and elevated juvenile mort…

Because modern cats radiated rapidly, different genes often disagree about the branching order of species, a phenomenon known as incomplete lineage sorting that arises when ancestral polymorphisms per…

Consistent individual differences in boldness, exploration and risk tolerance, often termed animal personality, may determine which individuals successfully colonise and persist in urban environments.…

Most cats are induced ovulators, meaning that the surge of luteinizing hormone needed to release eggs is triggered by the physical stimulation of mating rather than occurring spontaneously on a fixed…

Induced ovulation is widespread but not universal among carnivores, and comparing felids with mustelids, some canids, and other groups clarifies how the mechanism evolved and varies. This overview sur…

Roads, railways, dams, and energy infrastructure are expanding rapidly through tropical and montane cat habitat, fragmenting landscapes and opening forests to settlement and hunting. This overview sur…

No single indicator captures welfare reliably, so the field has moved toward integrated assessment combining multiple lines of evidence. This overview surveys how comprehensive welfare evaluation for…

Effective conservation increasingly requires integrating disease information alongside genetic, demographic and habitat data in planning for felids. This overview surveys how disease data are incorpor…

Direct provisioning, whether intentional feeding of wildlife or unintentional access to pet food, livestock and garbage, can habituate felids to people and escalate conflict. This overview synthesises…

Population bottlenecks that erode genetic diversity recur throughout felid history and interact powerfully with disease susceptibility. This overview surveys how bottlenecks, from the ancient cheetah…

Transferring embryos of a rare cat into a more common related species as surrogate offers a way to produce offspring without risking the endangered female. This overview surveys interspecies embryo tr…

Felids share landscapes with other carnivores, and pathogens frequently move among species within these guilds, shaping disease dynamics. This overview surveys interspecific transmission among carnivo…

A survey of the lethal interactions between cats and dogs that share prey and space, a major structuring force in carnivore communities. Lions and hyenas kill wild dogs and cheetahs; pumas and coyotes…

The response to catnip and related iridoids is not unique to domestic cats; various wild felids also react. This overview surveys reports that some big cats, such as lions and others, show interest in…

This overview synthesizes the striking pattern by which a sabertooth body plan evolved repeatedly and independently across unrelated lineages of predatory mammals. True cats (machairodonts), nimravids…

Across much of Latin America jaguars and pumas occur together, and their coexistence is mediated by differences in prey, habitat, and behavior. This overview synthesizes research showing that jaguars…

This overview examines how the jaguarundi coexists with the several other small cats that share its range, drawing on community ecology studies. Through its diurnal activity, terrestrial habits, prefe…

Dietary studies describe the jaguarundi as a terrestrial hunter taking a high proportion of birds along with small mammals, reptiles, and invertebrates. This overview synthesizes scat and observationa…

Unlike most small cats, the jaguarundi is notably diurnal, and this overview reviews this distinctive trait. Camera-trap and observational studies record peak activity during daylight, often mid-morni…

The jaguarundi, an unusually weasel-shaped small cat, ranges through scrub, forest edge and agricultural mosaics across Latin America, yet remains poorly studied. This overview synthesises camera-trap…