🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

Some studies have followed large managed cat colonies over many years to assess whether sustained trap-neuter-return reduces populations, and this overview surveys their findings. It examines long-ter…

One of the longest-running studies of any wild big cat, the decades-long monitoring of lions in the Serengeti ecosystem has produced foundational knowledge of lion biology and conservation. This overv…

Captive cats often live longer than their wild counterparts, raising questions about how reproductive performance changes across an extended lifespan. This overview surveys data on longevity and repro…

Cats are famously indifferent to sweetness, and genetics revealed why: they carry a pseudogenized sweet-taste receptor gene that no longer produces a functional receptor. This overview surveys the dis…

Cats handle dietary carbohydrate differently from omnivores, and this overview reviews their specialised glucose metabolism. Adapted to a low-carbohydrate, meat-based diet, cats have reduced activity…

Color and fine daytime detail both depend on cones, and the cat retina simply has few of them relative to rods. This overview surveys estimates of cone abundance and distribution, which show cones con…

Because cats are obligate carnivores adapted to low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets, feeding low-carbohydrate therapeutic foods reduces postprandial glucose load and has been associated with improved…

While cats are celebrated for ultrasonic sensitivity, they also retain good hearing at lower frequencies, giving them an unusually broad overall range. This overview surveys the lower end of the felin…

How cats are picked up, restrained and interacted with strongly shapes their stress and the impression they make on adopters. This overview surveys research and guidelines on low-stress and gentle han…

A survey of how darkness and the lunar cycle influence the hunting success and behavior of largely nocturnal cats. Many felids hunt more successfully on dark nights when reduced visibility favors the…

Lungworms such as Aelurostrongylus abstrusus and Troglostrongylus species infect the respiratory tracts of felids, causing coughing, respiratory distress and sometimes serious disease, particularly in…

An overview of the competitive relationship between Canada lynx and coyotes, both of which prey on snowshoe hares across much of the boreal forest. During hare highs the two predators overlap heavily…

Classical rabies virus is one of several lyssaviruses that can infect mammals, and felids may occasionally be exposed to other members of this genus, including bat-associated lyssaviruses. This overvi…

As tracking datasets have grown to millions of points and multi-sensor streams, machine learning has become increasingly central to interpreting them. This overview surveys the application of supervis…

A defining feature of the FIP biotype of feline coronavirus is its ability to efficiently infect and replicate within monocytes and macrophages, enabling systemic dissemination and the characteristic…

The prominent whiskers on a cat muzzle, the mystacial vibrissae, form a precise tactile array, and this overview reviews their structure and arrangement. Thicker and more deeply rooted than ordinary h…

Combining magnetometers with accelerometers gives biologgers both the orientation and the dynamic motion of an animal's body, enabling unusually detailed reconstruction of hunting behavior. This overv…

Cats sense chemicals through two partly distinct systems: the main olfactory system for general smells and the accessory, vomeronasal system for pheromones and social signals. This overview surveys th…

If suitable climate space for Canada lynx moves northward, populations can only follow it through connected habitat, making latitudinal corridors a conservation priority. This overview surveys how con…

The major histocompatibility complex encodes immune-recognition molecules whose diversity is crucial for resisting pathogens, and its depletion is a key concern in inbred cat populations. This overvie…

Male cheetahs frequently form coalitions, most often of littermate brothers, that cooperate to hold territories and compete for mates. This overview synthesizes research showing that coalition males d…

Male cheetahs frequently form lifelong coalitions, often of brothers, that cooperatively defend territories and gain access to females. This overview surveys the formation and dynamics of cheetah male…

Unusually for a solitary felid, male cheetahs often form lifelong coalitions, frequently of brothers, that cooperate to hold small, high-quality territories. This overview surveys research on coalitio…

The length of time a male coalition holds a pride is a master variable in lion ecology because it governs how many of their cubs survive to independence. This overview synthesizes research linking coa…

Young male lions leave their natal pride and enter a nomadic phase, often forming coalitions with brothers or peers before attempting to take over a pride. This overview surveys the process of male di…

This overview synthesises research on the Bengal tigers of the Sundarbans, the mangrove delta straddling India and Bangladesh, notorious for a comparatively high rate of fatal attacks on people. It re…

South Africa's reintroduction of cheetahs into many small reserves has produced a managed metapopulation sustained by coordinated translocations between sites. This overview surveys research on the re…

Conservation genetics distinguishes formal subspecies from management units and evolutionarily significant units, and this distinction is central to tiger planning. This overview explains how managers…

Securing the attractants that draw felids toward people, including garbage, pet food, accessible livestock and the rodent and dog populations these support, is a frontline coexistence measure. This ov…

Camera traps frequently fire without an animal present, triggered by moving vegetation, heat shimmer, rain, or sunlight, producing empty frames that can dominate a deployment and overwhelm reviewers.…