Species comparison
Bay Cat vs Leopard Cat
A side-by-side look at Catopuma badia and Prionailurus bengalensis across body measurements, habitat, diet, behaviour and conservation status.
At a glance
- The bay cat and the leopard cat fall into a similar body-mass band.
- Both species use tropical rainforest and montane forest.
- Their ranges both include Asia.
- Red List categories differ: Bay Cat is listed as Endangered, Leopard Cat as Least Concern.
Identification
How each species is named and classified.
Bay Cat
Catopuma badia
Leopard Cat
Prionailurus bengalensis
Bay Cat
Catopuma
Leopard Cat
Prionailurus
Bay Cat
Bay cat lineage
Leopard Cat
Leopard cat lineage
Bay Cat
Small cats
Leopard Cat
Small cats
Bay Cat
Bornean bay cat, Bornean red cat
Leopard Cat
Mainland leopard cat, Amur leopard cat
Body and movement
Published field measurements for adults. Ranges cover both sexes unless noted.
Bay Cat
19 in – 2 ft 2 in (49–67 cm) Longer
Leopard Cat
15 in – 2 ft 2 in (38–66 cm)
Bay Cat
12 in – 16 in (30–40 cm) Longer
Leopard Cat
7 in – 12 in (17–31 cm)
Bay Cat
9 in – 12 in (24–30 cm) Taller
Leopard Cat
8 in – 11 in (20–28 cm)
Bay Cat
6.6–9.9 lb (3–4.5 kg)
Known from a handful of measured specimens.
Leopard Cat
2.6–15 lb (1.2–7 kg) Heavier
Tropical animals often weigh under 3 kg; northern animals reach 6–7 kg.
Bay Cat
Not reliably measured
No measurement exists.
Leopard Cat
Not reliably measured
Not measured in the field.
Life span
Typical adult longevity. Figures for managed care come from zoo and sanctuary records.
Bay Cat
8–12 years
Leopard Cat
8–12 years
Bay Cat
12–14 years
Leopard Cat
13–17 years Longer
Habitat and range
Where each species lives and the conditions it tolerates.
Bay Cat
tropical rainforest, montane forest
Dense forest from lowland dipterocarp stands to hill and montane forest, including limestone terrain and swamp forest edge.
Leopard Cat
tropical rainforest, temperate forest, boreal forest, montane forest, agricultural mosaic
Nearly any wooded or shrubby habitat below about 10,000 feet, including secondary forest, plantation edges and farmland with cover.
Bay Cat
Asia
Endemic to Borneo, with scattered records from Malaysian, Indonesian and Bruneian parts of the island.
Leopard Cat
Asia
From the Russian Far East, Korea and eastern China through the Himalaya and South Asia to mainland South East Asia.
Diet and behaviour
Feeding ecology, social organisation and hunting technique.
Bay Cat
small mammals, birds, reptiles
Inferred rather than observed: rodents, birds, small primates and carrion are all thought to be taken.
Leopard Cat
small mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, fish
Rodents make up the bulk of the diet, with birds, lizards, frogs, fish and large insects taken opportunistically.
Bay Cat
Solitary
Essentially unstudied in the wild. Detection rates are so low that even basic density estimates carry wide uncertainty.
Leopard Cat
Solitary
Adaptable and comparatively common; individuals hold modest home ranges and tolerate a good deal of human activity.
Bay Cat
Cathemeral
The few camera-trap records span both day and night, with no clear pattern established.
Leopard Cat
Nocturnal and crepuscular
Chiefly night active, with more daytime movement in undisturbed forest and in cold northern winters.
Bay Cat
Presumed ground and low-canopy hunting
Direct observations of hunting have not been published; body form suggests a forest-floor generalist.
Leopard Cat
Active search on the ground
Covers ground steadily through cover, pouncing on rodents and flushing birds; it also fishes in shallow streams.
Bay Cat
Strong
Body proportions indicate a competent climber, though most records come from the ground.
Leopard Cat
Strong
A confident climber that dens in tree hollows.
Bay Cat
Limited
No documented swimming behaviour.
Leopard Cat
Strong More developed
Swims well and has colonised numerous offshore islands.
Conservation
Red List category, population direction and the pressures documented for each species.
Bay Cat
EN — Endangered
Assessed 2015
Leopard Cat
LC — Least Concern
Assessed 2015
Bay Cat
Decreasing
Leopard Cat
Stable
Bay Cat
Logging and forest conversion, Oil-palm expansion, Snaring, Collection for private trade, Almost no baseline ecological data
Assessed as Endangered on the basis of a small, declining population and heavy loss of Bornean lowland forest to logging and plantation conversion.
Leopard Cat
Hunting for fur and meat, Road mortality, Intensification of plantation agriculture, Persecution near poultry, Hybridisation pressure from domestic cats
The most secure of the Asian small cats, though hunting for skins, road mortality and intensive plantation agriculture reduce numbers locally.
Notable traits
Details that do not fit neatly into a measurement table.
Bay Cat
- The first photographs of a living bay cat were obtained in the late 1990s, more than a century after the species was described.
- It occurs on one island only, the smallest range of any Asian cat.
- Two colour morphs are known: chestnut red and a rarer grey form.
Leopard Cat
- Remains from Neolithic Chinese villages show leopard cats hunting rodents around early grain stores.
- Northern and tropical populations differ so much in size and coat that they were long treated as many subspecies.
- It is one of the few small Asian cats that regularly hunts fish in shallow water.
Sources used for this comparison
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Global assessment categories, population trends and documented threats.
- IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group Species accounts, distribution notes and Cat News reporting for every wild felid.
- Small Wild Cat Conservation Foundation Dedicated research and field reporting on the lesser-known felids.
- World Wildlife Fund Range descriptions, threat summaries and conservation programme reporting.
- Wildlife Conservation Society Field programmes, camera-trap surveys and population monitoring.
- Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Reviewed species accounts with morphometric ranges and reproductive data.
- National Geographic — Animals General natural-history reference for behaviour, range and ecology.