Wild Facts

Today we are going to continue with the apparent theme of the week which is “Cats and Dogs”.  We are going to head to Southeast Asia where we will discover that cats really do like water.  I don’t know where this myth that cats don’t like water comes from but I can tell you that the Flat-Headed Cat loves the wonderful, wet stuff.

So what the heck is a flat-headed cat. Well, it is a rare, little cat that is about 60 cm (2′) long and only weighs 2.2 kg (4.8 lbs).  The diet of the flat-headed cat includes fish, frogs, crustaceans and rodents.  You will notice that the majority of their diet lives around water.  This is why you will always find our furry, flat-headed friends around lakes and streams. The appearance of this cat would make you question whether it truly is a cat since it has short legs, a long head with tiny ears and a short tail. They have often been compared to muskrats and otters instead of other cats.  The differences continue to pile up for the flat-headed cat since their toes tend to be webbed and they are one of the few cat species with non-retractile claws.  Well, I guess that isn’t entirely true since their claws do retract, however, the sheath covering is so short that two-thirds of the nail remain exposed.

Unfortunately, the population of the flat-headed cat is decreasing with under ten-thousand cats remaining in the wild. As you can imagine water pollution and habitat destruction is causing a major concern for these cute little kitties.  Just imagine what would happen to us if we didn’t have a place to live and all of our food was poisoned.  Currently, the status for this particular cat is listed as Vulnerable.

I hate ending Wild Facts with the negative feelings of extinction.  I know, I tend to do this from time to time but I do want everyone to be aware that certain animals are in jeopardy.  To make up for the sad ending, I am going to include a cute picture at the end of the post.  ENJOY!