Wild Cats of the World

IUCN RED LIST (2015): Endangered

Head-body length ♀. 44.6−52.1cm, ♂ 41−61cm

Tail 12.8−16.9cm

Weight ♀ 1.5−1.9kg, ♂ 1.5−2.2kg

The Flat-headed Cat is classified in the Prionailurus lineage and is thought to be most closely related to the Leopard Cat and Fishing Cat. No subspecies have been described.

The Flat-headed Cat is a small, very distinctive felid with a short, tubular body, relatively short, slender legs and a stubby tail. The head is small with a compact, foreshortened face and closely set, large eyes, a flattened forehead and small rounded ears.

The feet are partially webbed and the claw sheaths are reduced so that the claws protrude visibly. This has led to the claws being described as non-retractile, though they have the typical felid ability to protract their claws. Flat-headed Cats are dark roan-brown graduating to rich rusty-brown on the head. The face has bright white on the cheeks, eyebrows and under the eyes, and contrasting dark rusty-brown cheek and eyebrow stripes. The body fur is dense and soft, and is largely unmarked except for light dappling and banding on the legs and belly; the tail is sometimes faintly banded.

Similar species Very distinct from all other cats. It broadly resembles the Rusty-spotted Cat but the two species are separated by range. It could be confused for a very small, stocky domestic cat at a glance.

The Flat-headed Cat has a limited range restricted to Borneo, Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia. It may occur in extreme southern Thailand on the Thai-Malaysia border where there are records from Pru Toh Daeng Peat Swamp Forest but none since 1995. Two kittens confiscated from Thai wildlife traffickers in 2005 were believed to have been smuggled from Peninsular Malaysia for the pet trade. Flat-headed Cats are closely associated with moist, lowland forested habitats and wetlands. More than 80 per cent of historical and recent records of the species occur below 100m above sea level, and more than 70 per cent of records are within 3km of large rivers and water sources. They inhabit primary and secondary forest, peat-swamp forest, mangrove and coastal scrub-forest. Although there are reports from secondary forest and oil-palm plantations suggesting they are tolerant of some habitat modification, records from altered habitats are questionable or very few.

The Flat-headed Cat is one of world’s least known felids and its ecology in the wild is largely a mystery. The species’ unique morphology, behaviour and habitat preferences suggest it is adapted to forage for aquatic prey in shallow water and along muddy riverbanks. As well as the modifications to the forepaws, Flat-headed Cat teeth are very sharp and oversized (the first and second upper premolars) and are considered to be adaptations for grasping slippery prey. Captive animals are attracted to water, readily submerging themselves and feeling for food in pools with spread paws, in a technique similar to raccoons. The stomach contents of a handful of dead animals examined in the wild contained fish and crustaceans. Captives quickly dispatch mice and rats with a nape bite, and wild individuals almost certainly take small mammals, reptiles and amphibians. They are sometimes killed in traps set at poultry coops suggesting they occasionally kill domestic fowl. Most records, particularly camera-trap images, are at night suggesting that they are largely nocturnal.

Flat-headed Cats have never been radio-collared and their socio-spatial behaviour is unknown. Camera-trap images are almost always of single animals; like most small felids, they are probably essentially solitary with enduring and semi-exclusive ranges, though everything about these patterns remains unconfirmed. Density is unknown. Of all South-east Asian felids, they are the least frequently photographed in camera-trap surveys by a wide margin; only 17 camera-trap photographs of the species existed by 2009 compared to many hundreds or thousands for all other sympatric felids. This suggests very low densities, though cameras are usually placed to maximise photographs of large felids and rarely target high-quality Flat-headed Cat habitats, such as along the banks of water sources. It is therefore possible they are more common than suggested by camera-trapping.

Completely unknown from the wild. Gestation is 56 days (captivity) and females have one to two kittens based on only three captive litters.

Mortality Unknown, but being so small they are presumably vulnerable to a wide array of predators.

STATUS AND THREATS

Flat-headed Cats are known only from 107 (as of 2009) physical records and sightings. This is likely due to a combination of rarity and sampling bias, but even with markedly increased survey effort in the last decade, there are only a handful of sites where the species is repeatedly recorded, for example Deramakot Forest Reserve and Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, Sabah. The Flat-headed Cat’s restricted distribution and very close association with moist, forested habitats is gravely concerning given the rapid pace of habitat loss. As of 2009, an estimated 54–68 per cent of suitable Flat-headed Cat habitat had been converted by people, especially clearing and draining of forest wetlands for croplands and forestry. Overfishing and freshwater pollution from agriculture and mining are likely to exacerbate declines driven by habitat loss, and hunting by people may exert strong local effects. Flat-headed Cat skins often occur in longhouses in Sarawak. Live animals, usually kittens, occasionally appear in the pet trade. Many authorities now consider the Flat-headed Cat to be South-east Asia’s most threatened small felid.

CITES Appendix I. Red List: Endangered. Population trend: Decreasing.