The Black-footed cat is one of the world's smallest cat species. In appearance the cat has a large broad head in proportion to its small body. Its coat varies from dark ochre to pale ochre. This cat shows a bold pattern of round dark brown to black spots, which are found on the throat, chest, and belly. There are two black stripes across each cheek, two transverse black stripes on the forelegs, and up to five on the haunches. The soles of the feet are black. The hair on the bottom of their feet helps protect them from the hot, burning sand and also enhances the tactile sensory nerves in the feet helping it find subterranean insects. The tail is about half the length of the head and body. It is thin with a couple of black stripes embracing it. It closely resembles the house cat in shape. Males are about 16 - 20 inches in length whereas the female is about 13 - 15 inches.

The black-footed cat is restricted to the arid lands of Southern Africa. It is typically associated with open, sandy, grassy habitats with sparse shrub and tree cover, such as the Kalahari and Karoo regions.

Biomes: desert, tropical scrub forest, tropical savanna & grasslands

Ethiopian: Felis nigripes is widely distributed throughout the dry steppe and savannah region of South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

The black-footed cat has a short estrous period, lasting for as little as a few hours up to two days. The actual period when the female is prepared to accept the male lasts for only 5 - 10 hours. Many think that the brevity of the estrous period is in order to minimize the amount of time that mating cats may be vulnerable to predation. After mating the male and female go their separate ways. The gestation period is about 68 days and, in mid-November thru December, a litter of 1 - 3 kittens is born in a burrow or some other hiding place. When kittens are about 5 weeks old, the mother starts bringing live prey and releasing it in front of them, allowing them to catch and kill it. The weaning process begins at about this age and is complete in the next 2 weeks. Sexual maturity is not reached until 12 - 21 months.

Felis nigripes hunts primarily small prey. They feed on various rodents, spiders, insects and birds. This cat catches its prey by stalking it and pouncing on it. It kills rodents by severing the spinal column with its long canine teeth. It is also common for these cats to cache larger prey and return to the carcass later. They sometimes scavenge on the meat of larger dead mammals such as lambs.

Felis nigripes is a solitary animal. In the wild, it is seen only at night. During the day the cat hides in antbear, springhare, or porcupine burrows, caves, dense tangles of low thicket and other secluded spots. It usually emerges several hours after sunset and is not at all active at dusk.

These cats have a strong territorial system; they mark territories with scent from urine and feces. The territories of the male appear to be larger and overlap the territories of several females.

When kittens are disturbed, they don't run back to the den and hide. Instead, they scatter to the nearest cover and freeze until the mother gives an audible all-clear signal. Upon hearing this the kittens relax and leave their cover to gather around the mother.

Indiscriminate methods of predator control could be a significant threat, although farmers seldom report capturing black-footed cats in problem animal surveys. Farmers in South Africa and Namibia consider the similar-looking African wildcat a predator of small livestock, and set out steel-jaw traps and poisoned bait to get rid of them. Carcass poisoning for jackal control could be a threat to the black-footed cat, which readily scavenges. A similar threat is poisoning of locusts, which are food for the black-footed cat. Finally, overgrazing by livestock is prevalent throughout the species range, and habitat deterioration can lead to reductions of the cat’s small vertebrate prey base. Black-footed cats are listed as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red Book of Endangered Species. It is listed in Appendix II of CITES.

Folklore: According to Bushmen legend, this little cat is so fierce that it will fasten its jaws onto the neck of a giraffe, just as it does when killing its more usual prey.

Nowak, Ronald. Walker's Mammals Of The World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999

Guggisberg, C. A. W.. Wild Cats Of The World. New York: Taplinger Publishing Co., Inc., 1975