In its native environment, the Wildcat is adaptable to a variety of habitat types: savanna, open forest, and steppe. Although domesticated breeds show a great variety of shapes and colors, wild individuals are medium-brown with black stripes, between 45 and 80 cm (18–32 inches) in length, and weigh between 3 and 8 kilograms (6–17.6 pounds). Shoulder height averages about 35 cm (14 in) and tail length is about 30 cm (12 in). The African subspecies tends to be a little smaller and a lighter brown in color.

The Wildcat is extremely timid. It avoids approaching human settlements. It lives in solitary and holds a territory of about 3 km².

A study by the National Cancer Institute suggests that all current house cats in the world are descendants from a group of self-domesticating Wildcats 10,000 years ago, somewhere in the Near East. It is believed that this domestication occurred when the Agricultural Revolution yielded grain, which would be stored in granaries, that attracted rodents, which in turn attracted cats. The closest relative of the Wildcat is the Sand Cat (Felis margarita).

The Wildcat is predominantly a carnivore; insects and plants are unimportant parts of its diet. Most of its prey is small mammals, mainly rodents and rabbits, with lizards being the third most common prey in Portugal, and birds the least common.

The main threats to the survival of this species are hybridization with domestic cats, disease transmission, and competition with feral domestic cats. Other significant threats are ongoing habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation in some areas (although in some other parts of Europe forest cover is increasing, as a result of abandonment of extensive agricultural land). Road kills and, in some areas, persecution are also problems.

The main central European population is in the Eifel mountains of Germany. There have been reintroduction efforts in Southern Germany. The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) is trying to establish a European studbook for the species, which would contain data on the captive population in its member institutions. The wildcat is part of the EAZA European Carnivore Campaign, running from 2008–2010, with the goal of furthering the acceptance for living together with carnivores and ultimately supporting various field projects in Europe on each of the sixteen chosen species.

Now, after all this sciency talk, I’ll live you to enjoy in photos of adorable little babies of wild cats. They are so beautiful and look so sweet that I think it would be nice to have one of them as a pet, but only while it’s small, because latter it might make me troubles with my neighbors.

Helmet

16 century

Steel, gold, precious stones, chasing, carving, inlay, enamel

Diameter 22 cm

Armory, Moscow, Russia

Made in Iran. Owner Mohamed Mumin Zernishan

Ceremonial Helmet

Mid 16 th century

Iron, turquoise, rubies, gold hatching, niello, enamel

Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul
Turkey

Pitcher (Mataras) for water

The second half of the 16 th century

Gold, precious stones

Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul

Turkey

Jug in the form of octahedron

16 – 17 age

Gold, rock crystal, precious stones, engraving, inlay

Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul

Turkey

Two spouts are connected to the torso gold chains, reminiscent of motifs. This motif is characteristic of the Chinese art of the late Ming Dynasty, especially tsenivsheysya Turkish sultans.

Binding Quran

End of 16 – the beginning of 17 century

Gold

Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul

Turkey

Turban ornament

17 Century

Diamonds, pearls, colored gems

Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul

Turkey

Binding of the Quran with an emerald

Beginning of 19 century

Gold, diamonds, emeralds

Topkapi Palace Museum

Istanbul, Turkey
Plant motifs inscribed in a geometric setting, suggest the influence of Western fashion early 19 century

Pitcher (Mataras) for water

The second half of the 16 th century

Gold, precious stones

Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul
Turkey

Mug with lid

16 – 17 age

Gold, rubies, emeralds, engraved

Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul, Turkey
Sample ceremonial tableware

Earrings

End of 19 – beginning of 20 century.

Length 7,5 cm

Silver, turquoise, amethyst, glass, gold-plated

Russia Ethnography Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

Volga Tatars

“The diamond merchant spoons” (Kasykchi)

Diamonds

Weight 86 carats

Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul, Turkey
Brilliant – one of the greatest attractions of the Topkapi. According to one legend, in 1774 it bought the Maharaja Madras, and later moved the stone to the mother of Napoleon, and finally was sold to Turkey.