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Sand Cat Facts
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It is believed that they are capable of survival for a long time without drinking water.
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Sand cats live a solitary life, except during the mating period.
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They are one of the hardest cat species to breed in captivity. More than 4 in 10 cats bred in
captivity die at a young age.
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They are mainly nocturnal animals, making them even harder to study.
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There are less than 200 sand cats currently held in zoos only.
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 While most cats have good hearing, sand cats have developed their hearing even more.
This allows them to hunt for prey.
- Besides eating small rodents, sand cats also hunt poisonous snakes, especially sand vipers.
- According to the Koran, a sand cat was the companion of the prophet Mohammed and his daughter during their
trip in the desert.
- It is also sometimes named the “sand dune cat”.
- It has thick hair on its soles, making it more adapted to the harsh extreme weather of the desert.
- In captivity it was observed that after a meal the cat buries its leftovers in the sand.
- Although most cats are found in the Sahara Desert, some sand cats also live in parts of Iran, Pakistan or
Turkmenistan.
- Predators of the cat are snakes, wild dogs or birds of prey in some cases.
- The cats were first discovered and described in 1858 by a French naturalist, Victor Loche.
- Sand cats can survive with very little or no water if they get the necessary liquids from their prey’s
body.
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| Sand Cat |
Fast
Facts |
| Length of the Body: |
- 16 to 18 inches |
| Length of the Tail: |
- 9 to 12 inches |
| Diet: |
- lizards, birds, and small
rodents |
| Number of Young: |
- 2 to 4 |
| Home: |
- from the Sahara and Arabian Deserts
east to Pakistan |
| Class: |
- mammals |
| Order: |
- carnivores |
| Family: |
- cats |
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