Chinese desert cat

Felis bieti, or called Chinese mountain cat

Very cool, not seen in any zoos outside of China, so it is great to have an insider posting this for us.

FYI, this cat was recently reclassified from a full species (Felis bieti) to a subspecies of wildcat (Felis silvestris bieti).

Thank you! In fact, I have really seen a photo about the hybrid of Chinese desert cat and domestic cat, which was taken in Southwest mountain of China.

First decent photo of this animal I've ever seen. Definite similarities to "ornata" group wildcats.

Whilst not knocking a very significant picture,there is a much better one in Sunquists "Wild Cats of the World".A useful comparison with Felis silvestris ornata is shown in plate 10 of "The Handbook of the Mammals of the World" and im bound to say they appear pretty dissimilar despite the fact the the taxon once represented the most easterly form of the superspecies.

It's still a lot better than the one in a few "coffee table" style books showing an animal that looks to be either a) stuffed (and very badly) b) stuck with an electric probe c) just pulled out from a tumble dryer or d) a combination of the above!!

Agreed,but the one in the Sunquist book is nicely snarling on a shelf in a zoo [probably Beijing]-look out for it!

there are a few photos on here (mixed with those of various other cats), including what is I presume the Sunquist one that Tim Brown mentions: chinese desert cat - Google Search

A rare cat, but not looking too well I would say.