Feliformia Spotlight: Pallas's Cat

I'm not sure where I ran into this one, but I recently came across a cat from the grasslands and steppes of Central Asia that has gained my interest. The Pallas's cat is just such a creature. You'll notice that the name Pallas is a proper noun which signifies that it was either named after a place or a person. In this case, the cat was named after the man who first described it in 1776, German naturalist Simon Pallas. Now, let's get to its physical characteristics.

The Pallas's cat has a body length of up to 26 inches long with a tail as big as 12.2 inches. They can way as much as 9.9 pounds. It is generally no bigger than a domestic cat. This cat is very stocky with a rather full coat. The designs and colors vary here and there based on the season. The ears of the Pallas's cat are set low and wide apart which give the face its distinctive appearance. You might also look at their eyes. They have round pupils as apposed to the elongated ones that most cats seem to possess. Additionally, this cat has very long canine teeth which are quite visible when it opens its maw.

Pallas's cats are solitary creatures. They generally make homes out of small caves and rock crevices. These felines won't come out until they are ready to hunt in the late afternoon. They may also come out to investigate anomalies, and this is one of the more enjoyable aspects of the creature. We'll get into that in a moment.

Breeding time is remarkably short--measured in only hours. Once pregnant, gestation lasts about 75 days, and the female will give birth to between 2 and 6 kittens. There is a high mortality rate because of the harshness of their environments, and these large litters are a way of adapting to it. They can begin hunting in about 4 months.

Much of their behavior, I observed from videos. Pallas's cats tend to become very quirky when they get either curious or suspicious. One of the most amusing things that they will do is play peek-a-boo behind a rock as if taking quick glances at whatever it is that caught their attention. They may move forward quite quickly only to stop on a dime. Their movements are certainly very bizarre but nonetheless fun to watch. It also adds to their silliness that they always look rather terrified. Their eyes rarely blink, and they seem to stare in one direction for a long time before suddenly twitching to another. Any movement will cause them to look towards it but constantly twitch back to the original interest as if they are afraid of being sneaked up on. It is marvelous to watch.

Another thing that I noticed in the videos was how the kittens will try to copy their parents. In one example, a parent came out of a cave and sat very still at the entrance. Soon, the kitten comes out and would constantly look up at its parent trying to copy the posture. The constant glancing at its role model was adorable to me.

There are no Pallas's cats in fiction that I know of. I can't help but find humor in the twitchy way they move. I almost see them as spies that are very, VERY bad at their jobs. They constantly sneak from pillar to pillar, peeking out over and over as they try and get a lock on their enemy. The idea is very cartoony, I know. Perhaps, Inspector Clouseau had a little Pallas inside of him by how silly he operated in his missions.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of the eccentric Pallas's cat. They are a fun and enjoyable feline with quirky habits. I am very happy to have stumbled over one. More to come.

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Peek-A-Boo!