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Animal Weight

How much does a Black-footed cat weight?

It is hard to guess what a Black-footed cat weights. But we have the answer:

An adult Black-footed cat (Felis nigripes) on average weights 1.36 kg (3 lbs).

The Black-footed cat is from the family Felidae (genus: Felis). It is usually born with about 72 grams (0.16 lbs). They can live for up to 12 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 40.1 cm (1′ 4″). On average, Black-footed cats can have babies 4 times per year with a litter size of 1.

As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.

The average adult weight of a Black-footed cat is 1.36 kg (3 lbs)

The black-footed cat (Felis nigripes), also called the small-spotted cat, is the smallest wild cat in Africa, having a head-and-body length of 35–52 cm (14–20 in). Despite its name, only the soles of its feet are black or dark brown. With its bold small spots and stripes on the tawny fur, it is well camouflaged, especially on moonlit nights. It bears black streaks running from the corners of the eyes along the cheeks, and its banded tail has a black tip.The first black-footed cat known to science was discovered in the northern Karoo of South Africa and described in 1824. It is endemic to the arid steppes and grassland savannas of Southern Africa. In the late 1960s, it was recorded in southern Botswana, but only few authentic records exist in Namibia, in southern Angola, and in southern Zimbabwe. Due to its restricted distribution, it has been listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2002. The population is suspected to be declining due to poaching of prey species for human consumption as bushmeat, persecution, traffic accidents, and predation by domestic dogs and cats. The black-footed cat has been studied using radio telemetry since 1993. This research allowed direct observation of its behaviour in its natural habitat. It usually rests in underground burrows during the day and hunts at night. It moves between 5 and 16 km (3.1 and 9.9 mi) on average, in search of small rodents and birds, mostly moving in small circles and zig-zagging among bushes and termite mounds. It feeds on 40 different vertebrates and kills up to 14 small animals per night. It can catch birds in flight, jumping up to 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) high, and also dares to attack mammals and birds much heavier than itself. A female usually gives birth to two kittens during the southern-hemisphere summer between October and March. They are weaned at the age of two months and become independent after four months of age at the latest.

Animals of the same family as a Black-footed cat

We found other animals of the Felidae family:

  • Marbled cat bringing 2.83 kilos (6.24 lbs) to the scale
  • Pallas’s cat bringing 3.05 kilos (6.72 lbs) to the scale
  • Bobcat bringing 6.38 kilos (14.07 lbs) to the scale
  • Sand cat bringing 2.82 kilos (6.22 lbs) to the scale
  • Pallas’s cat bringing 3.05 kilos (6.72 lbs) to the scale
  • Fishing cat bringing 8.83 kilos (19.47 lbs) to the scale
  • Jaguar bringing 84.26 kilos (185.76 lbs) to the scale
  • Cougar bringing 53.93 kilos (118.9 lbs) to the scale
  • Andean mountain cat bringing 8.13 kilos (17.92 lbs) to the scale
  • Andean mountain cat bringing 8.13 kilos (17.92 lbs) to the scale

Animals with the same weight as a Black-footed cat

As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Felis nigripes:

Animals with the same size as a Black-footed cat

Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Black-footed cat:

Animals with the same litter size as a Black-footed cat

Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Black-footed cat:

Animals with the same life expectancy as a Black-footed cat

Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Black-footed cat: