Felidae Family

Felidae is the family of cats. A member of this family is also called a felid.

Living cats belong to the subfamilies:

Pantherinae – comprising the tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, snow leopard, clouded leopard and Sunda clouded leopard

Felinae – including all the non-pantherine cats
Cats are obligate carnivores; they must consume meat to survive. They are sometimes referred to as hypercarnivores because of the very large proportion of protein they require in their diet, much more than most other mammals. Of the 13 terrestrial families in the order Carnivora, they are the strictest carnivores.

The first cats emerged during the Oligocene, about 25 million years ago. In prehistoric times, there was a third subfamily, the Machairodontinae, which included the saber-toothed cats, such as the Smilodon. Other superficially cat-like mammals, such as the metatherians Thylacosmilus and Thylacoleo, or the Barbourofelidae and Nimravidae, are not included in Felidae despite superficial.

Cats are obligate carnivores, requiring a diet of meat and organs to survive. Aside from the lion, wild felids are generally solitary; feral domestic cats do, however, form colonies. Cheetah males are also known to live and hunt in groups. Felids are generally secretive animals, often nocturnal, and live in relatively inaccessible habitats. Around three-quarters of cat species live in forested terrain, and they are generally agile climbers. However, felids may be found in almost any environment, with some species being native to mountainous terrain or deserts.

Wild felids are native to every continent except Australasia and Antarctica.