The Sand Cat
Felis margarita Loche

A small, short-legged animal, the sand or sand-dune cat has an unusually broad head with large ears set low down on the side of the head. The position of the ears may help it to present a low profile when stalking prey. Felis margarita is named after the French General Margueritte who explored much of what was the French Sahara.
Sand cats are about the size of a small domestic cat, and very similar to the Chinese desert cat (Felis bieti). Their soft dense fur is a pale sandy brown, light grey or ochre. It is slightly darker on the back and whitish on the belly, lower muzzle and chest. There are indistinct bars on the limbs, and the black-tipped, relatively long tail has two to six black rings near the end. There is a reddish streak from the eyes across the cheeks, and the ears are rufous brown and tipped with black. Four indistinct tawny-brown stripes may mark the nape and the flanks may be marked with brownish red spots and obscure vertical stripes. A dense mat of long (two cm) hair grows between the pads of the feet. This covers the pads, protecting them against hot sand and probably is an adaptation to help spread the animal’s weight over shifting sand.
The skull is notable for the large auditory bullae and long nasal bones. This suggests that they rely particularly on their senses of hearing and smell. Some desert animals have large noses to help them cut down water lost to evaporation from their breath. Large noses aid condensation within, so less water is lost. Adaptations like this are extremely important for desert animals.
There are six described subspecies:

F. m. thinobia is the largest of the subspecies and has almost no patterning at all. Individuals from the western parts of the sand cat’s range tend to be more brightly coloured and more distinctively marked.
These subspecies, and those of many other animals, are often the subject of much taxonomic debate and many are disputed.

Sand cats inhabit inhospitable arid regions which are characterized by rolling sand dunes, flat stony plains and rocky deserts. They seems to display a preference for ergs, regions of shifting sand, and areas of sand dunes covered with sparse vegetation. They are distributed from the northern Sahara, through Egypt, Israel, the Arabian Peninsular and Iran, to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Pakistan. There is no freestanding water throughout much of the range of the sand cat. They must rely on getting sufficient moisture from their prey.
The map shows the present distribution of Sand Cats in grey.
The map is based on information in the Wild Cats Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan published by the IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group in 1996. See our Books page for more details.

Sand cats prey on birds, jerboas, hares, reptiles and locusts. Up to 88% of their diet may be rodents.

It is thought that their well-developed ears enable accurate location of prey by sound alone, in a similar manner to the serval. Sand cats hunt exclusively at night, but Mendelssohn (1989) reports that they are often seen outside their burrows during the day. Sand cats have a contact call which is a short, bark-like vocalization, a low-pitched miaow.
Sand cats display well-developed burrowing behaviour, it has been proposed that they may also hunt for their food by digging.
Abbadi (1993) describes how a sand cat will cross an open space by skulking with bent legs, close to the ground. They will use all available cover, hiding behind bushes and rocks. All scats are covered thoroughly, concealing their presence. Most species of cats will use fæces as warning markers, to delineate “their” areas. Male sand cats do not have exclusive territories. Their ranges overlap and they will even take turns in utilising den sites. Thus, unusually, they do not have “personal” dens.

Two to five kittens are born after a gestation period of 59 to 66 days. Female sand cats give birth in burrows they may have dug for themselves. Reproduction usually occurs from the first half of April onward until autumn. The kittens weigh about 39 grammes at birth, and they are approximately 13 cm long, with 6 cm long tails. They first able to walk at 21 days, and they leave their mothers when they are about two thirds to three quarters adult size.

Venomous snakes, large birds of prey, and wolves are all considered to be enemies of the sand cat. The true status of their populations is unknown, but they are not at all numerous. In the wild, sand cats often sun themselves on rocks and have been easily shot for “sport”. Also, because they are reputed to have docile personalities, very many were collected in the 1960’s for the pet trade. Their survival rates were very poor. Even when cared for properly they may only live for seven years.
Zoo populations of sand cats are dwindling, and are extremely inbred, they are likely to have been descended from only one wild-caught pair. Sand Cats can currently be seen at London Zoo and Twycross Zoo. The irony of this situation is that F. m. scheffeli comprises the captive populations, and this subspecies may be extinct in the wild.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) lists the sand cat on Appendix II (Conservation and Legal Status of Wild Cats. Cat News 12, 1990, p. 26.). All international commerce in sand cat products is strictly regulated.
The IUCN Red List has the Pakistan sand cat (F. m. scheffeli) as Near Threatened, other sand cats as Least Concern. (Cat News 23, 1995, p. 21)
Sausman (1991) documents pelts for sale in Pakistani markets. Because they are not aggressive, sand cats are very easily caught.

A captive breeding programme needs to have regard to keeping separate the various subspecies, while at the same time avoiding the dangers of inbreeding.
This is achieved by the maintenance of a studbook which is used to select suitable breeding partners for captive animals. Such studbooks are maintained on a voluntary basis by dedicated individuals or teams at various zoos around the world.