Cat member of the cat family, the felids, which are a rapidly evolving family of mammals that share a common ancestor only 10–15 million years ago and include lions, tigers, cougars and many others. Within this family, domestic cats ("Felis catus") are part of the genus "Felis", which is a group of small cats containing about seven species (depending upon classification scheme). Members of the genus are found worldwide and include the jungle cat ("Felis chaus") of southeast Asia, European wildcat ("F. silvestris silvestris"), African wildcat ("F. s. lybica"), the Chinese mountain cat ("F. bieti"), and the Arabian sand cat ("F.
Jungle cat vary geographically. Kittens begin to catch their own prey at around six months and leave the mother after eight or nine months. The species was first described by Johann Anton Güldenstädt in 1776 based on a specimen caught in a Caucasian wetland. Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber gave the jungle cat its present binomial name and is therefore generally considered as binomial authority. Three subspecies are recognised at present. In 2006, the phylogenetic relationship of the jungle cat was described as follows: The jungle cat is a member of the genus "Felis" within the Felidae family. Results of an mtDNA