Asian Golden Cat

The Asian golden cat is a medium-sized forest cat whose coat is unusually variable. Golden-brown and reddish-brown animals are common, but grey, black, pale cinnamon and patterned forms are also documented. This variation can make field identification less straightforward than the English name suggests (specialist distribution and coat-morphology study; Animal Diversity Web).

Its range extends from the north-eastern Indian subcontinent through mainland Southeast Asia to southern China. The species is elusive and remains comparatively little studied, so the account avoids treating captive observations or isolated prey records as universal wild behaviour. Habitat loss and illegal hunting are documented pressures across parts of its range (Animal Diversity Web; specialist coat-morphology study). It is Nationally Vulnerable (Thailand Red Data 2025).