These cats are good swimmers and will even dive underwater in search of fish.

Subspecies
None.

Life span
Fishing cats live for an average of 12 years.

Statistics
Body length: 57-86cm, Tail length: 20-33cm, Shoulder height: 38-41cm, Weight: male: 11-12kg, female: 6-7kg.

Physical description
Fishing cats have a short body with stocky legs and a large broad head. They have grey/brown fur with dark brown or black spots and black lines running up the forehead and over the crown of the head. Their short tails are ringed with black. Fishing cats have partially webbed front feet. Their claw sheaths are short so that when the claws are retracted they are not completely covered.

Distribution
Fishing cats range from Northern India to Sri Lanka, Burma and across the Thai peninsular to Java and Sumatra.

Habitat
They live by water, including riversides, marshland, swamps.

Diet
Fishing cats mainly hunt fish but will also prey on crustaceans, molluscs, rodents, young deer, small wild pigs, frogs and snakes. They have also been reported to take domestic goats, calves, dogs and poultry.

Behaviour
Fishing cats are good swimmers and catch fish by grabbing their prey from the water with their paws or by diving into the water. Little is known about their social activity. They are probably solitary but they are tolerant of each other when kept together in captivity.

Reproduction
Females give birth to 1-4 kittens after a gestation period of 63-65 days. The kittens weigh 170g at birth.

Conservation status
Fishing cats are listed as Lower Risk on the IUCN Red List, and are on CITES: Appendix II. They are threatened due to loss of wetland habitat, water pollution and pesticide poisoning. They are occasionally hunted for fur.