The leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) a species that looks very much like a domestic cat was once widespread in Taiwan‚ however it is becoming increasingly rare due to the loss of its habitat as a result of human development. The leopard cat is also called the 「Mountain Cat」 or 「Money Cat」. Tsushima Island between Japan and South Korea also has a leopard cat subspecies called the Tsushima Leopard Cat; Iriomote Island in Okinawa not far from Taiwan has a cat that isn't a leopard cat subspecies but is very similar in color and markings the Iriomote Cat. Leopard cats are mainly nocturnal but are also active at dusk and dawn; apart from breeding season they usually live alone. Their habitats are mainly forests and scrublands and they also love to be near rivers not like domestic cats that don't like water. Unlike big cats leopard cats don't grab their prey in their mouths when they hunt they press it down with their powerful front paws or kill their prey with a single swipe of their paw a way of hunting that is very similar to a domestic cat. Leopard cats eat mainly rodents as well as the cub of even-toed ungulates rabbits birds snakes frogs lizards fish and insects and they also sometimes eat the fruit root and leaves of some plants. They are sometimes called the 「Money Cat」 because their yellowish brown coat has black markings that are the size of coins. They have two vertical broken stripes that extend from the spine to the tail and 15-18 semi-circular speckles on the tail. They have two white vertical markings that go from the two sides of the nose between the eyes to the top of the head each with a black vertical marking on each side. The backs of the ears are black with a clear white spot. Some domestic cats look like leopard cats but the difference can be seen by looking at the markings on the thighs: domestic cats have horizontal markings while leopard cats have spots; also the domestic cats have no white spots behind their ears.  | | Leopard Cat Skin and Mountain Cat Skin (National Taiwan Library)  Hunted by Taiwan Indigenous Peoples these skins can be used as carpets. The export of leopard cat skins to China is quite considerable. | Due to excess development by humans that has destroyed wild animal habitats leopard cats are increasingly rare in Taiwan. They are still occasionally recorded in Hsinchu Miaoli and Kaohsiung-Pingdong areas with some sightings very near cultivated land. | 
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