There are cats in Africa, but not the kind of cats you have, or imagine. The common cats that spring to mind are the big cats: Lions, Leopards and Cheetahs. However there are many medium-sized and even very small species of cat that are native to Africa:
Medium-sized cat:
African Golded Cat
Caracal
Serval
Smaller-size cat:
African Wildcat
Black-Footed Cat (one of the smallest species of cat)
Sand Cat
The serval is a medium-sized spotted cat. The head-body length ranges from 70-100 cm, tail length from 30-40 cm, height at shoulder from 45-65 cm, and body-weight from 7-18 kg.
The body is slender, the legs long and the tail rather short. The head is elongate. The ears are very large, oval in shape and without ear tufts. The back side is black with a white central spot. The nose pad is large and laterally black. The iris is yellow, the pupils are contracting into vertical slits.
The coat is coarse. Ground colour is pale yellowish buff or reddish yellow with black markings. In most animals the markings consists of large black spots that tend to merge into longitudinal stripes on the neck and back. The tail is spotted and distally ringed.
The so-called "servalina" type has small spots.
Jungle Cat (Felis chaus)
Sand Cat (Felis margarita)
Black-footed Cat (Felis nigripes)
Wild Cat (Felis silvestris)
Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)
Serval (Leptailurus serval)
Caracal (Caracal caracal)
African Golden Cat (Profelis aurata)
Lion (Panthera leo)
Leopard (Panthera pardus)
I think that is all.
Their are only two species of cats in the category of "big cats" in Africa...the lion and the leopard. The cheetah however is categorized in the "small cats" group.
They have the same pets just like any other places in the world, but in some places in Africa you are allowed to own a Lion.
Leopard (fact- smallest of the four big cats)
There are many cats that live in sub-Saharan Africa. The big cats are lions and leopards. Other cats include cheetahs, caracals, and servals.
Usually big cats are only cats from the panthera genus and in Africa that would include the lion and the leopard.
Mammal
caracal
The Serval is a medium sized cat that can be found in Africa. It is related to the caracal and African golden cat. In Afrikaans it is known as the tiger-bush-cat.
Serval live in Africa and are closely related to the African Golden Cat, if that helps.
Serval is closely related to the African Golden Cat and the Caracal
The African Golden cat is medium-sized cat and is thought to be a close relative of the Caracal and the Serval. At this current point in time, the African Golden cat is the only member of the genus Profelis, much like the Caracal and the Serval being the only members of Genus Caracal and Leptailurusrespectively.
Servals live in the African savannah, the same habitat as the cheetah.
Lion, leopard, cheetah, serval, caracal, African wild cat, sand cat, golden cat.
Yes, a serval is a mammal, it is a cat.
Serval is an African wild cat. South African springhare is a rodent that is native to southern Africa.
Answers: 1. I believe that the ocelot would be considered an African wildcat.2. Actually an Ocelet is a leopardlike cat that's found in the Americas ranging from Texas down to South America.3. I believe Serval (Felis serval) is what you're looking for as it is a nocturnal African cat.4. There are 10 species of African wild cats, 3 big cats (lion, leopard and cheetah) and 7 small cats (caracal, serval, black-footed cat, sand cat, jungle cat, golden cat and the African wildcat). So it depends if you are referring to African wild cats in general or the actual African wildcat species (Felis sylvestris lybica).
The Savannah cat is a breed of cat created from mixing a serval and a common housecat. It is not the type of pet cat that can be adopted from your local animal shelter; someone wanting to buy a Savannah will usually have to contact a breeder.
There are no true stats to this question because in the U.S it's illegal to own these cats and they can be considered dangerous. Serval cats can be 40 lbs., or more. While they are loving pets to their owners, they are dangerous to children (even if they don't mean too because they are so large and powerful) and do not like domesticated cats. When one leaves their home they must put the cat in a large cage and not leave the cat loose in their home. These cats need meat to eat, and many untrained owners that just like the thought of owning an African Serval Cat find they are troublesome to look after and expensive to feed. There is a problem with Serval Cats roaming free and some owners simply feel if they can't support the habit of feeding their Serval Cat they can simply give it to a zoo. Zoos do not want anymore large cats! The ASPCA (U.S.) or SPCA (in Canada) are tired of seeing African Serval Cats dropped on their doorstep. Owning an African Serval Cat is a big responsibility and one should study the history of these cats before deciding to own one.
The scientific name for a Serval is Leptailurus serval.