Editing Leopard cat (section)

== Ecology and behaviour ==
[[File:Leopard cat India.jpg|thumb|A leopard cat photographed in the [[Sundarbans]], India]]
[[File:Leopard Cat Tennoji.jpg|thumb|An alert leopard cat]]

Leopard cats are [[wiktionary:solitary|solitary]], except during the breeding season. Some are active during the day, but most hunt at night, preferring to stalk [[Muridae|murids]], [[tree shrew]]s and [[hare]]s. They are agile climbers and quite arboreal in their habits. They rest in trees, but also hide in dense thorny undergrowth on the ground.<ref name="lon05" /> There, leopard cats feed on a large proportion of rats compared to forested areas.<ref name=Chua16 />

Leopard cats can swim, but seldom do so. They produce a similar range of vocalisations to the domestic cat. Both sexes [[scent mark]] their territory by [[spraying urine]], leaving faeces in exposed locations, [[Bunting (animal behavior)|head rubbing]], and scratching.<ref name=WCoW/>

===Diet===
Leopard cats are carnivorous, feeding on a variety of small prey including mammals, lizards, amphibians, birds and insects. In most parts of their range, small rodents such as rats and mice form the major part of their diet, which is often supplemented with grass, eggs, poultry, and aquatic prey. They are active hunters, dispatching their prey with a rapid pounce and bite. Unlike many other small cats, they do not "play" with their food, maintaining a tight grip with their claws until the animal is dead. This may be related to the relatively high proportion of birds in their diet, which are more likely to escape when released than are rodents.<ref name=WCoW/>

===Reproduction and development===
The breeding season of leopard cats varies depending on the climate. In tropical habitats, kittens are born throughout the year. In colder habitats farther north, females give birth in spring. Their [[gestation]] period lasts 60–70 days. Litter size varies between two and three kittens. Captive-born kittens weighed {{convert|75|to|130|g|oz}} at birth and opened their eyes by 15 days of age. Within two weeks, they double their weight and are four times their birth weight at the age of five weeks. At the age of four weeks, their permanent canines break through, and they begin to eat meat. Captive females reach [[sexual maturity]] earliest at the age of one year and have their first litter at the age of 13 to 14 months. Captive leopard cats have lived for up to thirteen years.<ref name=WCoW/>

The [[estrus]] period lasts five to nine days.{{citation needed|date=June 2010}}