Flat-headed cats are a small, semi-aquatic wild cat species from Southeast Asia, known for their unusually long, low skulls, webbed feet, and strong preference for hunting in and around water.

What is a flat-headed cat?

  • The flat-headed cat (Prionailurus planiceps) is a wild cat roughly the size of a domestic cat, with a head–body length of about 41–50 cm and weight around 1.5–2.5 kg.
  • Its head is elongated with a flattened forehead, small low-set rounded ears, and large forward-facing eyes that give it excellent binocular vision and a distinctly odd “civet-like” look.

Appearance and special features

  • Fur is thick, soft, and long, reddish-brown on the head and darker brown on the body, with a mottled whitish underbelly; the muzzle and chin are white with pale streaks up the face.
  • The tail is very short (only about a quarter of the body length), and the feet are long and narrow with strongly webbed toes and reduced claw sheaths, so the claws are often visible even when retracted.

Habitat and lifestyle

  • Flat-headed cats are wetland specialists, living in tropical lowland rainforests, peat-swamp forests, marshes, streams, and riverine forest, typically in low elevations close to water.
  • Their range includes parts of peninsular Thailand and Malaysia, Borneo, and Sumatra, where they often use dense vegetation near rivers and swampy areas and may occasionally appear near modified landscapes like oil palm plantations if close to forest.

Diet and behavior

  • They are strongly associated with water and are thought to feed mainly on fish and frogs, but also small rodents, crustaceans, and sometimes birds or domestic poultry.
  • They can seize live fish with their head fully submerged, then usually carry prey away from the water before eating, using their strong jaws and elongated teeth that help hold slippery prey.

Conservation status and latest news

  • The flat-headed cat is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List due to rapid loss and degradation of wetlands and lowland forests, as well as pollution and overfishing that reduce its prey base.
  • In late 2025, camera traps in the Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary recorded flat-headed cats in Thailand for the first time in almost 30 years, confirming that a small population still survives there after fears it might have vanished from the country.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.