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Malaysian Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus)

Found in Eastern Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, most of Southeast Asia, through java. An adult fishing cat is about twice the size of a domestic cat. As the name implies, fish is the main prey of this cat, of which it hunts about 10 different species. They hunt along the edges of waterways, grabbing prey from the water, and sometimes diving in to catch prey further from the banks. In this painting, I only depicted the cats rather malevolent face, giving the impression that it was crouching on a bank with its head lowered watching the water for its prey. I purposely stylized the shapes in background to maintain the focus and emphasis on this animal’s beautiful coat and eyes.

Sporting fabulous coloration, Fishing cats have olive-grey fur with dark spots arranged in horizontal streaks running along the length of the body. The underside is white, and the back of the ears are black with central white spots. There are a pair of dark stripes around the throat, and a number of black rings on the tail. Fishing cats have a stocky, muscular, build with medium to short legs, and a short tail of one half to one third the length of the rest of the animal. The face is elongated with a distinctly flat nose and ears set far back on the head. The toes are webbed, with claws that do not fully retract into their sheaths.