That Which We Call a Cat

A journey into the wacky world of feline taxonomy

Well, it happened. I made a big gaffe in my column last week, writing Panthera onca (jaguar) when I meant Panthera pardus (leopard). This cuts to the core not only because I know the scientific names of these cats, but also because one of them, the jaguar, is my favorite. To clarify last week’s point, you should look neither leopards nor jaguars in the eye in wild encounters.

To compensate for my error, I will leave my backyard critters and dedicate today’s column to the wild, wild world of naming the big cats.

What do you imagine when you hear the words “big cats”? I’ll name some and you tell me which ones are “big cats”: lion, tiger, cheetah, puma, jaguar, catamount, leopard, snow leopard, panther, caracal, lynx, clouded leopard, and Maine coon cat. Please add any I may have omitted.

If you have more than five on your list, this column is for you. Confused? I have to confess, it was only recently that I fell into this world of cat categories. I teach an online class for kids called “Keeping Up with the Kingdoms” and my students requested a few lessons on cats. As one who likes the tidy world of nests and levels, I was rather amused at what I learned.