Talk:Big cat

Capitalization of article

Moved big cat to Big Cat since it's a proper noun, more or less, and leaves room for discussion of the so-called "big cats" in the uncapitalized version. -- JohnOwens 01:00 Mar 26, 2003 (UTC)

Actually, I'm pretty sure Big Cat is *not* a proper noun. Animal names, as a rule, are not proper nouns (with a few obvious exceptions like Grevy's zebra). Funnyhat 04:04, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC)

roaring

members of genus Panthera can roar, the other big cats can not, aside from the cheetah. Lachatdelarue (talk) 15:30, 2 Apr 2005 (UTC)

What is roaring? 71.194.44.209 (talk) 23:31, 18 May 2011 (UTC)

Clarity

I am a bit confused by the following.

"One area of distinction is that big cats can roar, but cannot purr whilst inhaling, only while exhaling. (The cheetah is an exception, being able to make both sounds.)"

Does this mean that big cats:

While exhaling can

• Roar and purr
• Roar only
• Purr only

While inhaling can

• Roar and purr
• Roar only
• Purr only

The addition of the cheetah statement only added to my confusion.

This statement at Panthera,

"Only these four cat species have the anatomical changes enabling them to roar, due to a modification of the shape of their hyoid bone."

noted the distinction (whatever it may be) as being unique to four species only, but this page includes several species that do not have that distinction. Perhaps there should be Medium cat for Servals, Ocelots etc.

I've clarified based on info in Purr (cats can purr or roar, but not both), Cheetah (Cheetah's cannot roar), Talk:Purr (inhale/exhale question), and Panthera --Sonelle 10:23, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

ALL cats can purr. Members of the genus Panthera are the only cats that can roar.

"Lions have been known to purr, contrary to popular belief. They only purr when exhaling, not while both inhaling and exhaling like house cats."[[1]]

Bluelion 01:46, 28 February 2006 (UTC)

Wikijunior needs your help

There is a Wikijunior book on Big Cats, and we need some dedicated editors to whip it into shape. If anyone is interested in writing a children's nonfiction book, I encourage you to check out Wikijunior Big Cats. --LV ^{(Dark Mark)} 18:51, 3 November 2005 (UTC)

Big cats with little cats

Does anything peculiar happen if a big cat is placed in close proximity to a little one, such as a house cat? Does the little one become scared, do they get along, or anything else? --Impaciente 18:59, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Most likely the big cat would kill it or completely ignore it with a third option of scare it away. dnlcaissie (UTC)

The smaller cat might possibly try to approach to larger one... but only if it was brave, I suppose. The larger one would most likely ignore it, or, if pestered, hiss at the smaller cat. With that, the small cat would run away. NIN (talk) 16:59, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

Dictions between big cats and small cats

Genetically there’s almost no difference between a big cat and small cat. In fact with out the fur it’s almost impossibly to tell one cat from another. So it’s only the living treats and the small genetic differences that can be used to distinguish a big cat from a small cat. Now most people would say that the ability to roar defines a big cat but only a lion can roar. Dnlcaissie....I think I wrote this:/

Hmm... you're right, only a lion can roar in a way that we would recognise. Big cats' skins, by the way, are usually coloured in exactly the same way as their fur - if you were to shave a tiger, it would look exactly the same, only a little smaller and less furry. The same is true with leopards, cheetahs, and jaguars. But not lions, obviously; they don't really have marked fur. NIN (talk) 19:13, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

The way cats eat is a major distinguishable trait. Big cats eat while lying down, while small cats crouch with their tail pointed outwards. I don't know why the puma (cougar) is included here, though, because the article seems to relate to 'race'; the puma is only related to the big cats with its size, but is in the small cat family. Revan ltrl (talk) 17:03, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

Are the clouded leopards big cats?

I just reorganized the article, and noticed a significant discrepancy. Are the two clouded leopard species truly considered big cats? The normal clouded leopard doesn't seem to weight more than 20 kg/50 lb or so, and even the new Bornean clouded leopard isn't much bigger. That's well below the threshold mentioned in the article, and within the medium-sized cat range. | Pat 17:49, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

Here's the confusion: Big cats vs great cats. The clouded leopards are considered to be great cats even though they are not big. And the cougar is considered to be a lesser cat even thout it is big. RastaKins 22:10, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

There is no confusion. The clouded leopard is not a great cat because it cannot roar and it is not in the genus panthera. It is debateable as to whether or no it fits the description of a "big" cat, but I have seen it described as such in literature. I don't think lumping the clouded leopard in with the big cats should be a point of contention. --TaeKwonTimmy 21:56, 14 June 2007 (UTC)

Panthera Lineage: Clouded Leopard, Lion, Tiger, Jaguar, Leopard and Snow Leopard....also Marbled cat. Also know as the "big cats"...snow leopords don't roar neither do tigers. The big cats can purr for short bursts.--dnlcaissie 21:56, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

removed dead link from article to wikijunior project

I removed

from the article. It appears to be an error or dead link. Can anyone fix this?--Filll 15:27, 15 November 2007 (UTC)

It wasn't a dead link, the template parameters weren't filled out correctly. I fixed it. --192.193.245.16 (talk) 11:59, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

Do Big Cats have Retracable Claws or not?

Normal everyday small cats have retractable claws but do big cats have them,i would like some to write an article about this please. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.146.192.32 (talk) 21:02, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

We do not do your homework for you. Read the existing articles. - UtherSRG (talk) 21:07, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Threats/Cats in Captivity

The "Threats" section states, "there are still an estimated 15,000 big cats kept captive in America." This was unclear at first as to whether it was the United States or the Americas, but checking the reference indicates that it's referring to the United States. I made this small change, but why is the United States the only country specified as banning their capture and keeping them in captivity? Is there someone who is knowledgeable of the threats expand on this section to include a global perspective? Kman543210 (talk) 03:22, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

Cubs v. Kittens

This distinction is not a feature of big cats. It is a feature of the English language, and is not essential/substantial to the article's subject matter. Maybe it has a place in the article, but not in the lede. elpincha (talk) 16:13, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Janguarundi

Why isn't the Jaguarundi listed under Puma? Corvus cornix_talk 23:52, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps because it is not a big cat!!!--Altaileopard (talk) 15:31, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

But it's Puma yaguarondi. Corvus cornix_talk 04:07, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Clarity again

Also beneath the picture of the tiger is the very unscientific caption "the tiger is the heaviest of the cats" should it be changed, as it doesn't take in to effect extinct cats, does not mention the word species which is important as "Ligers" can and do get bigger but being a hybrid are not a species.

Fixed. In future pls put new comments at the bottom of the talk page and sign your entry with 4 of these ~ . Secret Squïrrel, approx 12:55, 4 Fabruary 2009 (Earth Standard Time)

Cougars

They're in Felinae, not Pantherinae. Shouldn't it be mentioned in the article somewhere that despite being more closely related to small cats, they are at times described as "big cats"? 81.165.230.130 (talk) 09:19, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Pantherinae Merge

That page has essentially the same content. I'd suggest a redirect here. If people insist on the scientific page name it should be very clearly identified as referring to big cats since otherwise the ordinary Jill and Joe won't find it and we'll end up with people creating a new page again. Big Cats (capitalized) should also redirect here. 76.97.245.5 (talk) 14:13, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

Cougars (aka Pumas and Mountain Lions) are NOT big cats. they are the largest of the small cats. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 155.104.37.17 (talk) 13:41, 2 June 2009 (UTC)

Cougars are larger than some of the so called "Big Cats". The term Big Cats and Small Cats is misleading as it implies the big cats are bigger, when that isn't always true. Some of the "small cats" members are larger than the "big cats". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.208.103.241 (talk) 15:45, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

Is this a proper term to use in articles?

The term big cat is confusing for those of us who have English as a second language. Felid is a more unambiguous term. Big cats are just large house cats for almost every other language... --Againme (talk) 14:13, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

Big Cats

The article is about the laymans term "big cats" (eg cats larger then domestic house cats) and as such should not be limited to either Panthera or Felinae. If people are intersted in what classification the animals are they can click on the animals article link.

This article is getting way to technical and is attempting to describe what a scientist would class a "Big Cat" as instead of showing the meaning and usage of the term in everyday society.

In speaking with the average every day person they would consider and call Cheetah's and Cougars Big Cats (why? well because they are BIG) it may be worth mentioning the differences in a sub heading eg. explaining that scientists have defined Big and Small Cats and that Cheetah's are in a different catagory all together (Just to confuse us all).

Let me know what you think, it may be that we re-design and re-word the article to reflect the usage of the term "Big Cat" in everyday usage.

Helps to have a good discussion before making and major changes.

Regards ZooPro (talk) 14:51, 2 June 2009 (UTC)

Im glad to see i got such a great response ;) , I will give it a bit longer before i make any major changes. ZooPro (talk) 04:07, 20 September 2009 (UTC)

What is the bet that if i change everything someone will complain. ZooPro 09:15, 27 October 2009 (UTC)

Well, the Cheetah is included (scientifically, despite its uniqueness) in the big cats category anyway, so their inclusion is unquestionable, whereas the Puma (Cougar) is not, scientifically. But if you mean that this article is all about size, then they both should definitely be included, as well as any cat bigger than the domestic house cat, like Bobcats, Ocelots and, Servals. Revan ltrl (talk) 17:11, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

Cryptid

shouldn't there be a disambiguation page for the cryptids? 71.194.44.209 (talk) 23:09, 18 May 2011 (UTC)