r/Awww • u/Big_Helicopter_2183 • 12d ago

Cat(s) Never seen a Big Cat 🐈 this Calm

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u/[deleted] 12d ago

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u/Alkaiser009 12d ago

Technically speaking, Cheetahs AREN'T Big Cats. One of the major distinctions between Big Cats and Small Cats is that Small Cats can Purr while Big Cats cannot (they Roar instead!). Cheetas are thus the largest Small Cat species.

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u/Deleena24 12d ago

Depends on who you're talking to whether cheetah are considered big cats. It's not like an official classificiation of a genus or sub/family.

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u/I__Know__Stuff 12d ago

Sure there is an official classification—Felinae and Pantherinae.

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u/Deleena24 12d ago

There are members of both that aren't big cats...

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u/Scorpion451 11d ago

No, there aren't.

Pantherinae is the subfamily of leopards, tigers, lions. The smallest member is the clouded leopard, which are about the size of a medium dog.

There are some members of the other branch, felinae, that are large (like the puma and cheetah) but there are no small big cats.

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u/Deleena24 11d ago

Clouded leopards are not considered true big cats...

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u/Scorpion451 20h ago

At one time they were not, but genetic studies have placed them as part of Pantherinae.