Nico - a melanistic male Geoffroy's Cat was born 5/1/93. We had been trying to
purchase him from birth and chased him through to his second owner who sent him along with three
Bengals on 7/19/94. Everyone says that he "looks just like a domestic cat" but careful study of his
size and shape shows that he is indeed a wild cat. He is quite tame and hates water.
The Geoffroy's Cat was named after the 19th-century French naturalist Geoffroy St. Hilaire. The
Geoffroy's Cat is secretive in nature and can be found in both the woodlands and brush of South
America. The head and body length of the Geoffroy's Cat can be up to two feet four inches, tail
length up to 14 inches, and weight up to six pounds. Their diet consists of small mammals, birds and
fish, to which it hunts at dawn and dusk. After a gestation period of 75 days, the female gives birth
to two to three offspring.
Most people are not intimated by the Geoffroy's Cat's size, but they should be. No one to my
knowledge has been able to fully domesticate a Geoffroy's Cat, which makes them a truly
untrustworthy wild cat.
