Family: Felidae

Felidae is a family of animals, also known as "cats" or "felids", that came into existence around 25 million years ago. There are currently 41 extant Felidae species.

These species are divided into two subfamily groups: Pantherinae & Felinae. Within Pantherinae, you can find extant felids such as lions (panthera leo), tigers (panthera tigris), jaguars (panthera onca), snow leopards (panthera uncia), leopards (panthera pardus), clouded leopards (neofelis nebulosa) and the Sunda clouded leopard (neofelis diardi).

Within Felinae, you can find extant felids belonging to the following genuses: felis (domestic cats, European wildcats, sandcats, jungle cats, African wildcats, black-footed cats, Chinese mountain cats), acinonyx (cheetahs), caracal (caracals, African golden cats), catopuma (Asian golden cats, bay cats), herpailurus (jaguarandi), leopardus (ocelots, northern tiger cats, pampus cats, kodkods, margays, Geoffroy's cats, Andean mountain cats, southern tiger cats), leptailurus (servals), lynx (Eurasian lynxes, bobcats, Canadian lynxes, Iberian lynxes), otocolobus (Pallas cats), puma (cougars), pardofelis (marbled cats), and prionailurus (leopard cats, Sunda leopard cats, flat-headed cats, fishing cats, rusty-spotted cats).

There are many more that are extinct such as Smilodons and many of the subspecies belonging to the above mentioned groups. This page isn't exactly meant to be a complete history lesson. I won't list all of those but rest assured I include them when I speak of the connection I feel to felines.

I find felines to be even more important to me than my theriotype (I was never a big fan of dogs in general). I don't identify as a felid of any kind or as felidae as a whole but I have consistant, recurring experiences in which I sometimes feel as if I am almost one of them. I experience cameo mental & phantom shifts regularly. This actually got me really, really confused for a time but I am simply a saluki that feels like and acts like a cat. I believe living around cats for the majoriy of my life and never being without a cat for too long contributed to this. I have many cats at this moment. All loved & taken care of.

Not only do I feel that I am almost a felid, I also feel a great deal of love & compassion for them to the point that I will cry for cats I don't even know. All cats are my family and I love them. I'd go so far as to consider certain felid species to be significant in symbolism to me (Cougar is especially a strong one that I would consider as being akin to a fylgja) and would consider that I'm learning from these species in some spiritual kind of way. I am so intertwined with symbolism applying to felines that my Pullman form within dæmonism is a black cat.