The Sand Cat is only cat that live in true desert, its habitat used to be the desert of Arabian Peninsula, Northern Africa and southwest and Central Asia. They are predesignated to live in the desert with their thick fur which protects them from very high (126 °F) and very low temperature (23 °F). The long fur over its foot pads protects them from the very hot sand, they are nocturnal predators and mostly feed on small mammals , the Sand Cat can survive for months without water, ,Sand Cats can survive up to 13 years in captivity, but they rarely live that long. 41% of captive kittens never reach adulthood.
The Sand cat population , according to the International Information Service List, counts 116 worldwide, with 36 living in US Zoos and institutes, 31 in the UAE AL Ain Zoo, 15 in the Tel Aviv Ramat-Gan Zoo and only the remaining population live in the wild.
They are threaten because of habitat degradation, hunted by human for sport, captured and sold in the illegal pet trade, hunted for its fur used in the fur trade,. Captivated Sand cats are highly sensitive to respiratory diseases and this is the main cause for the death of the adult cats, and the death rates in the controlled environment of a zoo is high since these cats have to be kept in very dry environment where humidity and temperature do not fluctuate.
The Sand cat population , according to the International Information Service List, counts 116 worldwide, with 36 living in US Zoos and institutes, 31 in the UAE AL Ain Zoo, 15 in the Tel Aviv Ramat-Gan Zoo and only the remaining population live in the wild.
