Basically I'm going to ramble about what wild cats the otters represent and why :) I still need to take a guess about a few of them, so maybe you will help me out?
1. King cheetah
These cats irl are very distinct, so I am certain that's what it is :) I identified it by cream base color and thick black stripe running along the back- in reality they have three such stripes, but pet design has to be readable lol. Big, blotchy spots and markings on the face are also very specific to bigger cats.
Here's what this cat looks like irl next to a regular cheetah!
2. Snow leopard
Another very distinct cat, I don't think there are any others thad display greyish coat with cream underbelly and dark rosettes (that's what their markings are called!). I would say the bright blue eyes on the pet design aren't correct, as irl their eyes are pale yellow, green and sometimes very pale blue. Only kittens have striking blue eyes :)
3. Leopard
Why leopard and not jaguar? Let's start with the fact that leopard and jaguar are two different species. Leopards are native to Africa and Asia, meanwhile jaguars live in North and South Americas.
Both have yellowish base coat covered with black rosettes with darkeer, almost orange center. Jaguars have more stocky build and are excellent swimmers, but chicken smoothie pet won't show us that, haha.
Here's why I think it's a leopard- it has bright nose and ears colored like their base fur. If you'd look at pictures, you can see that jaguars have black ears with white spots and almost black nose, and our CS otter does not have that.
Here's a leopard:
And a jaguar!
4. Serval
That's an easy one, haha
We have yellow cat with bright underbelly, with black ears, spots, and more importantly, banded tail. But the most characteristic are short stripes on the neck and shoulders. That's a serval all right!
Here's how this fella looks in real life!
5. Caspian tiger
Everyone can see it's a tiger, but the hard part is guessing a subspecies! I think it's a caspian tiger because it's the only tiger subspecies that had it's stripes described as "a mixture of brown or cinnamon shades", so it very easily ruled all other subspecies.
Very sadly this subspecies is now completely extinct, but we do have pictures of what these beautiful animals looked like:
There's also color-enchanced picture :)
6. Melanistic jaguar/leopard
Same story as with regular leopard/jaguar mentioned earlier- due to the simplified pet design it's impossible to tell the difference! Especially because both melanistic jaguars and leopard exist in real life :) Word about what melanism is- it's a birth defect that results in way too much dark pigment in the skin, that makes creatures look very dark or black, however it does not make original markings in our cats disappear, they're still there, and you can even see it on the photos below!
There we have melanistic jaguar- note how you can still see the spots on the head:
And here's melasnistic leopard- you even can see rosette markings on the body!
Now we're reviewing the kitties I'm not sure about, haha
7. Borneo bay cat
I am pretty certain it's our guy, but I could be wrong!
I think it's bay cat because CS design has cinammon body with few spots near the white belly, white spots near eyes and bright insides of the ear. Note how tail is a bit darker too! To be honest I had no idea these cats even existed until I started trying to match them to real life animals, you learn something everyday!
And this is our potential irl counterpart below:
8. Marbled cat / Clouded leopard
Well, I'm even less sure with this pretty fella!
But almost square gradiented markings with black borders on the side are pretty unique. Note how our CS pet also has spots on the butt and stripes on the neck. Everything combined leads me to believe that's a either of those!
Here's what marbled cats look like:
And here's a clouded leopard:
9. Sand cat ???
Haha, I honestly have no idea. My initial guess was a lion, but lions have very faint spots near the belly, not stripes on legs 🤔
Closest cat I know is a sand cat since it has similar color, stripes on legs and cream neck area. Tail has stripes with dark tip too, so that's my best guess. But darker shoulders and paws on CS pet are making me doubt my guess. Let me know what you think!
10. Asian golden cat
I am least sure of this one LOL. But! Both irl cat and CS pet are rusty in color, have white underside and hints of grey in their coats. Their faces are brighter as well, and honestly that's my best take on this little fella. Do you have any guesses?
Hope you learned something cool about wild cats around the world! Maybe you disagree with my takes on trying to decipher what these pets are? Please let me know I'd very much would like to hear what you think!
by Kirin Koi » Thu Mar 21, 2024 12:36 pm 
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