The Rusty-spotted Cat is the smallest wild cat in Sri Lanka and is also considered as a competitor for the smallest wild cat in the world alongside with the Black-footed Cat Felis nigripes and Kodkod Leopardus guigna. They have a slender body and are smaller than the domestic cat. The fur is grizzled brownish grey, tinged with rufous to varying degrees and marked with rusty brown spots. The head is short, rounded and is marked with two white stripes on the inner edge of the eyes. Their legs are short and the tail is moderately long, more rusty colored than the body and unmarked. Their diet consists of small mammals such as mice, shrew, and birds and is known to raid hen houses.   They occur in tall forests in the wet-zone as well as thorn scrub forests in the dry zone.