ALL ABOUT RINGTAILS

The ringtail is a small carnivorous/omnivorous mammal that inhabits the semi-arid regions of the United States and northern Mexico. They’re closely related to the raccoon. Both animals are members of the Procyonidae family.

These animals go by multiple names, such as ring-tailed fox, civet cat, miner’s cat, bassarisk, and ring-tailed cat. These are all names for the same species (Bassariscus astutus). However, ringtail is their proper nomenclature. For the purpose of this article, though, we’ll refer to them as either ringtails or ring tailed cats. The reason is that more people know them by the ring tailed cat name than otherwise.

What do ring tailed cats look like?

Ring-tailed cats are one of the smallest members of the Procyonidae family. An average adult measures 12 to17 inches (30 to 42 cm) in body length. They are equal in length to their bodies. Typically they weigh 1.5 to 3.3 pounds (0.7 to 1.5 kg).

They are dark brown on their sides and back with lighter-colored stomachs. Their head and face are almost fox-like in appearance, thus the name fox cat. They have a sleek-shaped head with a proportionately long tapered nose and proportionately long upright ears. Their faces are mask-like in appearance. They have black hair around their eyes encircled by white rings, which fade into the brown of their heads. On the other end of their bodies, they have long fluffy tails that have alternating black and white rings similar to a raccoon’s tail. Source

Ring tailed cat adaptations

In their desert environment, ring tailed cats are built for rapidly ascending and descending cliffs, trees, and cacti. Their extra long-tail works as a counterbalance, and their hind feet rotate 180 degrees to give them extra leverage when climbing. Source An additional tool that they use to climb with is straight semi-retractable claws that allow them to grip and climb trees.

They also use opposing pressure by putting their back on one side of a crevasse and pushing against the other side with their feet to climb upward. If the crack in the cliff wall is too wide for the aforementioned method, they ricochet up from one wall of the crack to the other.

One more interesting thing about ringtails is that they spray a noxious-smelling fluid from their anal glands if they feel threatened.

What do ring tailed cats eat?

Ringtails are omnivores. Their diet is varies depending on the season and what is readily available. They dine on insects, mice, squirrels, and rabbits.

The vegetarian side of their diet consists of prickly pear, juniper, blackberries, hack, persimmon, and agave nectar. Source

Ring tailed cat predators

Cougars, bobcats, coyotes, raccoons, and great horned owls all prey on ring-tailed cats. Humans trap and also hunt ring-tailed cats for their fur.

Ring tailed cat range

In the United States, ring-tailed cats live in the following states.

• Texas- In Texas ring tailed cats inhabit most of the state but are less common in the lower Rio Grande valley and the coastal plains. Source
• Kansas- In Kansas these animals chiefly inhabit the eastern half of the state. Source
• Oklahoma- In Oklahoma ring tailed cat population is most heavily concentrated Oklahoma is centered around the southwest Red River region Source
• Missouri-
• Nebraska-
• Colorado-
• Utah- They inhabit most of the state, particularly southern, western and northeastern Utah.
• Nevada- In Nevada they inhabit the southern 2/3 of the state. Source
• New Mexico
• Arizona- The ringtail is Arizona’s state mammal. They are distributed through out the state
• California-
• Oregon- Lane, Douglas, Klamath, Jackson, Josephine, and Curry counties all have ring tailed cats in Oregon. Source
• Wyoming-

Two subspecies of ringtails also inhabit most of Mexico. Bassariscus astutus, or the same animal that lives in the U.S, also lives in the northern Mexican states. The Cacomistle or sub-species (Bassariscus sumichrasti ) ranges from south-central Mexico to Panama. Source

Ring tailed cat habitat

Ringtails predominantly inhabit semi-arid desert countries. These animals prefer cliff and talus slope terrain in close proximity to water. They are specially adapted to rapidly climbing both up or down almost vertical inclines. With this ability, they’re able to quickly escape from large carnivores such as cougars and coyotes. They’re also able to forage for food in spots that other animals can’t reach.

These animals generally make their dens in the hollows of logs or dead-standing trees. However, they are not confined to these two options. They have also been known to make their den inside a building in areas that are inhabited by people.

In areas that have an abundant water source, such as a river as opposed to a small spring, there may be as many as 50 ringtails per square mile. Source

Ring tailed cat mating

During mating season, both sexes of ring-tailed cats mark their territory with urine and feces.   They leave these scent markings to deter competition from members of the same sex and attract members of the opposite sex.

Ringtail mating season begins in February and ends in June. Pregnant females carry their offspring for 51-53 days. They will give birth to a litter that consists of from 1-5 newborns or cubs. When they come into the world, they weigh in at 0.9 ounces ( 25 grams) apiece. When they’re born, ring tailed cat cubs have fuzzy white hair all over.    Source Additionally, cubs are born with their eyes closed. They stay that way until they’re about a month old. By the time they’re 4 months old, ringtail cubs are hunting for themselves. At ten months, they become sexually mature and start the cycle all over again.

A ringtail has a lifespan of about 7 years in the wild. Source

Can you domesticate Ring tailed cat ?

As I mentioned earlier, humans harvest ringtails for their fur. However, these animals are easy to domesticate and make good pets. In the early American West, miners and other frontier settlers tamed them to keep the mice and rats cleaned out of their dwellings. Source This is the reason they’re known as miner’s cats.