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Cat Museum

Kuching Water Front

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On 8th December 2008 Morning I spotted another knocked-down wild cat of Borneo on Kalabakan Road 40 Km from Tawau Town. Black and white coat pattern. Round black spots on the main body and black stripes on the tail.  It is common to see rear animals run down by vehicle along the Merotai-Kalapakan Road in Sabah.

It has a small, delicate head and small ears on an elongated neck, short slim legs (hind legs longer than front), A long stout tail with  twin black strip and a black tip. The coat color is white with dance black markings, either of large spots that tend to merge into longitudinal stripes on the neck and back, or of numerous small spots.

This wild cat was later identifies as the  MALAY CIVET a protected species in Malaysia.

Scientific Name : Viverra Tangalunga.     Malay Name : Musang Tenggalong

WILD CATS AND NATURE


Sarawak, an East Malaysia state, lies on the northwest coast of Borneo. Borneo is the third largest island in the world. It is the home of tropical rain forest which is millions of years old and is endowed with unsurpassed biological diversity. In Sarawak and Borneo, there are five species of wild cats. All the wild cats are carnivorous which feed on small mammals, bird and insects. They prefer to live in the dense dipterocarp forest and being nocturnal, hunt at night. Borneo do not have any big cats such as panther or tiger. This gallery introduces the visitors to the wild cats of Borneo with special reference to Sarawak,


In January 2008 the death of an Indonesian in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Borneo due to a bite from a rabid animal evoked a rabies vaccination to hundreds of wild cats in the city of Balikpapan on 7 January 2008.
 

http://news.mongabay.com

Andrew Hearn and Joanna Ross run the Bornean Wild Cat and Clouded Leopard Project. A collaboration between the Oxford based Global Canopy Programme, the WildCRU, University of Oxford, and the University Malaysia Sabah. The project aims to understand and protect Borneo's threatened wild cats, which include the flat-headed cat (Prionailurus planiceps), marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata) leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) the endemic bay cat (Catopuma badia) and the Bornean clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi).

 

It is common to see on the road dead of stray dog and cats being run over by passing vehicle. But on the morning 8 March 2008 the skin pattern of this carcass of a cat caused me to stop my car to take a few snap shots at the road side near Tawau General Hospital

The skin pattern is that I never seen before from those house cats around us. And this size is larger than our common house cats.

I suspect this is a wild species possibly from the Forest Reserve Bukit Gemok 5 kilometers away.

 
Recently I came across the above project by Andrew Hearn and Joanna Ross on Bornean Wild Cat (see web link above) and spotted this photo of leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis).

The skin pattern of the dead cat above resembled to that of a leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) (photo insert left).

If this dead animal I saw proved to belong to this rear wild cat species of Borneo, 

WILD CAT CONSERVATION

All wild cats in Sarawak are protected by the Wildlife Protection Ordinance (1990). No one is allowed to hunt or kill or keep Wild Cats as pets without a valid license from the Forest Department as they become endangered and rare.

Kuching Cat Museum specimens gallery provided information on the different types of Wild Cats in Borneo. Some of these cats could be seen in Malaysia's National Parks. You could help to conserve the beautiful cats by informing your sightings of Wild Cats to the nearest Wildlife Officer or the Museum. Wild Cats are part of our environment and heritage that we should help to preserve them.

CAT BIOLOGY

Female cats breed twice a year. Scratching by female cats indicates the beginning of a breeding season. Gestation last for about two to three months and number of kittens or cubs depending on the species. Kittens and cubs are blind at birth and are dependent on their mother. The mother cat feeds their young, keeps them clean and protects them from the male who would normally devour them.

WILD CATS ECOLOGY

Wild cats have developed powerful claws and are able to attain great speed in capturing their prey. These cats roam the rain forest, the larger species are usually solitary hunters. The cats are arboreal, but sometimes travel on the ground and become sociable during the mating season. The diet of the Clouded Leopard consist of wild deer. monkeys and small mammals.

The Leopard Cat feeds on rats and insect. Some of the wild cats have moved from the primary forest into secondary forest in search of food near to human settlements.



Cat Museum, Kuching, Sarawak
A Collection from all over the world about CAT in Cat City

...Museum for cat lover in the Cat City...

http://www.sarawak.com.my

  • Canopy Cats - Grobal Canopy Progamme
  • Bornean Wild Cat Project


    • Welcome to Kuching Cat Museum in the Cat City of the world

    The people in Kuching are crazy about cats. Huge, colorful cat statues dominate the town. The fishing cats dominate the centre square, the beckoning cat stands at the crossroads and the smiling cat stands guard at roundabouts.

    Part of the local fascination stems from the fact that kuching means cat in Malay. Lively discussions centre on whether this refers to the wild cats that dominated the area in times past, or the proliferation of a local fruit tree whose lychee-like fruit is nicknamed mata kuching or cat’s eyes.

    Experience and discover for yourself the fascinating world of cats at one of the world's unique cat museum. Explore the galleries and you will definitely be amazed at the variety of species and other assortment of artifacts from other parts of the world on display.

    The World's first Cat Museum, devoted to all things feline, is in Petra Jaya in the Kuching City North City Hall. Cat lovers will find a range of exhibits, photos, feline art and cat souvenirs. Tel: 446688. Open daily 9 am to 5 pm (closed public holidays). Admission free, camera fee RM 3, video fee RM 5. Petra Jaya Transport bus No 2C or 2D. 

    The Cat Museum is under the management of Kuching North City Hall. The collection for the Museum began since it was with the National Museum in Kuala Lumpur in 1987 and was later brought to Kuching City (The Cat City) under the care of Sarawak Museum and displayed for the first time on 7 August 1988 at Dewan Tun Abdul Razak. The works continued until it was officially handed over to Kuching North City Hall at the "Cat Museum" in 1993.

    		The Cat Museum as a "Cat Information Centre". Moreover, with a collection in various fields about cats will make the Cat Museum as a centre of meeting place for all researchers and cat lovers from all over the world. They will also be able to do research on cats, based on historical, social and legendary aspects related to human traditions and beliefs. The Cat Museum, can be as a meeting place as well as seminar and international conference venue for cat lovers' clubs from all over the world.

    LOCATION

    The Cat Museum is located on the top of a hill called "Bukit Siol" which stands 60 meters above the sea level with beautiful sceneries of the city of Kuching.

    The actual floor area of the Cat Museum is 1,035.9 sq. meters. There are of four main galleries having more than 2,000 cat artifacts and memorabilia from all over the world.

    OPENING HOURS

    Tuesday - Sunday (Including Public Holidays)  9.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m.  Close on Monday

    CONTACT

    CAT MUSEUM UNIT
    CORPORATE AND PUBLIC RELATION DIVISION
    KUCHING NORTH CITY HALL
    Bukit Siol, Jalan Semariang, Petra Jaya, 93050 Kuching, Sarawak, East Malaysia.
    Tel : 082-446688 Ext. 805  Fax : 082-44641
    Email : dbkuqrc@po.jaring.my

    DOMESTIC CAT

    Scientific Name : Fefis Catus
    Malay Name : Kucing Rumah

    Domestic cat like this Sarawak Cat is always associated with man. This Sarawak Cat is distinguished from its other cousins by its short tail which is sometimes bent. Its body color is variable with white, grey, black or orange.
     
    CLOUDED LEOPARD CAT

    Scientific Name : Neofelis Nebulosa
    Malay Name : Harimau Dahan
    Status : Totally Protected

    This is the largest of all Bornean cats. Its body has a set of stripes on an orange gold background like a tiger. This cat is rare. It is arboreal and more around in the trees, often hunts monkeys for its food. It is found in the rainforest.
    LEOPARD CAT

    Scientific name : Felis Bengalensis
    Malay name : Kucing Batu
    Status : Protected

    This cat is fairly common around secondary forest in all parts of Sarawak. It has a pattern of black spots on a tawny yellow coat. Its tail is short. The cat is usually nocturnal and feeds on small mammals and birds including domestic chickens.
    FLAT-HEADED CAT

    Scientific Name : Felis Pleniceps
    Malay Name : Kucing Hutan
    Status : Totally Protected

    This cat is found in Peninsular Thailand, Malaysia and Sumatera. In Borneo island, it was recorded being sighted in Sandakan areas in Sabah, Tasik Merimbun in Brunei, several areas in Sarawak, South Kalimantan and West Kalimantan. It appears brownish in color at a distance, but the hair of the upper parts is brown with fine grey and pale buff speckling. The chin and chest are white in color, the ear are small and the top of the head is long and flattened. This cat is nocturnal, terrestrial and probably feeds mainly on fish. It is also known to inhabit tall and secondary forest.

     
    HOW KUCHING CITY GOT ITS NAME

    The Sarawak river and the whole state including Kuching town were formerly known as Sarawak. no body knew how this capital town to be called Kuching.

    Kuching is a Malay word which means CAT and it is possible that in those days, cats were abundant along the Sarawak river bank, thus it was named 'Kuching'. In 1839, James Booke (the first white Rajah of Sarawak) referred to the town as Kuching which might suggest to an old word Cochin or port, as in India or Indochina.

    The town in 1870s had a river running through it known as Sungai Kuching for it passed through a hill with a large growth of fruit trees locally known as 'MAT A KUCING '(Nephelium Malaienes). Thus, it's settled that in 1876 the town |; became officially known as Kuching
     
    BAY CAT

    Scientific Name : Felis Badia
    Malay Name : Kucing Merah
    Status : Totally Protected

    This cat is the rarest of all cats in the world. It is found only in the rainforest of Borneo. Record shows that this species had been sighted in Baram. Sarawak and Danum Valley in Sabah. It differs from all other cats by the apparent absence of stripes or spots. The cats has two colour phases of golden brown and chestnut colours .with patches on the underside of the tail to its tip. The specimen in the photograph was mounted without internal bone and therefore does not look perfect. Its bone anatomy is displayed by its side. This is the only mounted specimen in the world today.
    MARBLE CAT

    Scientific Name : Felis Marmorata
    Malay Name : Kucing Dahan
    Status : Totally Protected


    This Cat is very similar in pattern to the Clouded Leopard Cat. It has soft thick fur and umerous black spots on his legs. This cat is a nocturnal animal, arboreal and feeds mainly on rats. It can be found in secondary forest.
     
    MALAY CIVET

    Scientific Name : Viverra Tangalunga
    Malay Name : Musang Tenggalong
    Status : Protected

    All civets or Musang, Bear Cats or Binturong are not really cats because they belong to a different family of animal called Viverridae. The general colour is grey marked with black and a black stripe along its spine to tail, with black spots on the sides of its body.

    INDEX of Kuching City  April 28, 2009 04:29:48 PM

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