General Features
The Andean cat is a medium-sized felid; its fur is mainly ash grey with brown-yellowish blotches that are distributed as vertical lines at both sides of the body, giving the appearance of continuous stripes. The tail of the Andean cat is very characteristic; it is very long (66 - 75% of the head and body length), thick and cylindrical, with a fluffy aspect and with 6 to 9 wide rings of dark brown to black colour. Their legs also have dark and narrower blotches or stripes, but they don’t form complete rings

Habitat
The Andean cat lives in rocky areas at high elevations of the Andean region of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Perú, demonstrating its adaptation to environments of severe climate, characterized by mean annual temperatures that vary between 0° and 4°C, frequent freezes, intense solar radiation, large daily thermal variations and low precipitation.

In general, the environment which the Andean cat inhabits is characterized by sparse vegetation, where xerophitic graminoids and creeping herbs are predominant. The presence of free water is probably an important factor for the Andean cat as well as the presence of mountain “vizcachas” or “chinchillones” (Lagidium viscacia or L. peruanum), that are permanent inhabitants of rocky sites.