A Cat Built for Water
The fishing cat, Prionailurus viverrinus, is not a cat that occasionally wades in. It is built for water the way a tiger is built for cover. Its forepaws are partially webbed. Its coat has two layers, a dense, water-repelling undercoat beneath longer guard hairs, so it surfaces from a dive without losing body heat. It swims with its hind legs and uses its flattened tail as a rudder. When it hunts, it either plunges directly into a stream or crouches at the bank and uses one paw to scoop fish upward in a single, precise strike.
