[3] There was a proposal to divide the Pampas cat into three distinct species, based primarily on differences in pelage colour/pattern and cranial measurements.

This disrupts the four disulphide bonds in the normal protein, altering its tertiary structure and reducing its ability to bind to the melanocortin 1 receptor.

[9] An extensive morphological analysis of Pampas cat specimens from across the species's range revealed differences in cranial measurements, and pelage colour and pattern.

[7] Uncertainty also exists for the subspecies L. p. budini, which appears to resemble L. p. crespoi, and was described from lowlands of northwestern Argentina, but may actually be from humid forests in the region.

[3] More recent work, primarily genetic studies, failed to find support for a split at species level, although some geographical substructure was recognized.

[14] The Pampas cat ranges throughout most of Argentina and Uruguay into the Gran Chaco and Cerrado of Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil, and north through the Andes mountain chain through Ecuador and possibly marginally into southwestern Colombia.

[2] It occurs in a wide range of habitats and inhabits elevations between 1,800 and 5,000 m (5,900 and 16,400 ft) in páramo, marginally also in puna grassland and locally in dry forest.

[15] In central to northwestern Argentina, the Pampas cat is found at elevations below 1,240 m (4,070 ft) in grassland, mesophytic and dry forest, and shrubland.

Guinea pigs are thought to form a large part of its diet, along with viscachas, other rodents, and the ground-dwelling tinamou order of birds.