[2] Felis rubiginosa was the scientific name used by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1831 for a rusty-spotted cat specimen from Pondicherry, India.

[7][8] Analysis of mitochondrial DNA of all Felidae species indicates a radiation at around 16.76 to 6.46 million years ago.

[9] The rusty-spotted cat possibly genetically diverged from this ancestor between 6.54 to 3.42 million years ago.

Its chin, throat, inner side of the limbs and belly are whitish with tiny brownish spots.

[13][14][15][16][17] Camera trapping revealed its presence in Pilibhit Tiger Reserve in the Indian Terai and in Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra.

[18][19] In western Maharashtra, the rusty-spotted cat is breeding in a human dominated agricultural landscape, where rodent densities are high.

At Horton Plain National Park in Sri Lanka, they were mostly recorded between sunset and sunrise, with limited daytime activity.

It hunts primarily on the ground, making rapid, darting movements to catch its prey.

They reach sexual maturity at around 68 weeks, by which time they have developed the distinctive adult coat pattern of rusty blotches.

Rusty-spotted cats have lived for twelve years in captivity, but their lifespan in the wild is unknown.

The species is fully protected over most of its range, with hunting and trade banned in India and Sri Lanka.