 The jungle cat ( Felis chaus ) , also called reed cat or swamp cat , is a medium @-@ sized cat found in China , the Indian subcontinent , the Middle East and central and southeastern Asia . A member of the genus Felis , that consists of small cats , the jungle cat was first described by naturalist Johann Anton Güldenstädt in 1770. nobody knows exactly how many species of cats there are in the world, but the number is certainly above 100. The jungle cat is a medium-sized wild cat found in the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and central and southeastern Asia.