Kodkod: status, range, size and diet
The smallest wild cat in the Americas, living in the temperate rainforests of Chile and Argentina, moved to Least Concern in 2025.
Also known as Leopardus guigna, guina, guiña, Chilean cat
At a glance
| Scientific name | Leopardus guigna |
|---|---|
| Group | Small wild cats |
| Weight | 2-2.5 kg |
| Length | Head and body about 37-51 cm, tail 20-25 cm |
| Known for | Being the smallest wild cat of the Americas, often with a black coat. |
Status
| IUCN Red List category | Least Concern |
|---|---|
| Assessed in | 2025 |
Where it lives
| Range | Central and southern Chile and a narrow strip of southwestern Argentina, including Chiloé Island |
|---|---|
| Habitat | Temperate rainforest with dense understory, plus secondary forest, up to about 1,900 m |
| Diet | Birds, small rodents and lizards, sometimes poultry |
Main threats
- Logging and forest conversion
- Retaliation over poultry
- Domestic dogs
- Disease from domestic cats
- Climate change
About
The kodkod, called guiña in Chile, is the smallest cat native to the Americas. An adult weighs about as much as a small house cat, and the coat is buff to brown with dark spots, a tail ringed with dark bands and a rounded head. Black individuals are common, and the dark colour is caused by a genetic change that has been identified. It climbs well and often rests or hunts above ground.
Males hold territories of about one to two and a half square kilometres, and females use smaller areas. Litters have one to three kittens after a gestation of roughly ten weeks.
Where it lives and what it eats
The kodkod lives between about 30 and 48 degrees south, in central and southern Chile and along the Argentine side of the Andes, with a population on Chiloé Island. Its stronghold is the Valdivian and Araucaria temperate forest with thick bamboo understory, although it also uses secondary forest and scrub. It has been recorded as high as about 1,900 m.
Birds, small rodents, lizards and insects make up most of its diet. It will also take domestic fowl, which is the source of much of the conflict with people.
Threats and conservation
For many years the kodkod was listed as Vulnerable. In 2025 a new global assessment moved it to Least Concern. The lead assessor said the change came from better data on the cat, and conservationists continue to urge caution. The species still faces logging, conversion of native forest to pine and eucalyptus plantations and farmland, fragmentation, wildfire and killing in response to poultry losses. Domestic dogs attack kodkods, and diseases such as feline leukaemia virus can pass from domestic cats. Climate change is expected to reduce suitable forest.
National lists are more cautious than the global one: Argentina treats it as threatened, and Chile rates it differently in the north and south. International trade is controlled under CITES Appendix I.
Cats and people
Rural families often view the guiña as a chicken thief, and retaliation is sometimes based on belief about the damage it does, not on documented losses. Two of five radio-collared cats on Chiloé were killed after raiding coops in the late 1990s. Because of this, protecting poultry with secure enclosures and working with landowners are central to keeping the species alive outside reserves.
Profile last reviewed November 7, 2026