Slightly smaller than domestic cats, sand cats have short legs, wide heads with large, tapered ears and large, forward-placed eyes. They are a pale, sandy-gray color with white bellies. Markings include a reddish streak from the corner of the eye across the cheek, and dark striping on the legs and tail, which is tipped black. Sand cats reach up to 36 inches long and about 10 inches height at the shoulder.
Hair covers their paw pads.
The deserts of North Africa and Arabian Peninsula west of the Caspian Sea are home to the sand cat. They formerly were found also in Pakistan. Although they seem to prefer sand dunes, these cats can inhabit rocky areas, and have been known to share habitat with fennec foxes in some ranges. Nocturnal and crepuscular hunters of small mammals, birds, insects and reptiles, sand cats slink up to their prey silently, low to the ground. Their strategy is to get as close to the prey as possible without being seen or heard before striking.