In some genera the tail is banded or ringed. The body is long and sinewy, with short legs and generally a long, bushy tail. The head is elongate and the muzzle is pointed. The claws are semiretractile in some genera. Female viverrids usually have two or three pairs of abdominal mammae.
Males have a baculum.
Most viverrids have scent glands in the anal region, which secrete a nauseous-smelling fluid as a defensive measure. In mongooses and some other members of the family, these glands open into a pouch or saclike depression, outside the anus proper, in which the secretion is stored. The conspicuous pattern of pelage in some genera has been interpreted as being a warning that the fetid anal gland secretion is present. Such a color pattern is also found in skunks and certain other members of the family Mustelidae. The secretion of the scent glands, when rubbed on various objects, is recognized by other individuals of the same species and is probably used to communicate various information.