The Pallas's cat (Otocolobus manul), also called manul, is a small wild cat with a broad but fragmented distribution in the grasslands and montane steppes of Central Asia.

It is negatively affected by habitat degradation, prey base decline, and hunting, and has therefore been classified as Near Threatened by IUCN since 2002. The Pallas's cat was named after the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas, who first described the cat in 1776 under the binomial Felis manul.

Pallas's cats are native to the steppe regions of Central Asia, where they inhabit elevations of up to 5,050 m (16,570 ft) in the Tibetan Plateau. They inhabit Mongolia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kashmir, and occur across much of western China. They also are found in the Transbaikal regions of Russia, and less frequently, in the Altai, Tyva, and Buryatia Republics. In 1997, they were reported for the first time as being present in the eastern Sayan Mountains.


Pallas’ cats have the longest and densest fur of any cat. Their fur is nearly twice as long on their belly and tail as on their top and sides.