The sand cat (Felis margarita), is a small cat that lives in African and Asian deserts. (The name “desert cat” is reserved for Felis silvestris lybica, the African wildcat.) The sand cat lives in arid areas that are too hot and dry even for the African Wildcat: the Sahara, the Arabian Desert, and the deserts of Iran and Pakistan.
The sand cat comes out after dusk to hunt rodents, lizards, birds, and insects, although their diet may consist mostly of rodents.