Oh my, what an interesting trip I took recently through the world of feline relationships—I mean genetics. I think I’ve told you that in Olivia’s DNA report the wild cat she’s most closely related to is the cheetah. Well, I guess that’s true of almost all domestic cats. That makes domestic cats also related to the cougar/mountain lion.
Lions, tigers, and leopards are panthers. Who knew? I guess anyone who did their 
research. What are the differences between felines and panthers? Now it gets dicey and confusing. Evidently all cats are felines. Yeah, that confused me too, since I also read that felines purr and panthers roar.
So all cats are felines, but the lion, tiger, jaguar, etc. are pantherinae. The domestic 
cat as well as the cougar and cheetah fit under the term felidae. But don’t take my word for it, here’s a site you might enjoy. Then go announce to your cats who their ancestors really are. Fascinating stuff.
https://www.quora.com/Is-a-mountain-lion-closer-related-to-an-African-lion-than-a-tiger-is
https://bigcatswildcats.com/big-cats/big-cats-biological-classification/
