🐆 Bobcat vs Cheetah 🐆
The cheetah is about twice as long as the bobcat. The cheetah weighs about 5 times as much as the bobcat.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🐆 Bobcat | 🐆 Cheetah |
|---|---|---|
| Size The cheetah is about twice as long as the bobcat. | 30 in to 4.1 ft76 cm to 1.2 m1 | 5.8 to 7.4 ft1.8 to 2.3 m2 |
| Top speed We don't have a checked number for the bobcat yet. | no checked number yet | 60 to 70 mph96 to 112 km/h2 |
| Weight The cheetah weighs about 5 times as much as the bobcat. | 8.8 to 33 lb4 to 15 kg1 | 75 to 141 lb34 to 64 kg2 |
| Lives The bobcat lives a bit longer than the cheetah. | 12 years12 years1 | 8 to 10 years8 to 10 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | rodents, rabbits, large ground birds and sometimes small deer or reptiles | antelopes such as gazelles and impalas, and hares |
| Lives in They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. | forests, semi-deserts, mountains and brushland across North America | the grasslands of eastern and southern Africa, and a few in Iran |
Which one? Bobcat or cheetah
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the bobcat yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed. Our face-off books compare real numbers, and nobody gets hurt.
10 things to know about Bobcat vs Cheetah
- The bobcat: A wild cat of North America with a short tail.
- The cheetah: The fastest runner on land, built light and long like a greyhound.
- They are the same kind of animal: both are mammals.
- The cheetah is about twice as long as the bobcat: 2 against 1.
- The cheetah weighs about 5 times as much as the bobcat. That is 1 for the bobcat and 2 for the cheetah.
- The bobcat lives a bit longer than the cheetah. Usual lifespans: 1 for the bobcat and 2 for the cheetah.
- Both eat meat. The bobcat eats rodents, rabbits, large ground birds and sometimes small deer or reptiles; the cheetah eats antelopes such as gazelles and impalas, and hares.
- The bobcat lives in forests, semi-deserts, mountains and brushland across North America. The cheetah lives in the grasslands of eastern and southern Africa, and a few in Iran. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet.
- The bobcat: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 3
- The cheetah: needs help (Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List). 4
Wow facts
🐆 Bobcat
- A bobcat lives in forests, deserts and mountains.
- It is named for its short, bobbed tail.
- It eats mostly rodents and rabbits.
🐆 Cheetah
- A cheetah can't roar. It purrs, and it makes a chirp like a bird.
- The black lines from its eyes to its mouth may help cut the glare of the sun.
- Its claws stay out a little, like the spikes on a runner's shoes.
Questions kids ask about Bobcat and Cheetah
Which is heavier, bobcat or cheetah?
The cheetah weighs about 5 times as much as the bobcat. That is 1 for the bobcat and 2 for the cheetah.
Which lives longer, bobcat or cheetah?
The bobcat lives a bit longer than the cheetah. Usual lifespans: 1 for the bobcat and 2 for the cheetah.
What do bobcat and cheetah eat?
Both eat meat. The bobcat eats rodents, rabbits, large ground birds and sometimes small deer or reptiles; the cheetah eats antelopes such as gazelles and impalas, and hares.
Where do bobcat and cheetah live?
The bobcat lives in forests, semi-deserts, mountains and brushland across North America. The cheetah lives in the grasslands of eastern and southern Africa, and a few in Iran. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet.
Who would win, bobcat or cheetah?
We never show fights, because a fight is not a fair way to compare animals. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. What we can compare is how big, how heavy, how fast, how long they live and what they eat, as above.
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/bobcat-vs-cheetah
Where these numbers come from
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Lynx rufus (bobcat), checked 10 November 2026.
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, Cheetah, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.