The Cretan wildcat (Felis silvestris cretensis; Greek: φουρόγατος, fourógatos) is a European wildcat subspecies that inhabits the Greek island of Crete and was first described in 1953. Long feared extinct, participants of an expedition by the University of Perugia managed to capture an individual in 1996. Two hypotheses of how wildcats arrived on the island have been suggested: * It was already present before the mainland and Crete separated. * Early settlers of Crete brought domesticated cats with them. Some of these escaped and became wild again.