As its name implies, the favored prey of the fishing cat is fish. While most cats are built for running with long legs and a long tail, the stocky fishing cat is built more for strong swimming with short, powerful limbs, and a rudder-like tail. Hunting methods include scooping prey out of the water with its slightly webbed paws and catching prey in its jaws while swimming. One particularly skilled technique it uses is to swim underwater and attack unsuspecting ducks from below as they surface. The fishing cat has also been observed to tap the surface of the water lightly as it searches for prey, perhaps to mimic insects and attract fish.
The fishing cat is about twice the size of a large housecat.

As part of the Small Cat Signature Project, the Zoo’s Lindner Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) supports fishing cat conservation both in captivity and in the wild.