So when i was working on getting info for this post, i was also trying to figure out which cat species Mei Ling was based on
I was easily able to narrow it down to these 3 species: Asian Golden Cat, Chinese Mountain Cat, Jungle Cat
I know the popular consensus is she's a Chinese Mountain Cat, but that was actually the first one i eliminated
Although CMC's have tail stripes like Mei Ling, as well as very faint stripes on their coat, they simply seem way too fluffy to be Mei Ling. They also have little hair tuffs on the tips of their ears, which Mei Ling does not.
There was also 2 cats on the original list that werent "first photographed" until 2008/2010, and since SOTFF came out in 2008 it was probably animated in 2007, which most likely eliminates those two species. I forgot to wrote down which ones they were (i did this research 2 or 3 weeks ago now) but im 90% positive the CMC was one
So that leaves AGC and the Jungle Cat. I could see her "U" shaped facial marking being similar to AGC's facial markings
But the Jungle Cat has more visable stripes down its lower legs and lower tail, as well as long ovular ears. I think Mei Ling is a Jungle Cat
I need to do more research on them (and make sure it wasnt one of "first photographed" species). They have several names, the only ones i can remember are Jungle Cat and Reed Cat. But for now on this is my personal headcanon for her
I noticed another thing! In a lot of jungle cat pics you can see a "U" shaped mark on their forehead, and the muzzle stripes that run from the eyes to the nose
Stumbled across pics of other species (ex. European Wildcat) that were a PERFECT match for Mei Ling but they either are not found in China or the China subspecies has a completely different coat pattern AND THIS KILLS ME
Heres a couple fun facts i found. And they are not one of the "first photograph" species! I think the vocal fact could make some great fics, and the water fact could help form her friendship with Crane in fics