Two subspecies have been described and these persist in theory. Felis nigripes nigripes, the nominate genotype form described by Burchell, was first described from near Kuruman in the Northern Cape. Its range includes present-day south eastern Namibia, Botswana, Northern Cape, North West, Gauteng, Limpopo and marginally into Mpumalanga. Felis nigripes thomasi is described from a specimen collected near Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape. Its range includes the present-day Eastern Cape, westwards to the southern regions of the Northern Cape and the Free State.