You might have a big cat at home that eats too much cat chow, lazes around on the couch and is a little plump around the middle. But when we talk about BIG cats, we aren’t referring to overly large pet cats that meow and scamper around the house. Big cats are species of wild cats that are large and in charge. Lions, tigers, and leopards are considered big cats as are jaguars, mountain lions and cheetahs.