Which modern cat is most similar to the extinct saber-toothed cat?

Clouded leopards are a medium-sized cat named for the cloud-like spots on its coat. These provide camouflage in the dappled light of its forest habitat. The cats stand about 10-16 inches tall and are 4 to 6 feet long, almost half of which is the tail. Males tend to be larger and weigh up to 50 pounds while females come in at about 35 pounds.

Another distinctive feature of the clouded leopard is its long canine teeth and unusual skull. The clouded leopard has the longest upper canine teeth for its skull size of any modern carnivore, causing some people to compare the cat with the extinct saber-toothed cat. Studies by Dr. Per Christiansen, of the Copenhagen's Zoological Museum, have revealed connections between the skull characteristics of both living and extinct cats in that the structure of the clouded leopard skull bears distinctive resemblance to primitive saber-toothed cats such as Paramachairodus (before the group became highly specialized and developed enormous upper fangs ). Both saber toothed cats and clouded leopards have an enormous gape, around 100 degrees, and various adaptations to support such a gape. In contrast a modern lion can open its mouth about 65 degrees. This could indicate that one lineage of modern cats, of which now only the clouded leopard is still present, evolved some adaptations in common with the true saber-toothed cats.