After the Rooikat 76 entered production in the early 1990s, South African engineers continued developing the vehicle in an effort to further expand upon its capabilities. As such, the engineers decided to, among other minor changes and improvements, fit the Rooikat with a larger 105mm cannon, thus creating the Rooikat 105 in the process.

Development of the Rooikat 105 was completed in 1994 and a single prototype was built. However, after demonstrating the vehicle to the SANDF, the military decided not to procure the improved version of the Rooikat, given that they were already more than content with the base model of the vehicle.

As a result, the Rooikat 105 was subsequently offered on the export market in an effort to secure orders for the vehicles. However, despite its 105mm cannon and compatibility with most NATO rounds, the Rooikat 105 failed to attract the interest of any potential foreign customers. In the end, only a single prototype of the Rooikat 105 was constructed, with the vehicle never entering production due to lacking demand.