Stray Barn Kittens Taken In By Farmer, But Then He Realizes They’re Not House Cats At All
When a man found a litter of abandoned kittens in his barn, he knew he had to help. When they got a bit older though, they definitely weren't what he expected.
Although some people claim to dislike cats, everybody loves a kitten. Their fluffy bodies, adorable faces, and high-pitched meows—I mean, they’re pretty easy to adore. One kitten-lover in Russia, however, got quite the shock when he realized the kittens he was raising were not regular kittens at all…
The Russian farmer came across the litter of kittens in his barn. They were so young their eyes were still closed, but they had been abandoned by their mother and left all alone. The farmer hoped the kittens’ mom would come back, but when it was clear she had disappeared, he decided to care for them himself. As the kittens got bigger though, he noticed something strange.
These kittens didn’t look like regular kittens— not any breed that he had seen, anyways. That’s when he decided to contact the Daursky Nature Reserve, who confirmed that the kittens were not domestic kittens at all.
It turns out they were Pallas’ cats (also known as Manul cats), a rare breed of wild cat from Central Asia.
This was definitely surprising— but either way, the wild kittens still needed a mom. The Daursky Nature Reserve took the kittens off the farmer’s hands. Staff hoped that the reserve’s two domestic cats would accept the babies as their own and act as surrogates until the kittens were ready to go back to the wild.
To everyone’s relief, the mama cats accepted them with open arms.
Pallas’ cats are reportedly very similar to domestic cats in size and weight; they only grow to be 60 centimeters long and weigh about 6 pounds. They have adorable flattened, round faces and dense, plushy fur that makes them look bigger than they are. Interestingly, their pupils also contract into a round shape as opposed to regular vertical slits.
The two reserve cats cared for the wild kittens as if they were their very own. With all the love and devoted attention, the Palas’ kitties started to grow strong.
Because the cats were wild, staff knew they would have to go back to their natural habitat. And after a few short months, the furry kittens were finally ready to go off on their own.
