Posted on 10/07/2012 11:10:54 AM PDT by Slings and Arrows
Seriously. Look at this guy. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Berlin Zoo has announced the birth of its first rusty-spotted cat kittens since it opened 168 years ago. Nicknamed ‘the hummingbirds of the cat family’, rusty spotted cats (Prionailurus rubiginosus) rival the black-footed cats (Felis nigripes) of southern Africa for the title of world’s smallest wild cat. Their long bodies and tails, which can reach a total of 78 cm in the largest males, might out-stretch their African relatives, but they’re just a little bit lighter at 0.9 – 1.6 kg. To put this in perspective, the world record for the smallest adult tabby cat is 1.36 kg. And my giant beast of a tuxedo cat is 4 kg. Which, by the way, is the average weight for a domestic cat (I’m not a terrible mum).
-snip-
Unlike another very rare andsmall wildcat species, the Scottish wildcat, rusty-spotted cats are easy to tame, and there have been some reports of this species being bred with domestic cats. Nineteenth century British physician and zoologist Thomas C. Jerdon kept a number of rusty-spotted cats in his home for research, and according to Wild Cats of the World by Swiss naturalist and writer Charles Albert Walter Guggisberg, he said of them, “I had a kitten brought to me when very young in 1846, and it became quite tame, and was the delight and admiration of all who saw it. Its activity was quite marvellous and it was very playful and elegant in its motions.”
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.scientificamerican.com ...
Because they can.
IIRC, I seem to recall that some-or-other breed of hairless dog was developed so that arthritis sufferers could warm their hands on them. Don’t believe that that applies here, though.
The perfidy of the Hun knows no bounds.
Oh, please. GET MITTENS!
There was a cute Sphynx (sp?) cat on an episode of “My Cat From Hell.” He was a yowler-—cried often, and loud. I don’t know if it’s a trait of the breed.
Ich bin ein Purrliner.
The head and ears seem a bit more rounded than on a domestic cats, and the paws larger in proportion.
Someday I’ll have to tell you about a Jungle Cat in my yard in way way suburban Bethesda.
These kittens look kind of like the hybrids they breed from them.
I’d like to hear that.
Dawwww! So cute.
Riverbanks Zoo down in South Carolina had some of the black-footed cats mentioned in the article. They are about the same size as these little guys, but size means nothing for those black-footed cats. The handlers had to wear chainmail gloves when feeding them. Those furballs were VICIOUS and totally fearless. They were so sweet-looking and furry and cute and (so the rumors said) would absolutely mess up anybody that got near them.
Whereas my fat near-30-pound Maine Coon is only dangerous to bowls of kibble and exceptionally stupid mice...
}:-)4
If Kitty ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.
How precious they are!!
That they are.
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