Meet the Wild Cat Kittens That Never Grow Up

This guy is such a little cutey – the sort of kitten you wish you could take home with you. Only he is not a kitten at all, he’s almost fully grown. In this gorgeous clip, we get to meet the world’s smallest wild feline – the rusty-spotted cat.

Watch the Tiny Cat Now

What Do Rusty-Spotted Cats Normally Look Like?

The scientific name for the rusty-spotted cat is Prionailurus rubiginosus and they are even smaller than domestic cats. They usually grow to between 13 and 19 inches in length but have an impressive tail that can add another 11 inches to their body. Their height is around 8 inches, and they weigh between 2 and 3.5 pounds. This is a lot smaller than the world’s tiniest domestic cat breed, the Singapura, which typically weighs between 4 and 6 pounds.

Their build is more athletic than that of a domestic cat. They have a slender body but their legs are short, their tail is particularly long, and they have strikingly large eyes. When it comes to their fur, it is short and soft and it’s a mixture of brownish-gray and reddish-brown with a white chin and chest. The stand-out feature is the striking rust-brown spots from which they get their name. However, they also have horizontal bars on their chest and legs, which camouflage them in long grass.

How Do Rusty-Spotted Cats Normally Behave?

These cats may be small, but they are mighty! They use their agility, climbing skills, and camouflage to thrive as an effective hunter in their forest homes. Using their long tails to help them balance, they can climb high in tree branches. Their huge eyes gather the available light, allowing them to hunt at night. This gives them the advantage of being able to sneak up on prey and also means that they can avoid plenty of other predators.

They use an ambush method of hunting in bamboo thickets and grass. From their vantage point in trees, they pounce on unsuspecting prey. However, they can also jump up to 10 feet in the air! Their list of prey is mainly made up of small rodents and birds. Unfortunately, they have a taste for domestic chickens, which brings them into conflict with local human populations. These guys may look super cute, but they are wild animals and do not make the best pets. This was discovered by the 19th-century naturalist and zoologist Thomas C Jerdon. He tried to keep a few in his house so that he could study them, and they often climbed up into his rafters!

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Felineus/Shutterstock.com