'This wasn’t an ordinary kitten': Family rescues a tiny orphaned "kitten" wandering alone, only to discover that he's actually a rare fishing cat, on the brink of extinction, and that he's needed for the survival of his species

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It was a completely normal evening in Thailand, when a family noticed a small kitten wandering around, alone, on their street. According to IHeartCats, at first, the family thought that this was a completely normal lost or abandoned stray, but something about him did seem unique to him. His size was appropriate to a small kitten, but his appearance was a different from ordinary neighborhood cats.
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The family, wanting the best for the little feline, didn't want to take any risks, so they reached out to The Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT), a local animal rescue organization, to help them figure out what this kitten was and how to best take care of it. The WFFT took a closer look at the little feline, and were startled to find out: “this wasn’t an ordinary kitten”.
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The kitten was actually a very rare fishing cat - a species so rare that it is close to extinction. These wild cats are known for their preference for hunting fish and living near water sources, and they can grow to twice the size of a typical domestic cat. The WFFT determined that the kitten, later named Simba, had likely been born mere hours before the family found him.
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What was more surprising than anything, though, was that the kitten was found alone - without his mother, which was a very unusual occurrence, because fishing cat mothers rarely abandon their young. Of course, the WFFT and the rescuing family had hoped that the mother would return for her baby. The family fostered Simba temporarily, monitoring the area in which he was found for signs of the mother, but days passed, and she never showed up.
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As the time passed, “the family became deeply attached to Simba, and he to them”. They fed him milk, caring for him around the clock, and the tiny fishing kitten was happy in their care. They loved spending time with him and watching him grow into a healthy young cat. But of course, the WFFT emphasized how important it was for Sibma to keep thriving, not just for himself but for the survival of his whole species, and that could not happen in the hands of this ordinary family.
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“Poaching and retribution killing are the primary reasons for an 84% decline in Thailand’s fishing cat population,” the WFFT explained, taking the kitten and making sure that he went into the right hands for his continued thriving. His survival represents a tiny step in preserving the species, but tiny steps like that are the ones you have to take to ensure that it happens.
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