animal advocates bottle feed kittens found in alley. "aggressive feeding style" lead to research

[Demovictory9]

When a Northeast Side resident found a pair of striped kittens Saturday, she learned later that afternoon through a fierce attitude and more thana few scratches that it was a serious case of misidentified breed.

Following meows from the back alley of Good Hue Avenue, she found what she believed were Bengal kittens. Not seeing their mother, she carried them in her home to feed them. She and friends visiting from Austin, avowed animal advocates, fed the kittens from pet feeding bottles, filled with kitten milk replacement bought at a nearby store.

The first clue something wasn’t right was the kittens’ aggressive feeding style. It was so aggressive that the duo ripped apart the plastic casings in their frenzy to drink the milk. And that’s when each one of the three humans helping them were bitten several times on the hand as the kittens devoured the milk and destroyed the feeding bottles in the process.

This is when the people decided the kittens might not be Bengal kittens. They researched details about the kittens’ look, such as the distinct pattern of their fur, the tufts of hair coming out of their ears and snubbed tails that were much shorter than traditional domestic cats.

Sunday, the resident called Animal Care Services to report the bite incident. When an ACS officer arrived at the home, she recommended that the trio get medical attention and confirmed that the kittens were in fact baby bobcats.



https://www.sfgate.com/news/local/article/Found-San-Antonio-kittens-turn-out-to-be-baby-12898573.php#photo-15524471


Lynn Cuny, the wildlife organization’s founder and president, said that, sadly, the rescue receives bobcat kittens too often. She said people should know that wild animals belong in the wild and the bobcats should have been left with their mother.

[herding cats]

1. I knew they were bobcats when I read the headline!

I grew up in an area they were common. Once I had to try to keep a kitten alive after the mother went missing until Parks and Wildlife found a person to come pick the little devil up. (I worked for the Parks Services.)

[Demovictory9]

2. they look so sweet and snuggly-wuggly. but feeding time... GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[herding cats]

3. They go full on wild cat!

They don't really look like a domestic cat up close, either. Their haunches are bigger, even as a kitten. However, I can see how if you'd not seen one before you could confuse the two.

Fun fact! Bobcat kittens purr and "make biscuits" while being fed the same as other kittens. Just with a lot more passion than domestic kittens! (Personal experience from my small 2-week window into their lives.)

I also got to foster a bengal tiger kitten once. Different job, but an amazing experience all the same. They also purr and "make biscuits" when being fed.