image via – youtube.com
Coming face to face with a wild cat is a breathtakingly rare occurrence. The larger, undomesticated animals are usually quiet, shy, and elusive, choosing to stay out of sight and away from humans and even other cats. At least that is true of full grown, adult cats who roam large territories hunting in search for food.
Young baby kittens, not so much, they’re more inquisitive and less afraid of people and other animals. Everything is new to them and that’s why they need their mother to watch over and keep them safe from harm. So when 18 year old Hamdan Shibli, from Israel, was walking to work and stumbled upon three tiny kittens, he was quite surprised and concerned.
The kittens were just sitting in plain sight on the side of the dirt road he walked down every day. There was no mother in sight and they looked weak and in need of help. Thinking that their mother might be around and come back for them, Hamdan moved them away from the road and placed them under a bush so they’d be out of plain sight. He took a few pictures, then continued on his way to work.
Later on, when he was looking at those pictures, he suddenly realized that the kittens he saw were not your average domestic cats. Instead they were actually Jungle cats! Jungle cats are similar in size and appearance to the lynx, but they live in Southeast Asia, India, parts of southern China, and in pockets throughout the middle east and the Nile Valley.
Even though they are not on the threatened or endangered species lists, their numbers are dropping quickly due to many factors including loss of habitat and hunting. When they are young, they look just like domestic kittens at first glance, so it’s easy to overlook them like Hamdan did.
He rushed back to the spot he placed them and thankfully they were still there. Once again there was no mother in sight and they looked just as weak and vulnerable as before. He scooped all three into a basket and took them straight to a veterinarian who specialized in wild animals to get them checked out.
Unfortunately, one of the kittens passed away but the other two were treated. The vet removed all of the ticks that covered their tiny bodies and nursed them back to health with special formula and round the clock care.
It was determined that the poor little kitties were no older that 5 weeks old and extremely dehydrated and weak. The vet put a plan in action to get their weight up and then get them eating solid food, before finally releasing them back into the wild once they were strong and healthy enough.
Thanks to Hamdan’s quick thinking and desire to help another animal in need, the two surviving Jungle cats have a second chance to live a normal life, free in the wild, as nature intended. What a wonderful and inspiring rescue story, I wish all could end so well.
Please Share This Story With Family and Friends 🙂
