Pair Of World's Smallest Wild Cats Born In UK Sanctuary

A pair of teeny, super-rare cats have been born at an animal sanctuary in Cornwall and, let me tell you, they are pretty bloody adorable. Get ready to say, 'awww'...

Porfell Wildlife Park and Sanctuary

The rusty-spotted cat is the smallest species of wild cat, with newborns being no bigger than mice.

Even when fully grown, the rusty-spotted wild cat will only measure between 13 and 19 inches long. They usually live in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal, but are under threat due to loss of habitat. They are currently listed as 'Near Threatened' on the IUCN Red List, which tracks endangered animals.

This adorable pair were born at Portfell Wildlife Park and Sanctuary near Lanreath as part of an ongoing conservation programme with the catchy title of Rusty Spotted Cat Conservation Breeding Programme.

Porfell Wildlife Park and Sanctuary

Photos shared by the sanctuary show one of the cute little babies with its equally adorable mum, while in another a cub can be seen staring into the camera.

Posting the snaps, the sanctuary wrote: "As most of you know, we are a sanctuary for unwanted/surplus animals and do not actively take part in breeding. However, we had an enclosure spare last summer and were given the opportunity to take on a pair of rusty-spotted cats. To our knowledge they are two of only around 40 in captivity across the world, so we were excited about the opportunity.

"We've been waiting for the right moment to reveal that they have had two cubs! They are now coming up for 8 weeks and starting to explore their surroundings with mum. She has done a fabulous job at raising them and continues to be very protective of them, so we are unsure of their gender.

Porfell Wildlife Park and Sanctuary

"We are over the moon with the new babies as the majority of our animals are old and here for retirement. As we are well into the 6th week of lockdown we wanted to share some positive news with you all! Thank you for your ongoing support, we hope you can all visit us and the cubs soon."

The sanctuary also shared a link to a GoFundMe to help care for the cats and other animals in its care, which you can donate to here.

Topics: UK News, Animals

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19