The Kitten That Wasn't a Kitten

This new video tells the story of an abandoned white kitten that a woman found in Colombia. But it wasn't a house cat- it was a wild animal! Veterinarians identified it as a "puma jaguarundi," and the video refers to it as a cougar. Intrigued (and since the video seemed kind of suspicious), I looked up the story and found that this female cub was discovered in December of 2021. What's happened to her since then?

Medellin's Conservation Park did a DNA test on the cat, and discovered that it is actually an ocelot! Albinism and being away from a natural habitat can make that kind of misidentification possible. The now-adult ocelot is blind, and has been treated for various medical conditions. She would never have survived in the wild, and as an albino, she would have never have been able to hide even if her health was good.



The ocelot is living in a custom-built enclosure at the Conservation Park, with plenty of shade to protect her from the sun, and a fenced-in pool she can use under supervision.