https://youtu.be/XunFCgs7rj8
Three newborn kittens were found in an Indiana barn. One of them died. The other two you see in the video. There is a lot of speculation about these kittens. Some articles discuss what sort of breed these cats are which is a fallacy. These newborn cats might be wild cats in which case the term “breed” is inappropriate.
They certainly look as if they could grew up to be small wild cats of a certain species such as an ocelot. If the ocelot is present in the United States it is present in the southern states near Mexico, and Indiana is in the north. That does not mean that they could not be a small wild cat such as an ocelot but it is highly unlikely. That said, people do breed wild cats and one could have escaped and given birth to these newborn kittens in a barn.
I’ve checked the unusual markings on the crown of the head of these kittens against pictures of small wild cat species on my website and nothing matches. They have a spotted, tabby coat which is quite common in small wild cat species. One problem is that the markings may develop as they become more adult and therefore what we see may not be the finished coat type. That, of course, makes it much harder to assess what sort of cat these kittens are.
Although the markings are very dense and of high contrast and the markings on the crown of the head are very much like the markings of a small wild cat species, they could, I feel, still be domestic cats or stray cats who are semi-domesticated living in a barn. Sometimes you get random bred cats by which I mean non-wild cats, with markings somewhat like these. I can remember one on this website not so long ago who was on the borderline between wild and domestic in terms of the high contrast coat and dark spots coupled with black lines running down the shoulders.
I’m not sure about the lack of hair on the lower part of the limbs. That might just be a temporary aberration and part of the development of these kittens by which I mean the hair may grow on these areas later on as they develop.
They could be the kittens of a purebred domestic cat such as the Bengal cat. That cat as you know is a wild cat hybrid. It is his hard to believe that there is no wild cat DNA in these newborns.
Where is the mother? These kittens have very strong high contrast marking reminiscent of small wild cats as mentioned; being so exotic looking you’d think the mother would be high profile and very noticeable. I’m wondering if this is a “created” story and the person who found the kittens knows or owns the mother.
What do you think? They are exotic and they are unusual but they just could be unusual looking random bred barn cats with no wild cat DNA in them. For the time being, that is my guess.
If this story isn’t fabricated….
My gut feeling is to say that they are, merely, random bred feral kittens that will be obvious tabbies as they grow up. I don’t see Ocelot, Bengal, Cheetah or any other wild cat.
So many feral kittens look exotic at first.
They’re beautiful. But, the midwest states, including Indiana, really only have bobcats and a rare cougar.
We had bobcats in Indiana but never a report of a cougar. Of course the population increase has made many species more visible as they LOSE HABITAT. Bobcats will frequent farms and structures but only to hunt vermin. I just can’t see one setting up shop that close to humans. Think really feral cat and multiply by 100.
More than likely the Department of Wildlife will make an assessment.
I can’t think of why a bobcat or other wild cat would have a litter in barn.
The only time bobcats were ever encountered in a barn were the ones lured in by vermin to hunt.
No sign of the mother ?
I agree, where is the mother. These kittens have very strong high contrast marking reminiscent of small wild cats but being so exotic looking you’d think the mother would be high profile and very noticeable. I’m wondering if this is a “created” story and the person who found the kittens knows or owns the mother.
Probably a Bengal mix.