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Published 11:34 IST, November 27th 2019

Teen adopts two kittens only to discover they’re Jaguarundi cub

Pet cats discovered in Argentina turn out to be Jaguarundi Puma cubs. Florencia Lobos discovered the wild cat and sent it to Argentine Animal Rescue Foundation

Reported by: Tanima Ray
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In a one of a wierd incident, a couple of teenagers discovered that two of the cats rescued by them are Jaguarundi Puma cubs. The wild cats were reportedly found in a cave near to the river in Argentina while two teenagers - Florencia Lobos, an 18-year-old from Santa Rosa de Leales in Argentina's Tucuman province and her brother were fishing.  Speaking to the local media, the teens said that they brought the cats home only because it seemed they had lost their mother. After bringing them home, they named the cubs Dani and Tito. While Tito failed to survive without his mother, Dani has been keeping up and growing stronger.

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Jaguarundi wild cats too dangerous to be pets

Yet the teens still mistook the cubs to be kittens until then. It was only after the cub experienced a leg injury that they took him to the vet and it was revealed that it was actually a Jaguarundi wild cat. This species is similar to Puma in South Africa and falls in the same family and are usually found in North and South America. Moreover, it is difficult to tame Jaguarundi cats as its nature is wild as its origin is near the dense Amazon. These cats also are quite closely related to the cheetah and the cougar, which explains why they can't become pets.

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It was a blessing in disguise as Florencia was not able to pay for the delicate leg injury's operation. This forced her to contact the Argentine Animal Rescue Foundation with the hope that they'd be able to help out. Hernan Rodriguez Salazar, the president of the non-governmental organisation explained the media that it was really fortunate that the teen called them as it was not safe to pet the cat. The surgery needed utmost care and was possible as their foundation had a vet of their own, Hernan added.

The cat was later taken away to a protected nature reserve not so far away in order to give a bit of time for his leg to completely recover. Expressing her surprise, Florencia said the media that she was shocked as she discovered that her playful kitten friend was, in reality, a wild cat. Yet she has decided to be in touch with the foundation to keep track of Dani. She also plans to visit the cub in the future as she feels that it will be sad without her. 

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Updated 12:05 IST, November 27th 2019