Farmer finds 4 orphaned "kittens" in his backyard, only to discover they are actually rare Pallas cats, and after calling a rescue, they are carefully paired with 2 domestic cats who act as their temporary surrogate mothers

Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor

Jan 16, 2026 9:00 AM EST

All cats, at the end of the day, are cats. We think that's why people keep confusing them.

Ever since we started noticing this phenomenon, we realized that it happens more often than you think. We have seen a story of someone accidentally adopting a puma, thinking that it was a completely normal kitten. We have seen multiple stories of people accidentally rescuing bobcats, assuming that they were easily adoptable house cats. And one of our latest favorite stories - a teacher who confused a house cat with a mountain lion and sent an entire school into a frenzy. It was just a chunky orange cat.

And today, yet another instance of this happening. A farmer confusing a whole bunch of Pallas' kittens for normal kittens. To give him credit, at least he didn't go ahead and adopt the bunch. He noticed that something about them was a little different fairly quickly, and he called people who could actually help and take care of them. And took care of them they did. In the cutest way pawssible - by pairing them up with two actual house cats who acted as their surrogate mommas until the fluffy wild kitties could be released back into the wild.

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via LoveMeow / Daursky Nature Reserve
Rescuing kittens who are without their mother is one of the best things that you can do, and that was the exact intention that this farmer had. According to LoveMeow, a farmer from Russia had spotted a litter of orphaned kittens who were in desperate need of help. He looked around, hoping to find the mother, but she was nowhere. The kittens' eyes had still been shut when he found them. Realizing that the kittens wouldn't survive much longer on their own, he did the only right thing her could think of doing - he scooped the kittens up and called for help.
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via LoveMeow / Daursky Nature Reserve
Upon taking a closer look at the little fluffballs, the farmer noticed that the kittens looked a little different than the ones that he was used to seeing. He contacted the Daursky Nature Reserve, unsure what else to do, and the rescuers quickly explained that these kittens were not domestic house cats. Turns out that the kittens were actually Pallas' cats - you know, the extra fluffy, perpetually grumpy-looking, round cats that we are obsessed with? Pallas' cats, also known as Manuls, are very rare and very wild.
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via LoveMeow / Daursky Nature Reserve
Understanding that these kittens needed the proper care of a momma cat, the animal care workers hoped that the two domestic cats they had at the rescue at the time would accept the strange kittens and help care for them. And thankfully, that is exactly what had happened. The housecats took the kittens in and became their surrogate mothers. The plan, at the time, was to care for the babies until they would grow old enough to be released back into the wild. Unfortunately, two of the four ended up crossing the rainbow bridge from health complications. But the other two grew strong enough for the animal care workers to decide that they were ready for a life back in the wild again.
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via LoveMeow / Daursky Nature Reserve
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via LoveMeow / Daursky Nature Reserve
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via LoveMeow / Daursky Nature Reserve
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via LoveMeow / Daursky Nature Reserve
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via LoveMeow / Daursky Nature Reserve
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via Lisa Song
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via Carole Johnson
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via Cindy Bouquet
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via Judith Kay
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via Teresa Fox
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via Jim Humphries
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via Debra Byers
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via Marsha Balderston
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via Betty Cain
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via Lisa Drinkard