When Florencia Lobo found two kittens next to their mother’s deceased body, she didn’t hesitate to rescue them.

Florencia and her brother had been on a trip in Tucumán, a northwestern province in Argentina.

Originally, they thought it was an abandoned cat who had passed away while giving birth.

Though the female kitten was too weak and tragically didn’t survive, the male sibling did.

Named Tito, he went home with Florencia and managed to thrive there.

But when she took him in for a routine vet visit two months later, she was in for a big surprise.

Not Your Average Kitten

While the veterinarian was examining Tito, they were shocked to realize that he wasn’t a normal house cat.

Florencia was even more surprised— in all the time she’d been taking care of Tito, he’d acted just like a regular kitten.

But even though the vet knew Tito wasn’t a house cat, they couldn’t identify what he was.

Hoping someone else could help, they gave Florencia the number of the Horco Molle nature reserve.

A Mystery Solved

After getting in contact with the employees there, Tito was finally identified as puma jaguarundi.

A jaguarundi is a small wild cat that’s native to North and South America, from Arizona all the way down to Argentina where Tito was found.

Though similar in size to regular cats, jaguarandi’s are not domesticated and should not be seen as pets.

An Important Lesson

Tito is now under the care of the capable workers at Horco Molle nature reserve.

They are hopeful that they can rehabilitate him and return him to his natural habitat.

Thankfully, Tito was well cared for during his time with Florencia.

But exotic animals are not meant to be kept as pets, even accidentally.

As cats and other wild animals grow older, they require special care, housing, and food humans cannot provide.

Even professionals cannot re-create a wild animal’s natural habitat. Their job is to rehabilitate and prepare these animals for a life outdoors.

In addition to this, they can pose serious health and safety risks to their owners.

Happily Ever After

Florencia has fond memories of her time with Tito, however brief it was.

She did the right thing by turning Tito over into the hands of professionals.

She is especially happy that he’s now receiving the proper care to soon join his own species back in the wild.