This story, from 2016, is just too adorable not to share. A teeny tiny baby kitten was spotted roaming the streets on its own in Thailand. A family living in the neighborhood was enjoying their evening when they noticed the little guy on the street.

Upon closer inspection, they realized this was no ordinary cat — it didn’t look like any of the other kittens they had seen. The family decided to call The Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT), an animal organization, who soon showed up to have a look at the animal.

After careful examination, the organization concluded that this animal was a fishing cat — a special kind of cat on the brink of extinction.

This ‘wild cat’ can grow up to become twice the size of a regular cat and is a big fan of marine life. The cat is especially fond of hunting and eating fish, hence its name.

According to Wikipedia, “the fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. Since 2016, it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Fishing cat populations are threatened by destruction of wetlands and declined severely over the last decade. Fishing cats live foremost in the vicinity of wetlands, along rivers, streams, oxbow lakes, in swamps and mangroves.”

WFFT discovered that the kitten had left its mother’s womb just a few hours prior to when the family found him. Specialists at the organization were baffled as to how a mother had been able to abandon its new born baby like that — unusual for the breed.
The family took a liking to the rare cat and were allowed to keep it for a trial period. They decided to call him Simba. It was apparent that the cat felt very attached to the family.
The family kept an eye out at all times for the mother of the kitten, whom they assumed would show up at any time for her child.

Sadly, that never happened.

Simba was milk-fed by the family instead, and grew up to become a beautiful fishing cat.
Luckily, so far he is still alive and well but it’s extremely important that Simba continues to thrive.

According to the WFFT, “poaching and retribution killing were the major causes for a high Fishing Cat mortality of 84% in Thailand.”
So, not only is it a miracle that Simba was rescued and survived — his existence is vital for the continuation of his breed.
Here’s a video showing other cats who have been rescued. These might not be fishing cats but they sure are cute: