Small, fluffy and very discreet

September 6, 2018 2:34 AM

One day Vadim Kirilyuk, director of the Daursky Biosphere Reserve in Russia, found a manul kitten in a rusty train carriage. The kitten had been abandoned by its mother, so he did the only right thing – took her home and named her Dasha.

Even more photos of Dasha can be seen on Vadim's Facebook page.

Manuls previously.

posted by Vesihiisi (29 comments total)

A welcome form of Russian interfurrence...

Fluffy!
posted by prismatic7 at 3:10 AM on September 6, 2018 [8 favorites]

Having a fairly bear-like cat at home, I applaud the manul’s Dedication the art of the stocky swagger.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:57 AM on September 6, 2018 [4 favorites]

Oh I love Pallas's cats. I'm entranced by her eyes changing from blue to yellow. Pigmentation is so neat.
posted by Made of Star Stuff at 4:14 AM on September 6, 2018 [6 favorites]

So cute! I hope she is not let out in the wild if she can't handle it. I know wild things do not make good pets, but raised from infancy by humans it would be hard to see her let go alone.
posted by mermayd at 5:04 AM on September 6, 2018 [10 favorites]

they are the judgiest cats and I love them for it.
posted by Rock Steady at 5:08 AM on September 6, 2018 [10 favorites]

I think I can say on behalf of almost everyone here: Squee!
posted by scruss at 5:40 AM on September 6, 2018 [14 favorites]

Adorable grump-cat is adorable.
posted by Artw at 6:01 AM on September 6, 2018 [8 favorites]

Oh man someone get this guy a good video camera so Dasha can generate massive ad revenue. There really isn't much video of manuls (unsurprising considering how reclusive they are) and they're so freaking cute - I bet with a little guidance Dasha's unique situation could make a huge difference in spreading awareness of these animals and habitat preservation.
posted by Mizu at 6:02 AM on September 6, 2018 [14 favorites]

Third link: Their scientific name Otocolobus manul means ‘ugly-eared’.

YOU TAKE THAT BACK
posted by solotoro at 6:04 AM on September 6, 2018 [43 favorites]

Pallas cats are literally my favorite animals. This made me squeal with joy.
posted by thivaia at 6:25 AM on September 6, 2018 [4 favorites]

There really isn't much video of manuls (unsurprising considering how reclusive they are) and they're so freaking cute

This is my favorite manul video. The quality is atrocious and it's in Russian, but it's just so relaxing. You don't even need to understand it to enjoy the soothing narration and the discreet background music. 10 minutes of manul content!

This is my second favorite manul video and the one I show to people when telling them about the manul. Yes, it comes up more often than you'd think. Wait for the little wink!

This is a Finnish manul in 1080p. An excellent manul.

Here's some BBC manuls, alas the episode doesn't seem to be available anymore. There was a bit of hype around it because of how unique the footage is, and I was a tiny bit disappointed when I finally managed to catch it – we get just a couple minutes of the manuls, a small part of the episode. But still, manuls. Manul kittens, even. I don't remember if they said meow, it's possible they did.

Here's some Swedish manul kittens.
posted by Vesihiisi at 6:26 AM on September 6, 2018 [17 favorites]

It's probably for the best that I'm not a politician, or else the Russians could just give me a box of these and I'd be the colludingest colluder who ever colluded.
posted by Quindar Beep at 6:58 AM on September 6, 2018 [26 favorites]

Dashka! Dashinka! I wants to kisses your tummies!!!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:02 AM on September 6, 2018 [6 favorites]

Dashka! Dashinka! I wants to kisses your tummies!!!

And then go to the doctor for facial lacerations galore!

Q: Are you Frankenstein’s Monster for Halloween?
A: No. I kissed a manul kitten.
Q: ...
A: I REGRET NOTHING! (Ow! My lip!)
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:19 AM on September 6, 2018 [7 favorites]

Dashenka looks absolutely harmless and kissable.
posted by Vesihiisi at 7:26 AM on September 6, 2018 [4 favorites]

ahhhh!!!!!!!😍😍😍😍😍
posted by Hermione Granger at 7:44 AM on September 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

A BABY

she is perfect i love her
posted by poffin boffin at 7:45 AM on September 6, 2018 [8 favorites]

This must be immediately made into a children's book.

Scientists had to play the role of Dasha’s mother, massaging her stomach after each meal, and keeping a hand on the kitten’s back to help her fall asleep in a den made out of a cardboard and an old fur hat.

posted by spamandkimchi at 8:08 AM on September 6, 2018 [11 favorites]

I adore Pallas cats. This made my morning.
posted by Making You Bored For Science at 8:23 AM on September 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

In the first Russian-language documentary posted by Vesihiisi, they point out that Manul are susceptible to many household diseases that a domestic cat can withstand, and implore people not to try to raise them at home :(
posted by I-Write-Essays at 8:59 AM on September 6, 2018 [7 favorites]

Oh yes, I learned about that when researching manuls for Wikipedia. They are notoriously hard to breed in captivity because many kittens die of toxoplasmosis – which is why a thriving manul litter is a great point of pride for a zoo and sure to end up all over the local media, such as the Swedish news clip.

Here's an open access article about toxoplasmosis in manuls.
posted by Vesihiisi at 9:14 AM on September 6, 2018 [3 favorites]

It took me a minute to figure out what was so unusual about that cat's appearance. It has round pupils!
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 11:06 AM on September 6, 2018 [2 favorites]

What a beauty!
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 11:38 AM on September 6, 2018 [2 favorites]

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS CAT?
posted by Daily Alice at 12:49 PM on September 6, 2018 [4 favorites]

the subjects of that first Russian video are a pair of cats that scientists tried to raise after finding an abandoned litter- two survived and they attempted to reintroduce them to the wild. They didn't do very well at hunting for themselves and appeared to lose weight. The scientists recaptured one of the two because of impending winter and fears of the poor guy starving, and will attempt reintroduction again later.
posted by twoplussix at 2:39 PM on September 6, 2018 [2 favorites]

It is a smol cat, but with big cat eyes.
posted by The otter lady at 4:16 PM on September 6, 2018 [3 favorites]

Vesihiisi's link says that less than 15% of wild Pallas cats are seropositive for toxoplasma, and that toxoplasmosis kills so many of the kittens born in captivity that it's hard to maintain them in zoos.

And they are very fearful of human beings and quite skittish in general, whereas our domestic kitties are fearless little fools. Plus, an effect of toxoplasma in rats is abolition of instinctive fear of the smell of cats.

I think all that means toxoplasmosis has played an essential role in the domestication of cats by making them blasé about hanging around with an animal 20 times as massive as they are which can end their lives on a whim, and often does.
posted by jamjam at 11:05 PM on September 6, 2018 [2 favorites]

It's like a raccoon, a lemur, a cat and a red panda had an orgy.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 3:54 PM on September 7, 2018 [1 favorite]

It's like a raccoon, a lemur, a cat and a red panda had an orgy.

I just read Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente and that's pretty much a scene in the book. Maybe more than one.
posted by moonmilk at 10:11 PM on September 7, 2018 [1 favorite]