ILONA ANDREWS

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author

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  4. that entire bbc documentary (3 episodes) called Big Cats, was very cute. all those cats *drool* the adorableness!

    • This is what I fear. Many people who want such a cute animal. Soon there will be another endangered species.
      Sorry just a thought

      • @Martina ~ my same immediate thought and fear. I hope, I pray that doesn’t happen. They are precious and beautiful and what THEY need should be our only care.

      • My first thought is WANT, but was immediately tempered by, this is a wild creature, and does not belong in any household. The Bengal cat and the ocicat were developed just so we could have domestic creatures that looked like wild cats. Supporting reputable breeders seems like a great alternative.

  10. As a life-long cat lover, who began reading and watching everything I could get my hands on from an EARLY age, how have I never before heard of this cat? Seriously, I grew up watching Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom (anyone else remember Marlin Perkins?), followed by Nat Geo & BBC specials and this beautiful creature has never made it onto my radar. Thank you, Ilona for bringing them to my attention. Googled “wild cats” and came across others new to me as well. About to happily fall down this rabbit hole for the next while…

          • I loved MOA’s Wild Kingdom!! Cut my animal rights/loving teeth on that show with Marlon and Jim!!!

            • Did anyone else notice that he had about 4 regular assistants that he rotated through, and you never saw the same one 2 weeks in a row? That’s because Marlon would stand off to the side while Stan/Jim/Rob/Mike got bit/clawed/stung. One memorable episode they were tagging condors in the Andes, on a narrow ledge, thousands of feet up. The condor must have had a wingspan 11 feet across, and was NOT happy to be tagged. Poor Jim was getting dragged all over that ledge, beat up with the wings, dodging the beak (condors eat sheep, cattle, deer, dead, or helped along to dead), while Marlon is calmly narrating at a safe distance. I always imagined these guys laid up in the hospital between shows ?

          • Didn’t one of the action guys do everything while barefoot? Tag an antelope while barefoot? Wrestle a crocodile while barefoot? I can just barely remember those shows, so my brain is probably making this memory up.

            • My husband and I have advanced degrees in natural resources and have always felt a bit of mixed pity/envy for the assistants. It looks a lot like having a permanent spot as a grad student/post doc. Marlin (the prof) stays neat and tidy and the assistant is wading through the gator infested marsh in the middle of the night. I still remember one episode where Jim was dragged across the landscape by a giraff.

              • That is so true. Brings back grad school memories of living in waders and watching for alligators as we sampled the marsh. He stayed in the boat when he went to the field. My prof was very upfront about it, said we were “paying our dues”…

                • Gotta say, Marlin did always look sharp while standing to the side talking about the animals while the same most definitely could not be said for the assistants.

                  On one hand, I felt a lot of envy because they got to see/handle all those amazing animals. On the other, gratitude while watching that I hadn’t gone into widlife biology- usually while cringing, sometimes with eyes closed, as those poor guys got tossed & dragged around. All the wildlife specials I’ve seen over the years have only served to reinforce that. I won’t even start on the various parasitic vermin just waiting for a free meal.

    • Have you seen the Pallas cat? Google them, and be prepared to spit coffee all over your monitor. They’re strange looking little cats, with the most bizarre facial expressions.

      • Oh, yeah, their ears are odd compared to other cats… but still so stinking cute. But, would never try to handle. My favorite part of the movie Red Dragon? When the blind woman goes to the zoo and gets to pet a tiger while it’s sedated for surgery.

  11. WE have Olasard what could we name this cat. It and the Shih Tzu would be of a size. There is always something new to see

    • This would be perfect for Helen. She desperately needs a warm, ferocious fur baby to cuddle along with Fangs and her bear.

  18. At first I thought it was a joke video – world’s smallest wild cat. I thought it was a kitten, of course, But there it is – the rusty-spotted cat. Learned something new with a mega dose of cuteness! Thanks

  20. I love this kitty, ever time I see the video it makes my heart melt a bit, and I get the overwhelming desire to acquire one! 🙂

  22. Badass little hunters too! I remember something about them getting their prey 80% of the time they hunt. That is incredibly high compared to all other hunting cats.

    • Then there is the small black-footed cat of africa, which is the deadliest cat at 60% success rate! And SO CUTE!

  26. This takes the cuteness level to a new dimension. I can see this cat, somehow, makes it into one of the series (Innkeeper, Hidden Legacy, Kinsman or a new series since Kate is almost done).

    • I want to see one of the smaller examples of the species meet the Aeslin.
      Story idea (if that’s allowed) – the Aeslin high priest riding around on their version of a horse.
      Cuteness to the n-th degree!

      • It’s probably allowed here, where Seanan is unlikely to see it. Authors don’t really like fan suggestions on their own boards, because if they use the suggestion – or even if they were going to write something similar before seeing the suggestion – they may be sued by the fan over ownership of the idea. This has actually happened, which is why authors don’t allow fanfic on their sites.

  28. It’s a leopard’s version of Mini Me.

    I’m picturing one of these cats and a squirrel in a fistfight.

  36. I am a cat lover, thanks for sharing, my husband of 36 years gave me a Blue point Siamese as an engagement present — we’ve had one — or two ever since ?

    • When I was living in a dorm, yes a looong time ago, the dorm mother had a sealpoint Siamese and a bluepoint. Little Misty would steal folded socks out of my laundry basket and take them “home.” My experience of Siamese cats is that they are standoffish and some have a glass shattering voice.

  37. Love this BBC series!! Wait, what BBC nature series haven’t l loved??). Love this tiny bundle of ferocity! Would donate in a nanosecond to keep them wild, free and SAFE!!

  38. Agree on the cuteness factor. I’ve seen this before on the beeb. Only comnent to echo others on here is that hopefully this doesn’t become the next species which is impacted by the illegal pet trade with people wanting to own said wild cuteness rather then enjoy the fact that it exists beside us in our shared ?

  39. OMG!!! Sooo adorable!! My first instinct is wanting to scoop it up, take it home, and “protect” it. But, that really isn’t the best thing for wild species. A shame because this is a pretty high cuteness factor!!!

    Loved seeing and learning about it though. Thank you so much for sharing Ilona!! ?

  44. no one is in the office. OMG I never get to watch a cat video in the office. So cute, and hope he stay safe. Such a dangerous world . Everyone stay safe today.
    And the cutest little cat ..and so fierce.

  45. I want to snuggle it so bad.. I love how you add extra things to your emails so much.

  48. Totally cute 🙂 have you seen the sand cats (also small and really cute but -as described by the guide at Big Cat Rescue- pound for pound the most vicious cat at the sanctuary)?

  49. Absolutely adorable. You might also check out the black footed cat, a similarly wonderfully cute little cat, described as a “ruthless and efficient killer”. This cat has a 60% chance of a kill in its hunting making it the world’s most efficient hunting cat. The perfect pet for the Nuan clan’s grandma.

  52. DEAR Ilona (and Gordon),
    If you only knew how much joy (and insight) you bring to bring to the lives of SO MANY people all the time!
    Your books are the only ones I find interesting enough to read multiple times. And from the detail your book club members recall (devoted blog commenters’ replies), I’m not the only one who devours everything “Ilona” multiple times.
    I hesitate to refer to your writing as books. They are so vivid and fully fleshed out that I feel as if I’m right there with the characters. If I’m interrupted during a scene, I want to hit “pause” on the movie I’m watching
    (before inflicting harm on He Who Dares to Interrupt).
    I can’t wait to “watch” the next “episode” of Helen Sweeps In And Steals My Heart. Will she end up, in a few years saving the boy whose arm she broke, and steal his heart too?
    It’s so great that the story includes Helen as a really integral part of knitting this family together.
    Only one more day to go ’till we find out what happens next! Perceive me on the edge of my seat, along with all of the above devotees.

    • That’s what I was looking for. I kept thinking “tiniest shape shifter ever!” …but even though conservation of mass isn’t a thing, what would it change into? I mean it would be at least a teenager (are rat shifters pretty darn big rats?)… And somehow atsany shifters seem like gilding the lily a bit, if hilarious.

      Jim with a crew of bad ass tiny cat spies, though…

  56. You have uncovered the REAL man-killer!
    Poor, maligned tigers are actually only the scavengers, eating the leftovers of the rusty spotted cat’s preys.
    Those fearful predators can empty entire villages by striking a particularly cute pose, which allows them to pick on the choicest parts of the still-warm bodies.
    Turn away from their sight, lest your heart stops at the sight of all that is cuter!
    Fear them, and be grateful that they dwell in distant forests!

  57. This was so darn cute – thank you for sharing! I can see these are pets of the Nuan Cee! 🙂

  58. Oh my gosh so incredibly cute! Thank you for sharing! I want to make a safe habitat for them!

  60. Can you imagine how much cuter their new-born kittens must be?! I don’t think I’d be able to deal with the cuteness overload 🙂

    This BBC series was really good, a must-see for any cat-lover.

  61. A fertile mind,
    Dina’s shiz tsu becomes a temple dog like guardian
    What prey tell, is this.

    A C’s breeding program, to help with the hunt on their world?
    Dali’s attempt to civilise Jim?
    Helen’s cadre of space infiltration battle cats

    A Formal Contract, bride gift
    Non of the above; a peek at the inspiration of an interesting mind

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