Credits: Social Media
What is a ‘Mongoose Lemur Cat’? Woman’s wild pet collection leaves TikTok confused
Extremely confused TikTok users want to know if there’s such an animal called a “Mongoose Lemur Cat” after chancing upon a strange-looking creature in a viral video that’s clocked over 700,000 views. To answer your questions – yes, it’s a real wild animal, but it goes by a different name.
TikTok user @kinkatopia, aka MotherOfKnkajous, is known for raising a variety of wild animals that belong to different species. Her profile mostly features videos of raccoons and cats in addition to some with her pet pooches. However, users are particularly interested in one animal that looks like a mix of mongoose and cat.
What is a ‘Mongoose Lemur Cat’?
Users aren’t able to tell if the animal in the viral video posted on the above TikTok account three days ago is a mongoose or a cat as it looks like an offspring of both, but it’s actually a Common Genet.
The caption of the post reads: “Introducing our Feral Kitten to My Warewolf and Mongoose Lemur Cat.” It depicts a domestic cat in the tower, while another appears to be a Sphinx cat named Werewolf. The odd-looking creature is seen walking around it curiously.
The camera zooms in to show the ‘Mongoose Lemur Cat’ named Norman Bates, as it comes close to the feral kitten. One can tell the former has been raised in a domestic household as it appears calm.
However, the animal’s description in the caption left users scratching their heads because there’s no such thing as a lemur cat, and the mongoose-like features only added more to their mounting confusion.
One user wrote: “This is a cats version of the uncanny valley,” referring to the strange feeling one develops on seeing a robot with features eerily similar to humans.
Another user added: “I had to listen to this multiple times to think to read the text. I thought a mongoose is a form of rodent while the lemur is a monkey species.”
A third person asked: “Is that even a cat? Never seen anything like it.”
The wild animal can live up to 30 years
So, the animal in the TikTok video isn’t as strange as many think it is. Genet is most common in Africa and is also found in southwestern Europe and the Middle East.
They live in dense vegetation and have a lifespan of about eight years in the wild. However, they can live up to 34 years in captivity, according to the African Wildlife Foundation.
They can grow up to 24 inches tall with their tails extending almost to the length of their body. These creatures are not commonly kept as pets, although they are intelligent and curious. They have specific needs, which may become too challenging to fulfill in a domestic setup.
But, going by Kinkatopia’s videos, the TikTok user seems to have raised the genet as her pet since it was little, thus making it easier for it to adapt well to the domestic environment.
On a concluding note, Kinkatopia is the only non-profit organization in the world dedicated to kinkajou – a tropical forest mammal found in forests of Central and South America.
