The rusty-spotted cat rivals the black-footed cat for the smallest cat in the world title, and it’s believed to just about edge the victory

Coming in at 35-48cm in length, with a tail stretching between 15 to 30cms and weighing between 0.9 to 1.6kgs, these cats really are tiny.

These tiny cats, which can easily fit into a human palm, are nocturnal, and therefore spend most of their living when the sun goes down.

If they’re not hiding, they’re often hunting. Their meal of choice is rodents and birds, however, they’re known to eat smaller prey like lizards and insects.

Usually compared to a leopard’s coat, with its rust-color and its spots, although there are often less than their big cat cousins.

“An easy way to predict the outcome of people buying rusty-spotted cats is to look at the fate other species have had to face from these scenarios.”

“Perhaps the closest examples to the Rusty-spotted cat to draw upon are actually lemurs and other small primates.” continued Miles.

“People are attracted to the idea of species like these as pets because they are cute and intelligent, and their size makes them seem manageable and less dangerous.”