Stray kitten she rescued gained 15 pounds in just 4 months — then the vet revealed a chilling truth

Not long after, the cat ran away, and Audriana never got confirmation of its breed

PUBLISHED 2 HOURS AGO

(L) Woman holding a cat; (R) Male doctor, veterinarian, with a stethoscope in veterinary clinic. (Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | (L) Mensent Photography; (R) Serhii Hryshchyshen)

Many people have brought home stray kittens before, but one woman’s rescue turned into something entirely different when the animal grew at an alarming pace. About two years ago, Audriana, known on TikTok as @audriana.3, found a male kitten near railroad tracks in Jackson, Michigan. She welcomed him into her family, believing she had saved a helpless stray cat. But within a few months, she realized something wasn’t right. Audriana shared the unusual story in an August 9 TikTok video, which has since been viewed over 4.3 million times and liked more than 617,000 times.

Woman holding up a cat - Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by
Ruslan Sikunov — Woman holding up a cat. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Ruslan Sikunov)

As per the video, the "tailless Timmy" started gaining weight rapidly, around 15 pounds in just four months. She told Newsweek that she had him for about five to six months before things began to spiral, with the growth rate becoming impossible to ignore. Concerned, she took him to the vet for his shots and a checkup. That’s when she was told he might not be an ordinary cat. According to Audriana, the vet believed the kitten was likely a stray mix and possibly half bobcat, but said she could keep him as long as he didn’t show aggression.

Woman carrying brown tabby cat - Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Engin Akyurt — Woman carrying brown tabby cat. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Engin Akyurt)

Not long after, the cat ran away, and Audriana never got confirmation of its breed. Four months later, though, he returned to her property, and this time he wasn’t acting like the cuddly kitten she had once raised. "He’s come as close as 20 feet from us just a couple of weeks ago and snagged a duck," she told the outlet. "So we chased him throughout our neighborhood, trying to find where his den or home was, and never found it." He had also started preying on her chickens and other smaller animals around the farm.

Female vet doctors are examining a domestic cat. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | ArtistGNDphotography) — Vet doctors are examining a domestic cat. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | ArtistGNDphotography)

The video showed her reflecting on the months she unknowingly raised what she called her "full-grown bobcat self." Viewers flooded the comments arguing that the animal wasn’t a bobcat at all. @n.angelle wrote, "It’s a Manx cat. Regular cat. Just has the no-tail deformity. Not bobcat." @tacticalw0rm added, "That’s just a domestic short-haired cat with a tail mutation, haha." @adam_mkone explained, "Bobcat kits have much larger paws than that at this stage of development, and also have tufts coming off the top of their ears. This is just a goofy domestic shorthair." @bellamattera said, "Girl, good luck, I've never met a chill Manx cat."

@audriana.3 ♬ Bitin' List - Tyler Childers

Bobcats can be recognized by their spotted coats, striped legs, tufted ears, and short black-tipped tails. Adult bobcats typically weigh between 15 and 30 pounds, but because some domestic breeds share similar traits, people often mistake them for house cats. A University of British Columbia study published by EurekAlert highlighted just how difficult it can be to tell wild cats apart. Researchers asked wildlife professionals to identify thousands of trail-camera images of bobcats and lynx. The results showed surprising disagreement, with experts sometimes mistaking one species for the other, or labeling the animal "unknown."

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