During a visit to the butts at the Scottish Police Open something apparently
very long, low and furry ran across the track. Closer inspection showed "it" to be 3 (possibly 4) kittens. They looked very much like wild cat kittens but
that is ruled out by the fact that one allowed itself to be picked up.
They are probably hybrid wildcat/feral domestic cat. The Royal Zoological
Society of Scotland has a wildcat survey in progress on the estate, and
there are true wildcats very close to the range.
As the fourth picture shows, one appears to have a white foot, which
would suggest its parents were not both true wildcats. But the expert at
RZSS explained that a female wildcat can mate with more than one male in
a day and have one litter of kittens with different fathers,
so others in the litter may or may not be pure. They were sheltering
in disused rabbit holes and probably in the process of being moved by the
mother from one den to another.
If you can do this and still have skin on your hands, it is not a wildcat.
