Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl

In a very inconspicuous bush in the Nanman River Basin, a skinny cat mother lay in a makeshift nest, her eyes reflecting a dead silence.

In her arms, two already stiff kittens could no longer make a sound, nor ever again muster the strength to draw a drop of milk.

This hot summer afternoon, life seemed to be in its final second.

A Leopard lowered its head to sniff out a nearly undetectable scent, finally finding the nest.

In the past, before the Leopard even got close, the Cat Mother would have rushed out to protect her children, but now she didn't even have the desire to take a look, just quietly awaiting death.

The Leopard looked down at the cat, its furry face showing a very human-like expression: conflicted! (ー`´ー)

So dirty... How is the Leopard supposed to bite?

However, the condition of this cat mother made this fairly intelligent Leopard realize that it couldn't delay any longer. Even hesitating for one more second might mean this cat mother couldn't survive.

Giving itself a mental boost, with a breath, the Leopard decisively grabbed the mother cat by the neck and ran.

Yet the mother cat, when picked up, did not struggle at all, like a dead cat!

A distance of over two kilometers was not too far for the Leopard.

After only two breaks along the way, it finally brought the mother cat, who had only one breath left, to Chen Ying.

At that time, Chen Ying had just returned from the primary school in the village, having a video conference online with local wildlife conservation experts, discussing whether to artificially assist the new mother cat in raising her offspring.

The most basic principle of wildlife conservation is not to intervene in the natural breeding process of wild animals. But when it comes to extremely rare species, principles can be slightly flexible.

It's not about taking an entire litter away for artificial rearing but providing artificial assistance in necessary and feasible situations. This process includes field population restoration, genetic improvement, and targeted feeding to assist the mother in raising cubs.

This Fishing Cat Mother gave birth to four, and raising them was already a struggle. If she had to help raise a disabled Little Cub, it would exhaust her to death.

Chen Ying had a detailed discussion with the experts on this issue and decided to first find an opportunity to see if they could place the disabled Little Cub back into its nest, ensuring that the Cat Mother wouldn't reject the child. Moreover, ensuring this child could get milk amidst the competition with the four healthy kittens.

If not, the only option might be to find a way to extract milk manually.

But a cat is not like cows or sheep, which are naturally more docile animals. Before getting enough milk, the Cat Mother might scratch you into a chessboard.

Just about to close the video conference window, the Leopard rushed into his room with the mother cat in its mouth.

"What did you bring in your mouth? Go eat outside, not in the room..."

Chen Ying lowered his head, started nagging before he even got a clear look, while the other experts in the video, who hadn't logged off yet, watched him interact with the Leopard, smiling.

"Whoa, where did you bring this from?"

"Hey, Dr. Chen, what happened?"

Chen Ying's sudden change in expression and urgent movements made the experts on the other end of the internet curious and speak up to inquire.

"This Leopard brought back a Fishing Cat, a mother. I need to check the situation before knowing the specifics, I'll contact you later."

Chen Ying couldn't care less about anything else, immediately noticing that this cat's condition was very off.

He casually grabbed a pair of gloves from the table and picked up the mother cat, seeing the obvious sign on her belly indicating she's a mother cat who had recently given birth.

But this condition... Could it be that something happened to her children?

Holding the Cat Mother with both hands, he rushed to the temporary treatment room, asking the Leopard on the way where it found this mother cat.

"It's the mother of that failed cub, and she had two cubs, both dead. She probably won't survive either."

The Leopard kept licking its lips, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Stop licking, I'll wipe your mouth clean later."

Wild animals aren't usually this delicate, but with the condition of this mother and her kittens, it's uncertain if there's a disease present. It would be bad if it infected the Leopard.

After an examination, it was confirmed that the Cat Mother was infected with feline infectious peritonitis.

Also known as feline coronavirus, the FCoV antibody positivity rate among Southeast Asian Leopard cat populations reached as high as 28% in previous surveys, indicating that this disease is not uncommon among wild felines. There was even an outbreak in a tiger forest park in northern China a few years ago, with a 100% mortality rate.

The spread of this disease among wild felines is most likely due to the spread by stray cats. Judging by the position of this sick Fishing Cat, it wasn't too far from human settlements, so there's a possibility it got infected by the virus.

After diagnosing the cat's condition, treatment wasn't the hardest part since there's standard treatment for feline infectious peritonitis. The challenge now is knowing whether there are other infected carriers of this virus and how to control its spread.

A phone call was made, and the local epidemic prevention department and the wildlife conservation department of the Forestry and Grassland Bureau took action. Chen Ying returned to the office, reinitiating a video conference invitation, with the nearest two veterinarian experts promptly agreeing to come assist, bringing necessary medications and urgently needed medical equipment.

"Meihua, could you keep an eye on that cat? I'm going to handle the two kittens' remains."

He needed to bring back the bodies of the kittens to check if they carried the virus and to conduct necessary biochemical disposal of the bodies.