Live Cat Appraisal: Starting with a Beast That's Got a Long Prison Record

Chapter 154 My New Neighbor is a Leopard Cat?!
midnight.

Chen Nian got up as usual to feed Xue Aotian.

This is the most troublesome stage of caring for cubs.

Because the little one's stomach capacity is only 30-50ml, he needs to be fed constantly, about once every 1-2 hours.

It will get much better in two months.

Xue Aotian is indeed exceptionally gifted when it comes to eating.

One can consume about 60ml per meal.

Not only do they eat a lot, but they also digest quickly.

This meant that every time Chen Nian got up at night, she would first clean the already soiled straw mat.

Although Xue Aotian is still young, his cleanliness instinct has already awakened. Whenever the mat gets dirty, he will crawl to a clean place and then raise his little voice to accurately summon his personal cleaner and dad.

"I'm coming."

Chen Nian, her eyes still blurry, began cleaning.

After cleaning him up, he finally calmed down a bit, took out the formula to make milk for the little guy, and fed him in one smooth motion.

Just then, he noticed that the cat bracelet on his wrist was vibrating incessantly.

Buzzing. Buzzing.
"Ok?"

Chen Nian stopped what she was doing and looked down at the bracelet.

The cat bracelet will only vibrate when it detects a rare feline within 500 meters.

You can also manually exclude targets.

"Wait a minute, didn't I already rule out Aotian? Why is the bracelet still vibrating!"

"Could there be other felines nearby?"

Chen Nian's sleepiness vanished almost instantly.

He couldn't help but look out the window; the moonlight was as dark as ink, and the stars were like scattered dots.

Was this unidentified feline just passing by?
Or even closer?!
The thought of a mysterious feline wandering around instantly banished Chen Nian's sleepiness. She felt a tickle in her heart, as if a cat's tail was scratching at her, and she couldn't wait to go out and search for it right now.

In his excitement, he twisted his hand.

The pacifier accidentally poked Xue Aotian's throat, causing the little guy to choke and cough immediately.

ka ka ka-

"sorry Sorry!"

Chen Nian quickly picked it up and comforted it.

Five minutes later, the little guy finally fell asleep again.

However, the bracelet stopped vibrating.

Clearly, the mysterious visitor had already left the rescue station.

Chen Nian had no choice but to lie back down on the bed, planning to take a look around the area the next day.

Perhaps it's because they were full.

Xue Aotian didn't wake up again for the rest of the time, sleeping soundly until dawn, which also allowed Chen Nian to get plenty of rest.

Early the next morning.

Chen Nian woke up feeling refreshed.

After satisfying Xue Aotian's physical needs, he skillfully stuffed it into his chest pocket and left the room.

Xue Aotian had long been used to this mobile private room.

Its little paws skillfully gripped the edge of the pocket, and it poked out its round, chubby little head. Its big, bright blue eyes darted around, curiously observing the world, a look that never seemed to tire of it.

When Xia Qiyue returned from her morning exercise and saw this scene, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Real Pokémon, right?"

"Of course, the Flash Snow Leopard!"

Chen Nian smiled and casually turned on the live stream.

Cat lovers rushed in like swarms, and the live chat exploded with comments.

Good morning, Teacher Chen!

"Good morning, Master! Good morning, Young Master!"

Good morning, everyone!

After breakfast, Xia Qiyue drove her well-worn SUV to the county town again to buy supplies, planning to bring back some local ingredients to work on new recipes with Chen Nian.

Chen Nian has been thinking about the cat-shaped bracelet that vibrated last night.

He then began to stroll around the courtyard with Xue Aotian in his arms.

The viewers in the live chat were puzzled to see Chen Nian not filming the young master properly, but instead circling around.

"Teacher Chen, what are you doing circling around over there?"

"I want to see a snow leopard!"

"It's making me dizzy."

Chen Nian looked around, her gaze mainly focused on the base of the courtyard wall.

Xue Aotian in the pocket seemed to sense the 'dad's' focus, its little head swaying left and right in sync with Chen Nian's gaze, its earnest little face as if it were also helping to search for clues.

Chen Nian explained as she searched.

“I heard some noise in the yard last night, most likely from a cat! I’m looking for any traces it left behind.”

"I've got it!" Chen Nian's eyes lit up as he looked at the small hole in front of him.

He quickly squatted down and turned the camera around.

"Look!"

There are a few hairs here!

Chen Nian stretched out her finger and carefully picked up a few inconspicuous hairs from the edge of the hole.

Chen Nian saw this hole yesterday when he was strolling around the area.

He initially thought it was a rat hole.

But now, looking at the fur around the edge of the hole, Chen Nian is certain that these are the marks left by the mysterious feline from last night!

"Na."

Chen Nian focused the camera on her fingertips.

A few golden hairs swayed in the breeze, like a cat toy, and Xue Aotian playfully stretched out his little paw to reach for them.

When they saw that it actually had fur, the viewers in the live chat were shocked.

"There really are cats??"

"Could it be a house cat?"

"Wild cats probably wouldn't approach places where people live on their own, right?"

"Hey, you're obviously a new fan. What kind of physique does my Teacher Chen have? A man who can approach a wild snow leopard bare-handed, the new Elvis of the new era! Isn't it perfectly reasonable for a wild cat to come and 'pay its respects' in the middle of the night!"

"That's true!"

The cat lovers who were just surprised immediately calmed down.

Chen Nian looked at the rapidly scrolling comments and explained, both amused and exasperated:

“You guys are exaggerating! I only approached Sydney because I had no other choice. Under normal circumstances, wild cats would never approach humans on their own initiative, and I would not approach wild cats on my own initiative either.”

He zoomed out, scanning the somewhat dilapidated courtyard.

“This shelter has been abandoned for quite some time. Perhaps,” he said, twirling a few strands of hair and carefully observing their color and length in the morning light, “this little guy just sees this place as a ‘safe house’ where he can shelter from the wind and rain.”

"For temporary rest."

This made the viewers even more curious:

"Teacher Chen, can you tell what kind of cat it is?"

Chen Nian hesitated for a moment, then shook her head: "I can't be 100% sure based on just a few hairs and the size of the hole."

He extended his thumb and forefinger, gesturing a width of about seven or eight centimeters.

"Judging from the diameter of the hole, the creature that could squeeze in must be a small feline. Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that it is a descendant of a domestic cat that has mixed into the wild."

"After all, this place is quite far from the county town. It would be difficult for a pure domestic cat to survive in the wilderness without human feeding for a long time. It would need to have sufficient hunting skills."

No one knows he has a cat bracelet.

The bracelet will only vibrate if it meets the criteria of being 'rare'.

Therefore, this cat is definitely a wild feline.

But in order not to seem too far-fetched, he still made a plausible deduction.

"If it's a wild cat, then it would fit this size."

"There are only three kinds left: leopard cat, desert cat, and Pallas's cat!"

"Only those of them are big enough to squeeze into this hole."

"The fur of these three cats all match the few strands I have in my hand, so I can't say for sure which cat it is."

He tried to find more traces nearby.

But this little guy was cunning; he left nothing behind except a few hairs.

The footprints were also covered by the wind and sand.

Chen Nian stood up, with a mixture of helplessness and anticipation.

I glanced one last time at the quiet hole in the wall.

He didn't know if the little guy would come back after discovering that someone had moved in.

He actually really hoped to greet this 'neighbor' in a friendly way.

Around noon, Xu Dafei and Jiang Fengyu arrived by car on time.

They brought more sophisticated testing equipment, preparing to conduct a more in-depth examination once Xue Aotian grows a little older.

"Big fly."

While installing the equipment, Chen Nian remembered what Xu Dafei had reminded him of yesterday, and he now understood what the other person meant.

So he told Xu Dafei about his discovery.

“There was definitely some noise in the yard last night. This morning I actually found a few hairs near that small hole in the wall. I guess it was a small feline.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Dafei, who was bending over to adjust the equipment, visibly paused.

A look of 'I knew it' appeared on his face.

Jiang Fengyu, who was standing next to him, grinned and chimed in, "Haha, it seems that little guy hasn't left yet. He really considers this place his home."

"Teacher Chen, the little guy you found should be a leopard cat!"

"Purebred!"

(A domineering cat pins me against the wall!)
(End of this chapter)