New Cat Species Discovered in Bolivia After Being Mistaken for a Kitten

A new breed of cat has been discovered for the first time in 100 years.

Citing the journal Current Biology, NBC News reports that a new wild cat species dubbed leopardus tilcayo (or the tilcayo tiger cat) was discovered in the Bolivian Yungas. The exact size of this particular cat population in the wild remains unclear.

The tilcayo tiger cat is smaller than the average house cat, has rounded ears, a slender build, and is spotted.

A new species of cat has been identified for the first time in a century—and experts think that there may be even more to discover around the world: https://t.co/woOXXxJOXB pic.twitter.com/OX12m8wV3V

— National Geographic (@NatGeo) September 17, 2026

Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, the co-author of Current Biology’s study, came upon the cat while volunteering for a wildlife rehabilitation center in Bolivia and thought it looked just different enough to warrant further investigation.

“The cat had been brought in by a man living in a community in the forest near La Paz who had mistaken the cat for a domestic kitten, according to details recorded by the sanctuary,” NBC reports. “He had fed the animal noodles, rice and eggs, only to realize it was wild and that he could not take care of it. So he brought it to the sanctuary.”

It was originally believed to have been a known species of wild cat, but Nogales-Ascarrunz conducted genetic testing that ultimately determined this was its own distinct cat species.

While leopardus tilcayo may be a new discovery for researchers, its existence is old news to local peoples in Bolivia who have been aware of its existence for years.

Scientists have discovered a new species of cat for the first time in over a century.

Smaller than an average housecat and covered in leopard-like spots, the cat species — proposed name Leopardus tilcayo — lives in Bolivia’s Yungas forest ecoregion. Very little is known about… pic.twitter.com/2dFDkgDzKi

— ABC News (@ABC) September 18, 2026

“This cat, they call it tilcayo. And when you ask, ‘Does it have some meaning in Quechua or Almyra and other Indigenous languages?’ they say, ‘No, my grandpa told me that’s the tilcayo,’” Nogales-Ascarrunz said. “This is a traditional knowledge that they have in the community. We want to preserve that knowledge and we didn’t want to give it another name.”

Nogales-Ascarrunz’s biggest concern about the little cat is preserving the species’ existence. The five tiger cat species native to Central and South America exist in habitats where conservation is already imperiled by development and the expansion of agriculture.