Family found the cutest rescue kittens. Then — Ouch! — found out they're bobcats

Three San Antonio family members have been treated for minor bites after they found out the hard way the "kittens" they rescued were no ordinary kitties.

They're actually bobcat kittens, and though cute, they definitely bite. And they're definitely not meant to be kept as pets.

So while the family, who lives off Eisenhower Road near Salado Creek on the city's East Side, smarts from the mistake and from the bites on three hands, the bob-kitties are being quarantined at a local wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center, according to a Facebook post from San Antonio's Animal Care Services.

"Hey listen, wildlife really should remain IN THE WILD and it's up to us to help make this happen!" the post reads. "These bobcat kittens are now orphaned and under quarantine at Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation because someone thought they looked like house cats. Several people were bitten."

When the homeowner brought the bobcats inside her home, she tried to feed them.

"She tried to feed them some kitten milk and during the process of doing that, three people were bitten," Animal Care Services spokeswoman Lisa Norwood told KENS. "Bitten on the hand. Not bad bites but bites nonetheless. They're seeking medical attention right now."

Though bobcats are potential carriers of diseases including rabies, Norwood told McClatchy, they are not considered high-risk rabies carriers. They do have substantially larger fangs than house cats, though, which is what prompted the homeowner who was bitten to identify them on Google.

Bobcat kittens are larger than house cat, and their tails, of course, are bobbed.

The bobcats were not injured.

The neighboring Salado Creek area has underdeveloped pockets where wildlife, even bobcats, apparently, still roam.

Aleida Fuentes Boles, a spokeswoman from Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation, told McClatchy that the bobcats are not infants, but will be monitored there until they can be released into a protected site, unless they become too habituated during their care.

This story was originally published May 8, 2018 at 9:57 AM with the headline "Family found the cutest rescue kittens. Then — Ouch! — found out they're bobcats."