THE DAILY WIRE · PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, USA · 2026-09-02
Desert's Smallest Predator Submits to First-Ever Medical Exam
A sand cat kitten at The Living Desert has undergone its first-ever in-hospital wellness check, a milestone Webster is prepared to call momentous only because the alternative, a kitten with no medical history whatsoever, seemed worse.
According to NBC Palm Springs, staff at the facility conducted the exam to establish a baseline for the kitten's health, standard procedure for a species that, in the wild, mostly avoids humans and hospitals with equal enthusiasm.
Sand cats are among the smallest wild cat species on the planet and are notoriously difficult to observe even by researchers who dedicate entire careers to finding them. That this one submitted to a stethoscope at all should be considered a professional courtesy.
For local context on desert medical procedures, Webster consulted Tammy from the gas station, kit fox, a longtime resident of the same arid ecosystem who has her own complicated relationship with human checkups.
The kitten's results have not been publicly disclosed, though Webster assumes 'small, fierce, and unbothered' covers most of it. No further appointments have been scheduled at press time.
“A wellness check? I get free checkups too, they're called dumpster inspections and nobody bills me for it. That kitten's gonna be fine, sand cats are basically just tiny landlords of the dune, they own the place and don't pay rent.” — Tammy from the gas station, kit fox
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