A poorly mountain lion has been rescued by vets in Northern California – and named Holly because it is almost Christmas.

The cub was spotted by a Santa Cruz resident who alerted officials, Oakland Zoo said in a Twitter thread on Tuesday.

Officials waited to see if the cub’s mother returned and took her to the zoo when she did not.

Zoo vets believe the cub is three or four months old.

She has been treated with fluids, vitamins and medication but, while her bloods have improved, she is still not standing or moving around much, the zoo said.

“We are hopefully she continues to improve but are taking it very much day by day,” the zoo said.

The goal is to release animals back into the wild but with seriously ill or young cubs like Holly, the zoo said, vets are dedicated to “caring for them until they recover enough to find suitable forever homes”.