Living With A Bobcat

[Norachan]

Every pirate needs a cat to guard his keg or rum

He's such a handsome boy. I'm glad to hear your rum is well guarded.

Is his tail straight or does it curl? I'm obsessed with bob-tails. A lot of my cats have the Japanese bob-tail gene so their tails curl or twist over to one side.

Toby has a half tail that curls to the right.

 

[basscat]

Norachan , It doesn't curl or twist. It does however wag really fast (like a puppy with a docked tail)

 

[Margot Lane]

Just catching up w/ this thread now…out of curiosity, do you know -if you are still with TCS- are there ways to deter bobcats? I saw wolf urine advertised online.

 

[Docs Mom]

I was wondering if your Gibbs left when Jethro Gibbs left ? Hadn't seen anything from you lately... Hope that all is well....

 

[Margot Lane]

Glad you asked this. Bring new to the thread I was hoping someone would chime in; yes, hope you are both doing well!

 

[artiemom]

Yes, I have been wondering about basscat ... and several other posters who have not been heard from in over a year...

 

[basscat]

All good here....Just lurking in the shadows |

 

[Margot Lane]

Out of curiousity, is there anything bobcats don’t like the smell of? (beautiful animal, btw).

 

[artiemom]

All good here....Just lurking in the shadows |

We/ I MISSED you!! and Gibbs!! Please start posting, again! Glad you are ok... worried about you..

 

[Mer.kitten]

I think I've seen that. I love the Christian The Lion story. You can see the whole documentary on YouTube, but here's the tear-jerker reunion for anyone who hasn't see it.

Never gets old <3

To slightly paraphrase Maya Angelou "how you make someone feel is something theyll always remember". They obvs made Chrisyian feel loved, & he remembered.

 

[basscat]

Out of curiousity, is there anything bobcats don’t like the smell of? (beautiful animal, btw).

YES! His own poo... And I mean HATES IT!!!

 

[danteshuman]

Your bobcat is adorable! What is his name? I call my cat a-hole when he grates on my nerves or he is bullying his sister a bit; so no judgement on Bobturd!

Does your bobcat have a (very sturdy) catio? Have you clicker trained him? Since they train lions, tigers & cheetas at the zoos (to receive injections and to examine their teeth/paws) I think a bobcat would be trainable.

Does your bobcat like catnip? Silvervine? Lastly my cats are obsessed with their real rabbit fur toys and amazon sells large rabbit fur mice that were rat size.... I think they would be bobcat size.

 

[danteshuman]

A Puma is a Mountain Lion is a Cougar (different names for the same thing).
And from what I understand....Quite possible the best mannered, most gentle, easily handled cat...aside from a domestic cat. At least that's what "they" say anyway.
The smaller ones, especially Bob's, are the trickiest. And that's due to there being more Bobcats than others, and experienced handlers of big cats, taking the small cats for granted. Lets put it this way...A Bear would try to take food away from a Bobcat...twice. A bobcat probably isn't going to kill a person, but, they would be the cat that would tear someone up in a split second if you don't give them the same courtesy you would a bigger cat. There's just not much of anything that's quicker and packs that much punch for it's size.
My cat is not domestic, and he's not wild. He IS tame though. All he knows are people, living rooms, soft couches, and cozy fireplace.
Everybody has an opinions about right or wrong when it comes to keeping a cat like a bobcat. And there's usually several good points to either side of this subject/argument. At the end of the day, in my case, it doesn't really matter. We have a bobcat. He's living the easy life. We love him, take care of him, and in general, he seems to be content and returns affection in the same way we perceive a domestic cat to be affectionate.

After watching zoo show after zoo show I would put cheetas as the easiest to handle. They take them for walks around thd zoo, they are shy & need dog buddies to boost their confidence/reassure them that it is safe. Just my unprofessional opinion though

I have no judgement on you having a bobcat because I don’t know his story or how you got him. I do know releasing him into the wild now that he is (mostly) domesticated would be the cruelest thing you could do. Keep loving him & giving him his best life!

 

[LTS3]

Your bobcat is adorable! What is his name?

His cat's name is Gibbs

Does your bobcat have a (very sturdy) catio?

Gibbs doesn't have a catio. He has a huge outdoor enclosure. These pictures are from the TCS album:

Gibs house 4.jpg

thecatsite.com

Enclosure.jpg

thecatsite.com

 

[Margot Lane]

YES! His own poo... And I mean HATES IT!!!

Funny! Just like my cat leaping quickly out of the litter box except bigger. Unfortunately that answer doesn’t help me (unless I get super creative and wear gloves) as am hoping to deter bobcats from coming too close to the house.

 

[Tik cat's mum]

Gibbs is one fine cat he's definitely way too much cat for me but just love seeing all these pictures, and hearing seeing just how much work goes into giving him the best life. Even though I know he's not a regular pussy cat. I would love him and hug him and get ripped to pieces.

 

[Tik cat's mum]

Funny! Just like my cat leaping quickly out of the litter box except bigger. Unfortunately that answer doesn’t help me (unless I get super creative and wear gloves) as am hoping to deter bobcats from coming too close to the house.

Have you tried this my mum in law uses it, don't know if it would work with bobcats. Might be worth contacting them to see. My thinking is a bobcat is a cat.

 

[Kflowers]

I've not used Silent Roar, but from my own experience when neighborhood tom's scent marked the doors, the inside fixed males felt the need to mark the inside of the doors. Just watch for that and maybe don't put the Silent Roar right up against the house.

 

[Margot Lane]

THANKS FOR THIS!!! I have now seen what I suspected: the new (pretty big and healthy now) bobcat twins have eased from my neighbor’s property onto mine, one w/ a fresh gopher. SUCH beautiful & graceful animals, what lovely coats. So now my moral struggle becomes: do I let the cat out ever again? I’ll probably get a ton of feedback here from indoors only peeps, and probably rightly so. My cat will hate me if I don’t let him out—- I will hate myself if a bobcat thinks he’s a snack. We’ve never in decades lost a cat to a bobcat here, but, now there are less ranchers, the bobcats are enjoying the freedom. Hmmmm. I think for now, for my mental well being, I keep him in. He’s getting older anyway, and sticks around more than he did. (Sorry to shanghai this post a bit, but could use more bobcat imput here). Meantime I’ll get silent roar, and all else I can find.

 

[Margot Lane]

O dear. Zorro’s first day of the rest of his life! I’ve explained, and showed him photos of bobcats. A least he can peep out screened windows.