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Cyndi Orr visits with two 6 month old Bobcats the Witter Wildlfe Refuge.
Photo by Author
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Words For Wildlife
by State licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator, James Orr
CRAZY CATS
Perhaps the strangest wedding present we received was a pair of young bobcats. Their mother was shot by a hunter who captured the babies hoping to sell them. It is against the law to sell any wild animal in Arkansas. The orphan cats were raised in a house with domestic cats. They became quite ill on the wrong diet and seriously imprinted by excessive human contact at a young age.
They were placed with a licensed wildlife Rehabilitator and for the past few months and have been nursed back to health. Although they are now healthy the human imprinting has been impossible to break. For over 4 months they have been kept in isolated cages away from people and other animals. They have been fed only raw meat and human contact has been minimal. Normally this process would allow an animal to revert to its natural behavior making it possible to release back to the wild. Not so with this pair, it seems the longer they are away from people the more they crave human contact.
These Bobcats will actually jump into an unsuspecting persons lap or arms in search of food and attention. That is not exactly the kind of behavior you want a wild animal to exhibit in the woods so their release has been put on indefinite hold.
The two cats were placed with us here at the Witter Wildlife refuge to give them more time to “wild up” and a permanent home if they cannot.
Bobcats are fierce and powerful predators equipped to kill animals as large as a young deer. Although they have a pussycat appearance their growls and snarls are so deep they can easily be mistaken for a mountain lion particularly if hidden from view. They are extremely fast and have exceptional hearing. They are solitary hunters and rarely seen by people.
We were quite surprised when we went to pick up the cats to see our friend Darrel reach into a kennel and grab one of the 15 pound cats by the scruff of the neck. Half expecting to see it turn into a Ronco slice and dice machine before our eyes we listened in awe as he explained; “They are really tame” ... “They purr like a kitten and love attention”.
About the time we began to relax and considered petting the little kitties we got our first glimpse of claws that would have made both Freddie and Edward Scissorhands jealous. Unlike a domestic cat’s needle-like toy claws these where lng, large and flat with razor sharp edges more like a switch blade.
“Be careful when you approach their cage with food” Darrel explained as he placed the docile cat in one of the travel cages. “They get pretty aggressive around food and might tag you through the bars with their 18 inch reach” I decided I’d pet the kitty later. “They will leap at the food when you put it in the cage so make sure you get your hand out of the way quickly”... “They may fight each other over food if you place their dishes too close together”
This was starting to get complicated as I tried to imagined how we were supposed to enter a cage with two food dishes and place them far apart in a split second before we got “tagged” by a cat that can leap over 10 feet in the blink of an eye.
We got home without incident and placed the cats in a large welded steel cage with logs, branches and shelter areas. They seemed to acclimate to their new home almost immediately. The next day we found ourselves in the cage with two purring happy Bobcats. They climbed on us, rubbed against our legs, jumped in our laps and played with toys. They even ate their first meal of canned food without getting exited or aggressive.
The next day I brought them some red meat. Before I even got to the cage I could tell this was going to be a challenge. The male cat leaped across the cage and landed at face level right in front of me on the inside of the cage door. A long furry leg with a paw full of claws reached out between the bars beckoning fiercely for service. The female defied gravity running around the inside of the cage bars five feet off the floor.
I tossed a piece of meat to the far side of the cage to distract them. The piece of meat and both cats landed at the same time in the same place in a hissing and growling blur of fur. They latched on to each other and rolled head over heals at least three times before separating. During the commotion I managed to open the door and quickly slide in the food dishes. I then used a long pole from outside the cage to slide the dishes far enough apart to avoid a rematch. The cats ate without further fighting but continued to growl and snarl at each other. As soon as the food was gone they changed back into sweet kitty cats as smoothly as Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde.
I decided to let Cyndi pose for this weeks picture. She did not see the fight.
DONATIONS NEEDED If you would like to help any donation amount it is greatly appreciated. Donations should be made out to Witter Wildlife Refuge and can be sent to P.O. Box 1118, Huntsville AR 72740.
See web page under "HOW YOU CAN HELP" for specific ways you can help us help wildlife
