Takoma
- a male Bobcat came to Easy Street in May 1995 with Divinity. He is without any
doubt our prettiest Bobcat.
The fourth and smallest of the Lynx species is the Bobcat. It is found in numerous forest, brush and
mountainous areas of the United States and into southern Mexico and in the southern parts of the
Canadian provinces. Although increased human population in these areas and fur hunting, the Bobcat
is not considered endangered. There is believed to be up to one million Bobcats in the United States
alone. The Bobcat can weigh up to 35 pounds, head and body up to three feet, four inches, and tail
up to seven inches. Its diet consists mainly of cottontail rabbits and hare, but it will eat rodents, small
deer, and large ground-dwelling birds. The female Bobcat will give birth to two to four young after a
gestation period of nine weeks. The name "Bobcat" was derived from the short, stumpy tail or
"bobtail" that it has.
other bobcats at easy street
Skid (aka Jr.) - a female Bobcat born April 12, 1995 had a miraculous and heartbreaking start.
On a dark night on an unlit Highway 54 a very pregnant Bobcat crossed the road and was struck by
a car. The driver being a caring human being immediately pulled over and went to assist the cat.
Seeing that she was conscious, but with a broken leg, he pulled his car behind her to detour traffic
and called 911 for assistance in moving her. A truck swerved around him yelling obscenities and
aimed directly for the injured cat, bursting her open with the impact. The first driver ran to her side to
find her four kittens still unborn, but now exposed to the dark sky.
Assisted by veterinarian, Jerry Reed (JR.) only one kitten was pulled from the womb alive. She
survived the night and appeared on the evening news the following day. We saw the story and called
the vet to aid him rearing the premature infant and gave him our experience and credentials. We fed
her every three hours around the clock until she was weaned. About six weeks into the process, the
State of Florida (based on repeated complaints by Vernon Yates) came to us and said that the kit
had to be returned to the wild and would have to go to a rehabilitator's facility (i.e. Yates) to be
taught to distrust humans and feed for herself. Knowing that the kitten had been too deeply imprinted
by humans and that this idea of returning animals to the wild is just the activist's way of patting
themselves on the back, while the animal is sent out to surely die where no one can see him, we
gathered twenty two affidavits from people who had watched the cub's progress, who stated that
they did not believe she was a pure Florida Bobcat and therefore the State had no authority to
confiscate her. The State agreed and further allowed that she was a hybrid and could be adopted by
the person who had originally rescued her.
Levi - a male Blue Bobcat born April 1995 came to live with us along with 10 other Bobcats who
were destined to be next year fur coat harvest. When he arrived here in June 1995 he had been left
with his mother much too long to be a good pet, but that wasn't what his owner had planned for him.
Don had driven to Omaha Nebraska to purchase some Canadian Lynx kittens and wanted some
Bobcat kits as well, but was told that they were being kept as breeders. When the owner's son let it
slip that these were "going to be the best pelts ever," Don wouldn't leave until he had purchased
every last one of them. Levi will play on our bed while he thinks we are asleep at night and we are
working to gain his trust.
Selena - a female Bobcat born April 1995 came to us with her brother Levi and nine other
Bobcats who were destined to become fur coats next year. Don learned of her fate through a slip of
the tongue of the owner's son, when he commented what nice pelts they would make. She arrived in
June of 1995 and was a little quicker to allow us to pet her, but like her brother she is not
completely trusting of humans, and who could blame her?
Silver Cloud - a male Bobcat born 1991 came with the ten Bobcat kittens in June 1995. He was
the biggest Bobcat we've every seen and has no spots and mesmerizing eyes. Coming from what
turned out to be a fur farm, we did not expect him to be so tame and loving. He immediately took to
our girls, Raindance and Little Dove although Little Feather is still making him keep his distance. We
suspect that there was some Canadian Lynx in his family tree which would explain his eyes, color
and and sweet temperament.
Divinity - a female Blue Bobcat born May 1995 was sold from a fur farmer to an individual,
along with an unrelated mate, Takoma when she was only a few days old. She was bottle raised for
three weeks before the new owner had a heart attack and could no longer care for the kitten. She
had seen our video and knew that we could love and care for her little ones and we have. Her color
is almost silver and her disposition is pure gold. She was so tiny when she arrived that many nights
we thought would be her last, but she wouldn't give up. She runs back and forth between us in bed
all night, purring and kissing.
Apache - a male Bobcat born 5/1/95 came to us in May 1995. His previous owner saw him
urinate on the carpet and sold him to us at about four weeks of age.
Crazy Horse - a male Bobcat born 4/17/95 and came to live with us along with Levi, Two Toes,
and eight other Bobcats in June 1995. They were all destined to become part of a fur coat harvest.
Two Toes - a female Bobcat born 4/24/95 and came to live with us along with Levi, Two Toes,
and eight other Bobcats in June 1995.
Windsong - a female Bobcat born 11/91 was at the Woods and Waters Auction in April 1992
when we were buying Llamas to greenbelt some of our property. Don had never really cared for
cats and had insisted that I find other homes for four of the seven cats I had when we first moved in.
This was the first Bobcat that we had ever seen. She was six months old, on a leash and being held
by her owner in a room full of noisy people and animals, and immediately stole our hearts. Windsong
taught us more about wild animals than we had ever known, in a very short time. She shattered all of
our preconceptions about the emotional nature of wild cats. Still, today, I hear people say that you
can never tame a Bobcat, or that when they mature, they all turn viscous. She lived in our home and
got along well with the dog and the other cats. We had to put her out to get any sleep at night, but it
was only because she was so intent on licking our faces, pulling our eyelashes and chewing on our
hair. A few months with her and we were hooked. We reserved two Bobcats, two Canadians, and
two Siberians the following Spring to bottle raise.
Little Feather - a female Bobcat born 5/11/93 was given to us by the person who sold us the
Eurasian Lynx to make up for Nakita being a "less valuable" cat. No matter what we had to pay for
the Eurasian Lynx it would have been worth it to have Little Feather. She was five days old when we
began bottle feeding her, and she quickly became everyone's little darling. Her surrogate mother was
Breezy, a freebred domestic cat my daughter rescued from the streets and she was raised with cats,
ferrets, and genets. She gave us four kittens by Pretender all as wide-eyed as her.
Raindance - a female Bobcat (Northern) born 5/8/93 on a fur farm. We had ordered six Bobcat
kittens by phone, but were told that we must pick them up in person, in Minnesota. When we
arrived, we saw the sign out front that said "Fur Farm" but we figured that only applied to the mink
and foxes being raised there (although that is bad enough). When we asked what they do with the
Bobcats, Canadian, and Siberian Lynx kittens that aren't sold to pet homes, we were told that they
would be "harvested" at one year for the furs. We asked how many kittens there were and found out
that of 56 kittens, the other 50 would be slaughtered the next year. We came home with 56 kittens
that Spring and life has never been the same. They were all under four weeks of age and many had
to be fed every two hours. We employed family, friends, and anyone who could hold a bottle to
keep them all fed and clean until we could find homes for all of them, except for the ones who we
became so attached to that we could never bear to see them go. On 4/26/96 she gave us one kitten
by Pretender and helped raise Little Feather's kittens and a Siberian Lynx.
Little Dove - a female Bobcat born 5/12/93 came with the litter of 56. She is a Blue Bobcat and
turns silver in the winter. She has never been as trusting as Little Feather or Raindance and we sold
her at one year to a man for $900 who sold her immediately to a family for $2,200 who were
looking for an affectionate house pet. They found our information in the carrier later and called to tell
us that she wasn't happy and had even run away for a couple of weeks before being found in a
neighbor's barn. We had missed her so much that we offered to trade a little Cougar who was still
on the bottle to get her back. They took the Cougar, bought her a mate and now send letters and
photos of how happy they all are.
Precious - a female Bobcat born November 1992 came to us at an auction when she was about
six months old. She is a Texas Bobcat, which is the most dramatically spotted variety. She lived in
the house for a while, but she was never house broken and never trusted people. She seems
happiest to have people keep their distance and admire her from afar.
The Great Pretender - a male Bobcat born 11/92 came to us at the same time, and as a
littermate to Precious. We named him the Great Pretender, because he always pretended to be so
bad, when he was little. When he was full grown he wasn't just pretending anymore. He loves the
Bobcat females and is very gentle with them, but does not care for people much. In 1996 he sired
four kittens.
