Celebrating the Life of Takoma Bobcat

 

Male Bobcat  6/1/95 - 10/14/10 Arrived at Big Cat Rescue 6/6/95

 

Takoma’s online bio:  Takoma came to Big Cat Rescue in May 1995 with Divinity. His owner became ill and unable to care for him. She had seen our videos and knew that he would have a good home here, so she asked if we could take he and Divinity from her, which we did. He is without any doubt our prettiest Bobcat. He is so dramatically spotted that we have been asked if he is an Ocelot. He was neutered in 1998. Bobcats are not endangered and there just aren’t enough good homes available for these cats to justify breeding them.

 

Most of our bobcats were rescues from fur farms.  The deal our founders made with the fur farms we discovered in the U.S. was that we would pay top dollar for every cat and kitten they had as long as the fur farmer would agree to never buy and breed cats again for slaughter.  It came at a time that the public outcry was against the fur industry.  Many of these animals were purchased at auctions where the uncaring owners were dumping the cats with no concern about their welfare.

 

There is much controversy over whether we did the right thing by paying the ransom for these cats.  We still accept many unwanted cats each year, but do not pay for them and typically require that their owner surrender their license, in an attempt to keep people from just trading in their cats each year for a newer, cuter model.  We have to turn away more than 100 cats each year due to a lack of space and funds and the lack of regulation of the exotic pet trade. Read more about our Evolution of Thought online.

 

October 2010:  Takoma bobcat seems to be losing his fight against liver disease and it is compounded by kidneys that no longer fully serve him.  We try to leave the choice of when to go to the cats and in his case are giving him fluids for as long as he will tolerate it, but have been letting him stay outside in the comfort of his nearby friends, both human and feline, rather than confining him to a small cage in the hospital for his final days.

 

When he decides that he won't put up with being trapped for fluids or when he decides to quit eating, we will help him ease over that bridge without pain.  I know how hard it is to watch them die, but we owe it to them, to give them every opportunity, to make the choices they have available to them in captivity.

 

Photo was circa 1996-1997 of Jamie and Takoma.   We do not display photos of people touching cats since 2004.

 

I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

 

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

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You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

 

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

 

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.