Cats We Saved That We Might Never Meet

The following are a few wild cats who you helped save, but that you may never meet.  Because of the collaborative efforts of all of you, Big Cat Rescue is known far and wide as THE resource for all things wild cat related.  About  month ago a desperate bobcat owner contacted us.  He had been keeping a bobcat named Maggie in a back yard dog kennel for 15 years before the NC authorities found him out.   It is extremely rare for people to keep wild cats after they reach adulthood and are no longer fun or safe to play with, but this guy did and it was obvious that he wanted Maggie to go someplace good.  He had researched us and felt like we could give her the best home.  His only problem was that the man was 79 and would never be able to see Maggie again if she came to Florida.

 

We suggested that he try Carolina Tiger Rescue because they would be close enough that he could visit.  The only holdup was that CTR didn't have a permit for bobcats even though they have worked with almost every type of wild cat there.  Bobcats are native and required something like our Rehab permit, even though Maggie (pictured at left) had never lived in the wild.  The state was threatening to confiscate and euthanize Maggie, so we jumped in and endorsed CTR, but also told the state that we were standing by, ready and able to pick Maggie up if it turned out that they would not allow her to go to CTR.  Last week, all went well and Maggie went to her forever home at CTR.

 

Meanwhile, a rehab bobcat kitten named Rufus, who is only four pounds, and thus probably only a few months old, was turned in to another Carolina wildlife center.  You may remember that they had three bobcat kittens back at the same time we did and Jamie walked the center through the proper rehab techniques, since they had never raised orphaned bobcat kittens for release.  The rehab center said it was the hardest work they had ever done because bobcats are much harder to rehab and release than other wildlife.  If not for the fact that there were three of them to practice their hunting and fighting skills on, they felt that they would not have succeeded.

 

With Rufus being a lone bobcat, who already shows no natural fear of humans, they don't think they can give him the space nor training he needs and asked if we would take him as a permanent resident if they fail.  They are pretty sure that Rufus will never be able to go free because he is blind.  This may just be from the impact that broke his jaw and landed him in their hospital, so we are hoping that he recovers his sight, but if not we have offered to take him in if the state of NC will let him go.  We will keep you posted.

 

We were asked to take an Asian Leopard Cat who appears to be illegally possessed in FL and we advised the owner that they would have to get approval from FWC for us to take the cat as we cannot accept a cat from someone inside the state if they do not have a permit.  It is against the law.  They decided instead to send the cat to an un-named "rescue group" and we advised them to seek a permit so that the animal is not confiscated and euthanized.  His name is Skye and he had been bought as a pet and then bounced from home to home because ALC's make awful pets, despite being about as cute as they come.

 

And we got a call from a rescue center in Central America this week asking if it is OK to house adult, female ocelots together.  We advised them against doing that as ocelots are notorious for latching on and NEVER letting go.  Wild cats are solitary and do not want to share space; especially the tiny, barren quarters of most rescue center cages.

 

Thanks to those who wrote emails, made phone calls and helped promote the issue on facebook the Centerpointe Mall agreed to send the animal abusers home.  (I didn’t call him out by name at the time, but this was Joe Schreibvogel) The outfit was due to be at the Grand Rapids mall for 10 days, up until Christmas, which