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Big Cat Rescue's Family of Northern Bobcats

Most of our bobcats were rescues from fur farms.  The deal Our Co-Founder made with the three fur farms we discovered in the U.S. was that he 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. 

Apache

Male Northern Bobcat

Date of Birth: 5/5/95

Apache came to Big Cat Rescue on June 6,1995. His previous owner saw him urinate on the carpet and sold him to us at about four weeks of age. He was very sick and his lungs are still scarred to this day. He always looks as though he is smiling, when in fact he is trying to catch his breath. He is a favorite among visitors and photographers for his smiling face. He is an escape artist and seems to delight in trying to prove himself - maybe this is really why he is smiling! 

 

Breezy

Female Northern / Texas Bobcat

Date of Birth: 4/14/96  

Befitting her name, Breezy’s cat-a-tat is naturally located on the lakeshore where she enjoys our tropical breezes. This little bobcat, though hand-raised, only bonded with her foster mother and is still timid around strangers.  She has a very lush enclosure with many hiding places to make her feel safe and comfortable.  Occasionally, she sleeps up in her oak tree, comes out to enjoy enrichment items put in her cat-a-tat, or watches the ducks, peacocks, and swans as they wander by.  When she does, it is the perfect opportunity for everyone to get a good view of this beautiful bobcat.    

 

Divinity

Female Blue Bobcat

Date of Birth: 5/95 

Divinity 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. The woman had seen our video and knew that Big Cat Rescue could love and care for her little ones and we have. Divinity's color is almost silver and her disposition is pure gold. She was so tiny when she arrived that there were many nights we thought would be her last, but she wouldn't give up. She was always a nervous little cat and couldn't sit still for more than two minutes at a time. She was spayed in 1998 and since then can usually be found draped over a limb or the trunk of her favorite tree! 

Divinity speaks to us now of the Grace of Swan.  Divinity can see the future because she surrenders to the Will of the Great Spirit and accepts the healing flow of transformation.  She is whispering to you to accept what you know;  pay attention to your hunches and honor your intuition.  Swan medicine transcends all planes of consciousness.  Divinity asks that you flow into Dreamtime through the Grace of the Swan and discover your own beautiful self within. 

 

Levi

Male Blue Bobcat 

Date of Birth: 4/95

Levi came to live at Big Cat Rescue in 1995 along with 10 other Bobcats who were destined to be the next year's fur coat harvest. He had been left with his mother much too long to be a good pet, because that wasn't what his owner had planned for him in the first place. Our Co-Founder 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," our Founder wouldn't leave until he had purchased every last one of them. Levi has been neutered and runs with his pals, Crazy Horse, Two Toes, and Tiger Lilly. Levi quotes the Bible and Wisdom that is older than the ages when he reminds us that, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."

 

Raindance

Female Northern Bobcat

Date of Birth: 5/8/93

Raindance came to Big Cat Rescue from a fur farm in Minnesota. We had ordered six Bobcat kittens by phone, but were told that we must pick them up in person. We traveled to Minnesota, and when we arrived, we saw a sign out front that said "Fur Farm". We thought that the sign probably only applied to the mink and foxes being raised there (although that is bad enough). We asked what they do with the Bobcats, Canadian, and Siberian Lynx kittens that aren't sold to pet homes, and we were told that they would be "harvested" at one year for their fur. We asked how many more kittens were there and found out that the 50 left 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.  Raindance was one of those kittens. We later rescued the adults.   Photo by Daphne Butters,  U.K. 

 

Selena

Female Bobcat

Date of Birth: 4/95

Selena came to Big Cat Rescue in June, 1995 with her brother, Levi, and nine other Bobcats who had been destined to become fur coats. These kittens were the best of the sixty kits that had been produced that year and were going to be skinned and the pelts exhibited at a trade show. She 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? She prefers the company of some of the more tame Bobcats who are frequently visited by tour guests, and she will look on with complete disdain as Apache and Divinity vie for the attention of their visitors. 

 

 

Takoma

Male Northern Bobcat

Date of Birth: 6/1/96

Takoma came to Big Cat Rescue in May 1995 with Divinity. His owner became ill and unable to care for him. She had seen the "Big Cats As Companions" video 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 is also as lovable as he is gorgeous! 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. 

 

Windsong

Female Bobcat

Date of Birth: 11/91

Windsong was at the Woods and Waters Auction on November 5 1992 where we went to buy Llamas to greenbelt some of our property. She was six months old, on a leash, and being held by her owner in a room full of noisy people and animals. She was obviously terrified.  Her owner said she had been his wife's pet that she didn't want any more and he was here to get rid of her.  This was the first tame Bobcat that we had ever seen. She 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.  The following spring we drove to Minnesota to pick up two Bobcats, two Canadian Lynx, and two Siberian Lynx to bottle raise.  When the breeder turned out to be a fur farm we came home with all 56 cats!  We have since learned the bobcats make awful pets.  As much as we love each and every one of ours, they all bite and they all spray. 

Voice talent by Bonnie-Jean Creais 2006

Big Cat Rescue is an educational sanctuary and a home for more than 100 big cats  12802 Easy St. Tampa, FL 33625 813.920.4130 Info@BigCatRescue.org