Great Pretender

THE GREAT PRETENDER Male Bobcat

DOB 4/30/92

Arrived at Big Cat Rescue 10/15/92

The Great Pretender came to Big Cat Rescue at the same time and as a litter mate to Precious. We named him the Great Pretender because he always pretended to be so "bad" when he was little. Unfortunately, once he was full grown he wasn’t just pretending anymore. He does not care for people much and actually grew to be quite aggressive especially at feeding time. This changed dramatically after he began to participate in operant conditioning sessions. He is much calmer when being fed which in turn makes feeding time less stressful for him and more safe for keepers.

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. Read more about our Evolution of Thought HERE