On owning an exotic cat

catlover67

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more questions/comments. First, Your wife Teri is pretty. My mother's name is Terri with a "Y". Also I used to own a Golden Retriever named Amber.

How is it you can own a Bobcat? I know Texas allows people to keep exotics/big cats as pets, so Ohio must too? Or do you have to have a special permit given in special circumstances? Amber looks very sweet and friendly. Does she ever exhibit wild, unpredictible tendencies like the BIG cats do?
 

amberthe bobcat

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Thank you Catlover, I will be sure to tell my wife

Yes, in Ohio, you are allowed to own a bobcat. It doesn't need to be a special circumstance, however, you do need to get a permit that has to be renewed every year and the state wildlife officers come out to inspect. You are not allowed to keep a "wild cought" bobcat, they are a protected species in the state. There are very very few left. Amber is very sweet, she purrs and plays just like my other cats. I woke up this morning to her purring and grooming my face and ears
The only time I see her exhibiting a somewhat wild side, is when she wants to be left alone. You know, most of our cats have a point when they say, just don't bother me, well with Amber, it's just a little more exaggerated. That is the only time. She loves to play chase, She runs after me, then I chase her. She will then hop on the couch and roll over so she can have her spotted belly kissed
She will even let you kiss her on the lips just like my other cats
 

deb25

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catlover and Amber:

Since these questions and this discussion is waaaay far away from the original topic of Willow's Mom's thread, I have separated these posts into a new thread. I believe that the answers are of interest to others.

May I just caution other members that this thread is NOT a place to air your views on exotic cat ownership. That thread already exists in IMO.
 

superkitty

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Originally posted by AmberThe Bobcat
She loves to play chase, She runs after me, then I chase her. She will then hop on the couch and roll over so she can have her spotted belly kissed
She will even let you kiss her on the lips just like my other cats
Awwwww, this is such an adorable description!! I could just picture all of it, and would love to see you two playing chase, I've never seen that before.
 

pepper

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I've always been interested in Bobcats and Lynx's as pets. Do you recommend it? Does she take much in the way of special care? What about insurance in the case of bites? I live in Minnesota and I think this is one of the only states that doesn't need special permits ect.. Thanks!
 

amberthe bobcat

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I wish I could post a video on here, so you could see her in action. She gets into running so much, that my wife and I think we have a dog, because Amber will walk around panting just like a dog, even with her tongue hanging out.

Pepper, I am not sure I recommend owning a Bobcat or Lynx as a pet, unless you are 100% without a doubt sure you could handle it. I can not answer about the Lynx, because I only have the Bobcat. They pretty much act like your domestic cat, but at a much larger scale. Amber has a lot more energy than my other cats and loves to play...a lot. She can not be left home alone for extended periods of time every day. What I mean is, work is ok, but you can not be someone that works 12 hours a day 5 or 6 days a week. They need attention. We have 7 other cats, so she has lots of friends to play with. We also take her for rides in the car when we go out, lets say, for a cup of coffee. We even take her into PetSmart with us, but at this point, she rides in the shopping cart in a carrier until she get more used to being on a leash. Her diet is much different, she eats an all raw meat diet. The breeder we got her from sent us the directions on how to make her food. It's not hard, but a little time consuming. When she is full grown, at approx 30-40 pounds, she will eat about a pound of meat per day. She does eat our other cats food too, we feed them Eukanuba.
So, if you are willing to be very dedicated to the care of a bobcat or lynx, I would say, why not. But please, absolutley DO NOT get her to be a "show off" or to have "bragging rights". Remember, she is a wild animal that will depend on YOU for his/her life. If you had found out you could not hanlde keeping a bobcat or lynx, I doubt very much your local animal shelter would take it and that would be a very sad end for such a beautiful animal. My wife and I got Amber, because we really love cats and ALL animals. Amber is a lot of work, but as you can tell by my posts, she is a lot of fun and we love her very much. As for insurance, I never gave that a thought, but, Amber doesn't bite. She "play bites" when her and I play chase, but nothing serious.
Oh and on a final note. You must be very very careful where the cat comes from. Amber was NOT taken from the wild, she came from a breeder. Amber's parents were never in the wild either. Some people sell bobcat kittens that were found running loose. You can not do this!! These cats would be much to wild to be in your home. Amber was hand raised inside the breeders home along with people and other domestic cats.
I hope this answered your questions.
 

slipstream

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How heavy is she now?

She must be much stronger than the average cat, does she ever bully the others?
 

amberthe bobcat

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I will be sure to keep the pictures posted as she grows. Amber's sire, (father) was 60 pounds, but males are bigger than females by about 10 or so pounds. The last time I weighed her, about a week ago, she was 10 pounds, she is 20 weeks old today

She gets along really well with my other cats and loves them so much. She will walk up to them, lets out this sound that I can not describe here, sort of like a rumble and a squeak, along with purrs and rubs. She loves to groom their ears and has done this to mine as well.
Here she is getting a good grooming by one of our Pixie Bobs
 

pepper

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Thank you so much for the information on the Bobcat. Of course I would never make such a decision on a whim... Thats why I wanted to ask you about her care ect. I know that even with her parents being raised in captivity, she is still "wild" and may exhibit those tendancies eventually. It sounds like your realistic and prepared for the challenges she may bring. Regards!
 

lorie d.

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Originally posted by Pepper
I know that even with her parents being raised in captivity, she is still "wild" and may exhibit those tendancies eventually.
I was really wondering about this too. What types of changes do you expect to see in Amber's temperment once she reaches adulthood?
 
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catlover67

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weird question, with a bigger cat comes bigger "waste", What do you and your wife do for a litterbox? Do you use a big plastic container/tub that they sell at Wal-Marts? or a kiddie pool? At 40 lbs, your average catbox just won't cut it
 

louse76

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Oh man, that's scary... I'd have to teach him to use the toilet...

Anyhow, is it expensive to have one of those? Does he really tear things up?

Maybe I'd get a bobcat when they make softpaws big enough!
 

amberthe bobcat

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As for changes when she reaches adulthood, once she gets older, she should settle down somewhat. Right now, she is in that kitten stage where she just wants to get into everything. As the breeder told us, she is in her "terrible twos"
But really, she is no worse than any other kitten I have had, just bigger.
I do have 3 large litter boxes for my cats. So far, she hasn't out grown any of them. It's funny, when she digs in the box, she doesn't use her front paws, but kicks with her bag legs. Sort of like what a dog does outside after they go. You can teach then to use the toilet, because bobcats love water. Amber hasn't used the toilet yet, but she likes to play in the water and looks like she wants to use it, but just can not figure out how to sit on it yet. I could just see that now. Sorry, you can not use the bathroom yet, Amber is in there

As for the cost of owning her, the biggest expense was buying her $1400.00, that included the cost of flying her here. She does eat a raw meat diet and when she is an adult, I was told she would eat about a pound of meat per day. So, that will be the the part that will cost more. She does like to eat the dry Eukanuba too, which is ok along with the raw meat.
The only things she has "torn up" are socks and
underwear. Not the clean ones, but yes, you guessed it, the dirty ones. I made her a rope out of the socks she tore up, she loves to play tug of war with it. The laundry basket is locked up now!
I will keep more pictures posted as she get older and bigger, but for now, here she is at about 9 weeks old, a very sleepy baby

 

louse76

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What kind of meat do you have to feed her? And regular cats should be eating meat in the wild, but they eat catfood...

...I'm just wondering why it would be different for her?
 

maui

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Originally posted by AmberThe Bobcat
here she is at about 9 weeks old, a very sleepy baby

OMG! What a cutie!! :kitty5:

Do you have a website with more pics?
 

auroraviva

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She is positively gorgeous!!! And what a cute baby at 9 weeks old!! Does she have a bobcat-sized purr, too?
I had no idea that people could own bobcats and lynxes as pets. That might be something I'd be interested in . . . but not until I have a large house for it to play in and a husband to help me care for it!
 
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