Our EXOTIC furbabies - Page 3

Yes, it does take a lot of work, but that is really true when owning any animal responsibly. It's just a lot more with these big guys. But, I love it I was just hugged by our cougar as I was typing this

Sorry!! I know it has been a while. I have many new pictures, I will post them soon I promise I will try to get them posted tomorrow, since at the moment, I am at work.

First off, you are not dumb I welcome any and all questions. No question is stupid or dumb It took a lot of planning and research before I decided to bring home our first bobcat. Ever since I was a child, I have always had an interest in the big cats and I have lived with cats all my life. All 3 bobcats and the cougar came from breeders. They were not taken out of the wild. Yes, they are pure bobcat and cougar, but they were born and raised in captivity. Many people call them "wild cats", but the proper name is exotic cats, since they were never out in the wild. To try and tame one of these cats that has lived in the wild would be no easy task. As it is, it takes a great deal of time, patience and above all, responsibilty to live with these cats. Yes, I have 5 domestic cats as well. Nakoma, is a 5 year old bobcat and yes, he is a rescue. He was taken from an irresponsible abusive owner. He now has a very happy and enjoyable life with my wife and I. The other 2 bobcats, Amber and Boris, as well as Carmelo the cougar, came into our lives as tiny kittens If you have more questions, please feel free to ask. I am always more than happy to answer

Did they still have the cougar when they moved?

I was wondering where you were hiding

I have some new updates, mainly of Carmelo since he is the one growing up so fast. Boris and Nakoma are very camera shy too. They always walk away from me when I try to take their picture.
Amber taking a stroll on a beautiful sunny day

She looks a little grumpy here

Boris and Amber just love this wool blanket.

Carmelo looking at Nakoma outside in the enclosure.

Carmelo, I think you are beginning to get a little to large for this glass top table.

Walking over to say hello

Time for a little B ball

Oh yeah...this sun feels soooo good

I will try to get some of Boirs and Nakoma. I don't want to leave those 2 guys out.

Thank you
Their life span can be up to 20-25 years I wish I could let all of you have the chance to give Carmelo a big hug and let you feel him put his big paws around you as he purrs. I thank God every day, that I have been given this chance to share my life with such wonderful creatures. All my cats, both the exotic and domestic, are such a big part of my life. There has never been a time in my life when I didn't have a cat to share it with

It is truly a wonderful experience as well.
That tail is something else. It is so long and thick. When he gets running around and playing, I have been hit in the face with that tail Yes, they are talkative, but they do not meow like our domestic friends. The bobcats make a high pitched barking sound and other noises that are hard to describe. The cougar makes some very friendly high pitched chirps that sounds like a bird. Of course, I have heard him make the loud cougar scream/yell when they get playing and Amber bites his feet or tail The bobcats and cougar all purr as well. The cougar is the largest cat that can purr. Lions, tigers, leopards and other big cats can not purr.

Thank you for the kind words As for the cost, I spend approx $35-$50 per week on food alone, this will increase as well as Carmelo grows. There was the cost of the enclosure for Nakoma, close to $1,600. I will need to build another more costly enclosure for Carmelo as well.The vet bills, those can be much higher than a domestic. However, I have a wonderful vet that charges me the same for my exotics as she would my domestics There is also the cost of the state license/permits and liability insurance if it is required. I am not required to have insurance, which is a very good thing. I do require a state permit. I work as a police/fire/911 dispatcher. My wife and I both work, but the majority of the time, we are on different shifts. I work a lot of afternoon shifts, as I am now and my wife works during the day. I am home with the cats in the morning and my wife is with them in the evening. If we both work during the day, the cats sleep most of the time while we are gone. We just get up very early, 4am, so we can feed and play with them before heading off for work

I know this is going to sound gross to many of you, but I got the BIG kids a treat for tonight. I got them frozen rats Whole prey food, the best they can get. Of course, the rats will be served thawed. Hmmm, should I take some pictures of this for all to see

Well, they sure did love their treat...playing with them like it was a new toyEven though they get an all raw meat diet, sometimes they just don't know what to do with whole prey. I will give it to them again though.
Well, for the bobcats, it is pretty difficult to step on their tails because they are so short. As for the cougar, his tail is very long and I have not stepped on it, but yesterday it got shut in the door as he was coming inside from being out in the enclosure. His tail is so long, that you see him inside the house and yet 5 inches of his tail is still outside. Well, it was the screen door, so he did not get injured, thank God. He did yell, that was all and he looked at me like::censor::censor::censor:: I felt bad that I did that. Do they get aggressive? Yes, they can, but this usually happens when they play. When you play with these guys, you have to know when to stop or they can get overly stimulated and get quite feisty. With Boris, he doesn't really do this, but Amber is another story. They will let you know when they are getting a little crazy. I just stop and walk away. 5 minutes later, they are back to normal. They key here is this. When you see them getting very excited, you stop. That way, you never cross that threshold. With the cougar, he wants to play rough all the time, this is normal. Sort of like a puppy. You always use a toy to play with him, never your arms, legs, hands or any other body part. They will learn that these items are not for playing with or biting. Also, what you do not want him to do when he is an adult, you do not do with him now, such as wrestle or let him chase you. Yes, he would love to wrestle with me, but I do not let him. I will sit on the floor with him and he will come and sit on my lap. I always have a large toy for him and he knows to bite and chew on the toy. Have I ever been bitten? Yes, by Amber during play, but it was an accident. I went to pick up a toy at the exact same time SHE wanted the toy. I got the toy and she got my hand. After I cleaned it, Amber groomed my hand as if to say, I'm sorry. I have not been bitten by Boris, Nakoma or Carmelo cougar.
Amber and Boris do sleep on the bed, but usually close to your feet. Nakoma lives outside in an enclsoure, so I am not sure if he would sleep with us or not. Carmelo cougar however, is a bed hog He sleeps between my wife and I and has his own pillow. I will rolll over in the middle of the night and be sleeping face to face with a cougar. He will even put his big paws around you and hug and purr you to sleep.
Yes they do
Yes they can however, I normally don't let anyone handle or touch them, unless they are another exotic cat owner or friends who have been around the cats since they were kittens. I never let any strangers come into contact with them as well. I am not saying that they would be mean or agressive to anyone, but I never take chances. ANY animal can be aggressive around other people they are not familiar with. I am sure many people who own domestic cats or dogs can agree with this. It took them a while, the main reason was due to their different scent. They have a different scent than a domestic cat, so our domestics were like, what the heck is THAT thing. They look like a cat, even though they have a short tail, but they smell weird (Well to a cat) After they got used to Amber, who was our first, they took to the new additions rather well. Hmmm, good question. That was his name who the original owner gave him. I was going to change it, since the original owner abused this poor guy, but I really liked the name. So, I kept it as as. The bobcats have very soft fur, especially the fur that hangs down the side of their face. With the cougar, his fur isn't rough, but it is more course than the bobcats and not as soft. Yes, the bobcats and domestics will groom each other. However, they will not groom the cougar. The cougar will groom himself, but that is it. The cougar doesn't groom himself as much as the other cats will. When he is done eating, he will prefer to wipe his feet on the scratching post instead of licking them He does groom, but cougars or at least Carmelo, does not seem to as fastidious about being clean as the bobcats or domestics are.
Yes, Aurora is THE queen and king of the house...really. Aurora is a 14 pound female domestic Pixie Bob and she let's you know who is boss.
No problem. If you have more I am more than happy to answer