-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
Say hello to Boris Part 2
- Thread starter amberthe bobcat
- Start Date
Oh my John..
.....I think Carmello is good since she I mean HE knows Carmella and that is so very close.
And she.....I mean he is still his adorable self.
Ok joking aside how did he do with his neuter? How long do they keep him? Im assuming its about the same as taking your own kitty in to be fixed.
Ok joking aside how did he do with his neuter? How long do they keep him? Im assuming its about the same as taking your own kitty in to be fixed.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #366
I believe we will use Carmelo, since it sounds so very close to the original name. He is doing good. He came home the same day in the evening. From what they told me, he got so much love at the vetOriginally Posted by lizk729
Oh my John.......I think Carmello is good since she I mean HE knows Carmella and that is so very close.And she.....I mean he is still his adorable self.
Ok joking aside how did he do with his neuter? How long do they keep him? Im assuming its about the same as taking your own kitty in to be fixed.
Thanks for that info
I found some information on "Carmelo" on web sites. It's not a common name and is not on all the "baby name" web sites but it definitely was on a few of them.
Carmelo -- Male -- English Variant of Carmine: Garden.
Carmelo, a 3-syllable boy's name of Hebrew origin, means: Vineyard; garden.
Carmelo -- Italian: Variation of Carmel -- Based on the 1990 US Census, Carmelo was ranked the number 704 most popular Boys name in the US.
Carmelo -- Male -- English Variant of Carmine: Garden.
Carmelo, a 3-syllable boy's name of Hebrew origin, means: Vineyard; garden.
Carmelo -- Italian: Variation of Carmel -- Based on the 1990 US Census, Carmelo was ranked the number 704 most popular Boys name in the US.
Carmelo is good. Carmello is too close to Caramello, a candy. But both are sweet and yummy!
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2005
- Messages
- 1,514
- Purraise
- 2
Thank you for the info, John. A "few" more questions. Do Boris and Amber use the litter box and scratch post like a domestic would? Also, you talked about Carmelo loving to be held and pet and stuff when you went to the vet, but when he gets older holding him will not be physically possible. Will he still get to live indoors when he is very large? He sounds like he is very friendly for a couger, or is that normal for a kitten/cub? When i contradicted my science teacher about it being impossible to live with wild animals, i told her about your success, and she said it would be a good science project to find out if RESPONSIBLE owners of exotic cats are ever injured by their pets when they ARE careful. I would love to do a project about that because it relates to cats. You are the only exotic pet owner i have "met", so do you know any good books on the subject or owners i could talk to? I found one dinky book with a tiny section about pet servals(question: Have you ever thought about owning a serval? I have read that they are easy to socialize with people), but nothing else in the cat part of the library, and zip in the wildcat part of the library. I may sound "mature"
but i am only in 8th grade. Thank you for reading my long tedious "few" questions. Again sorry for the monotony of them. I am sorry for replying so late, but i get a lot of homework. Today i am lucky to be finished now.Thanks again for the original reply,
Joecool
Ps. Again, servals are very interesting cats, and you have a lot of experiance with pet wild cats, do you think a serval really would make a good pet?
Joecool
Ps. Again, servals are very interesting cats, and you have a lot of experiance with pet wild cats, do you think a serval really would make a good pet?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #370
Joe, let me start off by saying, never be or feel "sorry" for askig questions. You sound like a very intelligent young man. It is wonderful to see someone so interested in learning. Keep up the great work
As part of being an exotic cat/animal owner, you become responsible by doing exactly what you are doing. Asking questions and getting all the facts. My wife and I have been doing this for a few years now, but we still ask questions. I have a friend that has had exotic cats for 20+ years now and I ask him many questions as well. Thats the only way to do this right. I like the idea how you contradicted your science teacher. Sounds like the making of a good debate
Ok, so let me answer your questions for you.
As for responsible owners ever getting injured, I do not have the facts on this for you. However, most of the injuries are almost ALWAYS caused by irresponsible careless owners. Case in point. About a month ago, a 17 year old girl in Kansas was killed by a tiger. How did this happen? She was posing for her school pictures with the cat. She was actually SITTING on the tiger when this occurred. What makes this even more wrong, is that the tiger was at a sanctuary. Now, this girl should NEVER have been in contact with this tiger. Her parents and school should never have agreed to this and most important, the sanctuary should never let this happen. Now, we had a girl lose her life and the poor tiger was killed!! All this would never have happend if this sanctuary was responsible. To even mention this incident makes me sick. This makes all of us owners, who try so hard and are responsible, look bad. This is NOT what a responsible owner does. This tiger should NEVER have been destroyed, it was not it's fault. I have people ask me all the time. Can I pet your bobcats? The answer is always NO! I know they would never hurt anyone, but I will never jeopardize my cats like that. No, there are not many books out there, if any. However, I have a few web sites and exotic cat forums I can hook you up with if you PM me. As for Servals, yes, some day I will have one of those as well. I have friends who have Servals. Since they are smaller cats (compared to a cat like a cougar or tiger) they are a good first time cat for the new exotic cat owner. No one should ever start out with a large exotic cat like a cougar and anything larger. You need to gain experience first. It takes years to learn how to work with these cats. Rushing in a starting large is also, irresponsible. Well, I think I answered all of your questions. As always, feel free to ask anying
Yes, they do use the litter box however, as Amber is now almost fully mature, she has picked up the habit of spraying. She is spayed, but bobcats, especially females, tend to spray once they mature. Now, the spraying is not as bad as it seems. She sprays mostly in the same spots all the time. So, we have figured out a way to protect these areas she sprays. Mainly using heavy plastic sheeting on the wall and a piece on the floor. When she sprays, we just clean it up. She doesn't do it all the time, some days are better than others. As for the scratch post yes, they do use them.
Yes, when they are cubs, they do like to be held and cuddled. We are his mother, so he treats us just the same as he would a real adult cougar raising her cubs. However, there are things you need to teach him from the beginning. Chewing and biting are off limits on any body parts. You never use any body part as a toy. In other words, anything you do not want him to do when he is fully mature, you don't let him do as a cub. Could he live inside? Well, yes, but it isn't really a good idea. Since he is a male, he will get much larger that he would have if he was female. Keeping them indoors is not exactly secure either, unless you put some heavy screen/fencing material in front of all the windows, to prevent him from accidentally falling through. When raised right, he will be friendly as an adult. However, the only people who should ever be allowed to actually go into the cougar's enclosure are the ones who raised him. Strangers should never be allowed to make contact with the cat. You, as an exotic cat owner, are responsible for the welfare and safety of the animal as well as the safety of the public. Even domestic cats can act strange around people they do not know.
One thing I should make clear for you here. The correct term to use is "exotic" animal, not wild. Most, if not all, of these animals come from breeders, not out of the wild. In fact, in many areas it is illegal to take an animal out of the wild. These cats have been born and raised in captivity for generations now. No, they are not exactly domesticated, but they did not come out of the wild either. Yes, they are still the real thing, not a hybrid of any sort. In other words. Carmelo's parents were never in the wild and neither were his "grandparents", if you want to call them that
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2005
- Messages
- 1,514
- Purraise
- 2
Thanks, john, but i cannot PM you. They changed the rules so now minors cannot send or recieve PMs. This was a couple weeks ago. The only way you can tell me the sites is if you post them. I only have two more questions for now. How did you introduce amber to your exotics when she was a kitten, in regards to HER safety? Even she was tiny once. For boris, how did you introduce him to the domestics AND amber when he was tiny?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #372
Sorry, I forgot about that. I think what you meant by your questions is how did I introduce Amber to our domestcis? Well, being a bobcat, she could pretty much take care of herself the very first day we brought her home. However, just like any cat, we kept Amber in a private room for a couple days so the domestics could get used to her scent. While we were home, we would let her out while being suprvised. The domestic cats avoided her as much as possible in the beginning, because she has a very different scent than the domestic cats. But, within a week they were all getting along. With Boris, I did the same thing, but there was more concern, because Amber was a year old and getting quite large by that time. She was 20 pounds at a year old. (It takes bobcats about 3 years to fully mature and reach their adult size and weight). But, within 2 days, Amber was showing Boris the whole house. She became his best buddy and now, they are inseparable. If TCS allows this, here are the links.
http://www.exoticcatz.com/forum/
http://www.thefcf.com/
I have to run, there are Bobcats and a Cougar that need my attention
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2005
- Messages
- 1,514
- Purraise
- 2
Thank you very much for the answers! Today my science teacher talked to me about my project, and i found out that i can use first testimonials as sources! Do you have any friends on this or other site(s) with exotics? I only need to talk to five people. Oh and thanks for the links. By the way, when i spoke of introducing the bobcats to the exotics, I meant the domestics. It was a typo. Sorry about that. I had exotics on my mind obviously. i also meant when you bottle-fed them. They must have been small then, and sometimes cats aren't nice to kittens. Thanks,
Joecool
Joecool
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #375
Haha, I wasn't the only one confused. The breeder's veterinarian has it marked on the vaccination schedule as female. Yes, beautiful big boy isn't quite the word for it. Maybe I should say, huge boy. His father was 210 poundsOriginally Posted by Arielrain
So your couger is a boy? That's so funny that you thought you had a female and discovered it is a male!That's going to be a big beautiful boy!!!
John,
Could Boris's problem with Carmelo in the begining was a result of him knowing Carmelo was a BOY? I was just wondering. You were so worried about his behavior. We humans may have a problem with telling male from female
but I know animals don't!
Could Boris's problem with Carmelo in the begining was a result of him knowing Carmelo was a BOY? I was just wondering. You were so worried about his behavior. We humans may have a problem with telling male from female
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #378
I don't know other people on TCS who do, however, on those links I sent you, you should find a lot of people. Make sure you state the purpose of your questions to them. Many people who own these animals are very busy. They work full time jobs and have full time jobs taking care of their animals at home. So at times, it may take a few days before you get any replies. I will be responding to your emial as well
It could have, but Carmelo was only 16 weeks old. I really think it was just a huge case of jealousy
Yes, I agree. I just hope we can get this started.
It must be a sight for your fellow motorists to see a bobcat in your car! Any near accidents? Out of curiosity, when you are in the store getting the supplies, does Boris stay in the car? I imagine yes, but still...
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #380
Since where I drive it is mainly a rural area, not many people see him in the car, due to the rather light traffic. However, when I do get closer to the city, I have had people do a double take. No, never any near accidents, but some have asked, what is that? When Amber and Boris were kittens, they used to ride in the shopping cart at PetSmart. Most of the time, in their carrier. Now that they have grown, they stay inside the car. I can only take them along however, when it is cool out. During the hot summer months, they can not go, unless my wife is with me and one of us stays in the car with them. Would be way to hot to shut the windows, while the car is parked. If it is too hot, they don't go. Even with the AC on, they don't like it that much. The sun coming through the windows is too hot. Only night rides in the very hot weather. (The bobcats prefer the cool weather) When I leave them in the car, they are secured in their carrier and partially covered. I park very close to the store where I can see it most of the time and I am never in the store very long. Also, while riding, they are secured by a leash and harness and their carrier is in there at all times as well. I never take them out in bad weather either. Never in dark rainy days or snow. Not that they mind the weather, but for their safety. They do prefer night rides over day rides as well. I should also note that Carmelo will only be able to go for car rides for a short time. Once he gets bigger, he will never go for a ride, unless he is in a secure cage going to the vet. It would not be a good idea to have a full grown cougar riding in the car unsecured. This would NOT be the responsible thing to do. Amber and Boris are very well behaved however. They learned as very young kittens, to stay in the back at all times. They will ride on the back deck or sit on the back seat looking out the side window. And again, they are also secured by a strong leash and harness.
