Female Bobcat
DOB 5/13/03?
Rescued 6/4/03
Bailey’s mother was possibly a native Florida Bobcat who was killed in Odessa. That or she was a pet that was abandoned. Lost and alone little Bailey wandered out in search of the mother who would never return and was discovered by a local woman about the same time as she was being discovered by a hawk. The woman rushed to her rescue and thinking she was a feral cat, she called the animal shelter. The woman called Big Cat Rescue to see if there was anything we could do to save the tiny kitten, who was only about 5 or 6 weeks old, from being euthanized. We picked her up and will provide her with a home for the rest of her expected 20 years.
Because she had only had a few weeks with her mother, she did not have the skills and training that would have taken her mom one to three years to impart. Without her mother’s guidance in such critical areas as how to feed herself, how to defend herself and how to hide from man Bailey would not have survived a week in the wild. Because of being handled by so many people during her stay in the shelter, she was not a candidate for release back to the wild. If she were to find herself hungry and unable to hunt, she wouldn’t know that approaching a human would mean certain death. Because there was no way to verify her origins she could not be released, since it is illegal to release a non native exotic animal.
It is sad to think that Bailey will never be able to roam free and make her own choices. It is even sadder still to know that more and more animals are being killed and orphaned as urban sprawl gobbles up the fields and forests that are home to so many wondrous creatures. The following year we had our first rehab and release of a native bobcat kitten. Read Faith’s Story.
Sponsor Bailey: http://big-cat-rescue.myshopify.com/collections/sponsor-a-cat
Bailey Visited the Vet
Bailey was refusing food and wobbling as she walked so we took her in for X-rays and diagnostics.
Dr. Justin Boorstein found an ulcer on her mouth and a spot on her lung and a high temp.
Bailey got fluids and antibiotics and will recover in our onsite Cat Hospital until she is well enough to go back outside.
I'm so glad you were able to give Bailey a home. I was very lucky to see a wild bobcat cross the road in front of my car, many years ago, as I traveled slowly up a back road in the mountains in California. The cat looked like a fat teddy bear, fully muscled in a winter coat with a stuby tail, spoted and dark in color. He or she was without fear. It was a special moment and I just sat there and watched. These cats are beautiful when they live free.