Brooksville Wild Bobcat Rescue, Othello

WILD BOBCAT RESCUE – Feb 23, 2020 – At 9:56 am the Hernando County Sheriff called saying a bobcat had been hit by a car and couldn’t use his back legs. They agreed to stay with the cat and keep people from harassing the bobcat until we could get there.

Thanks to all of you who help fund our bobcat rescue efforts, our Tundra pickup was already loaded with a carrier, nets, gloves, blankets and everything Rescuers would need to secure the bobcat.

Karma Hurworth and Lauren Buckingham sped to the scene, which was about an hour away. With help from the officers in holding back the brush, Karma and Lauren were able to scoop the bobcat up with their nets and into the carrier and immediately headed back to Big Cat Rescue. The bobcat was transferred to a hospital cage where we will hydrate him and keep him quiet so he doesn’t go into shock from all the commotion. Dr. Justin will be coming in to do diagnostics tomorrow and we will keep you posted.

Meanwhile, we are watching him on private cameras to see how he’s moving when he thinks no one is looking. We often do not make the Nest cameras public as too many people viewing the feed overloads the bandwidth which degrades the view quality for those of us who really need to keep an eye on the cat.

Some general footage of arriving back at Big Cat Rescue

Lauren and Karma get to name the cat since they caught him, but they want to wait until we know what gender. The bobcat is drinking and as soon as he’s rested some the vet has prescribed some meds to try and feed him in treats. He’s pretty slapping with the front end, so Lauren and Karma have their work cut out for them. (Saying he for now until the vet checks the gender.)

Will you help us cover his care? https://big-cat-rescue.myshopify.com/products/bobcat-rehabilitation-program

UPDATE – Named Othello

February 23, 2020 Update 3:00 PM

It is with great sadness we report the cat has passed away from the injuries suffered.  We will still do diagnostics to rule out disease.

Run free little one, free of pain over Rainbow Bridge. If you could have stayed, we know the rehab team would have done everything in their power to help you heal and return to the wild where you belonged. We are thankful you passed away on a soft bed and had been given pain medication to relieve some of your pain due to injury.

Thank you to the amazing staff and volunteers who celebrate rehab releases and mourn those who are too sick or too broken to survive. We appreciate you all more than you know! You are all in our thoughts this evening.

Make the Call of the Wild tonight in memory of this little one and for your favorite big cat to stop the private possession of big cats as pets and cub petting! We can all make a difference.
http://BigCatAct.com