Cooper’s Timeline

1/27/2018 Meet rescued, orphaned bobcat kitten, Cooper

This bobcat, Cooper, was found in Palatka. Cooper is about 12 weeks old and is emaciated and covered in fleas and ticks. It appears his mom is gone and he was left to figure out survival on his own. Doing that inside a chicken coop got him busted. With your help we can restore his health and to his rightful place in the wild. He was found in Palatka, FL. The lady who called us asked if we would name him Cooper since he was found in her chicken coop.

You can tell he’s been on his own for a few days because he’s just exhausted and so skinny. Looks like he’s pretty dehydrated too, despite being on a little pond. He is VERY skinny and covered in fleas and ticks. The vet drew some blood and they will treat him for parasites. He’s going to be feeling a lot better in just a few hours, when the blood suckers start to fall off and die.

He will have a nest cam on him in the Recovery Hospital until he’s well enough to go out to the 4000 SF rehab cage.

Cooper had an intake exam. He weighed 3.4 pounds. Blood was collected and sent to the lab. He was treated for fleas and ticks were removed from his face and ears. Cooper was also dehydrated and given sub q fluids. Over all he looks good, he just needs some time to grow up a little before being released. He is a feisty little guy.

Sad News: He has hookworms, so he has to stay inside until they were gone, or it will have contaminate the rehab area.

Cooper is a little trouble maker for sure. He’s constantly messing with the sheets that cover his cage, trying to get the camera, and making it difficult for his keepers to shift him. Hopefully he will be negative for parasites soon so he can go to the outdoor rehab enclosures where he will be much happier. This feisty attitude is great to see. He is already looking like he will have what it takes to be returned to the wild when he is old enough.

HAPPY NEWS! Cooper has tested clear of the hookworms which means he can go outside to the rehab cage.

August 5, 2017: Cooper’s first night outside went well. He hid, and investigated, , got brave, got scared, etc. Cooper is still in the smaller section of the rehab cage. Soon he will have access to the bigger cage. We need to watch him for a bit in the little cage, first. Here is a photo of him from this morning. Look about halfway down from the top and about a third of the way from the left to see him sitting on his platform.

Note from Shawna: Cooper got a vaccine from Karma today, and then was given access to the biggest part of his enclosure yet. He was busy exploring before getting distracted by his dinner. He was so excited that he jumped too soon, but by practicing he will learn to hold still until his prey is too exposed to get away. He is still a little guy!

Cooper was napping on top of the high platform, when he woke up, bathed a bit and then he climbed down off of the top of the platform. It was SO cute the way that he climbed off of there…I wish I had thought to record him. I did get these two photos, though. So adorable!

Check out the photos of Cooper: