Injured Bobcat Rescued – Euthanized

 

3/22/14 10:57 am a call comes in from someone named Stacie who says she is watching a bobcat, in a ditch across from her house in Northport, FL (1hr 17min away) and he is limping and has blood dripping from his leg. She says her father walked right up to the cat and it didn’t run, so I asked her to text me a photo and it was a bobcat. The cat looked to be in pain, but was sitting in the grass and the photo was blurry, so I didn’t know how bad the injury might be.

We sprang into action and loaded up the Tundra with nets, the squeeze cage, a carrier, first aid kit, blankets, water, Interns (Lauren and Philip) and Jamie and Dr. Justin. Since the cat was able to retreat to the woods, I felt that we may need to dart the cat to save him and we have to have a vet do that because the drugs are a controlled substance. That meant Jamie and Dr. Justin had to give up their day off to go searching for a bobcat, which is usually like seeking a needle in a haystack.

Nearly four and half hours go by, and still no word from Jamie, so I texted her and asked if they had seen the bobcat yet. She texted back the saddest image imaginable; a young bobcat with his front left paw chewed off.

My first thought was that perhaps the bobcat had been trapped and chewed off his own leg to free himself, but hearing Jamie describe the location where he was found it made me wonder if the bobcat had survived a gator attack.

She said they had beaten the bushes for hours and were just about to give up because the area the bobcat had disappeared into was an over grown canal that went on for miles.

They circled back around and heard dogs barking and thought that maybe they had flushed the cat out of the woods. Sure enough, as they headed toward all the noise, they found the bobcat in the canal where Dr. Justin was able to net him.

Now they are on their way to Animal Coalition of Tampa where Dr. Justin will amputate the leg and stabilize the bobcat, if possible.

They are thinking the bobcat’s new name should by Ivy if a female and Ivan if a male because of all of the poison ivy they tromped through to save the cat’s life.

Warning Graphic Image

Do not scroll down if you are faint of heart because this image is just heart breaking.

When the Rescuers were trying to catch the bobcat, he was running on all four paws, even though it was obvious that one front leg was chewed off.

When he was netted and put in the squeeze cage he was deep in towels and covered with a blanket to keep him from going into shock.

Once the Rescuers arrived at the clinic and were able to sedate him and pull him out, they knew there was nothing they could do but put him out of his misery.

He had obviously been struggling to survive for days, as the bones were completely dried out.

It’s gut wrenching to see an animal in such condition, but he left this world surrounded by angels and more love than many animals ever know.

Read about how hundreds of bobcats and lynx are killed in U.S. traps each year for the fur trade.