Romeo | Big Cat Rescue

Meet Romeo, Wild Rehab Bobcat

Male Rehab Bobcat
Arrived 1/27/2020
Age at that time estimated to be barely 1 year old

January 27, 2020

We rescued an adult male bobcat today. He is currently in the Recovery Hospital and will be examined tomorrow, for tonight he needs to eat and rest. He did eat and drink well so we are hopeful.

January 28, 2020

Big Cat Rescuers to the rescue! The bobcat rehab team recently embarked on the capture and rescue of an injured Florida bobcat. The 1-year-old male named Romeo appeared to have been struck by a car weeks ago and has since been unable to walk using his rear legs. Unable to hunt for food Romeo was literally starving to death. He weighed only 16 pounds when his normal body weight should be 22-25.

He was captured in the front yard of a residential neighborhood and taken to Big Cat Rescue yesterday morning where he rested up and enjoyed two hearty meals. This afternoon Romeo made the trip to The Humane Society of Tampa Bay where Dr. Boorstein and the team examined him.

Romeo had over half a dozen fractures to his pelvis and wounds indicative of a vehicle strike on his legs and hips that were nearly healed. Because the pelvis is not displaced and the fractures are clean. The vet team believes the best course of treatment is cage rest. Romeo will reside in the Bobcat Rehab Hospital where he will be monitored 24/7. During this time we will have our fingers and paws crossed that he is a good patient and rests up so his bones can heal.

We will re-examine Romeo and take follow up Xrays to check in on his progress in 6 weeks. Thank you, everyone, for your support that makes our Bobcat Rehabilitation Program possible.

January 28, 2020 – Keeper News

Only rabies vaccinated rehabbers can care for Romeo until February 11th. Romeo is currently housed in the room where Flint was. There are two cameras on him so keepers can keep a close eye on him. Romeo is very wild and aggressive.

Because of the severity of his injuries, it is important to not force him to move or shift. We will just have to do our best to catch him on each side of his cage so we can clean the other side. This can be assisted by only covering the side of his cage that is clean with a sheet and leaving the side we want to gain access to uncovered. Jamie created his daily tracking and chart for feeding and meds that keepers will follow very closely.

Romeo is on heavy quarantine due to the virus that is affecting native bobcats so that we do not transmit this to our captive population. This means wearing gloves when cleaning his cage, using bleach when washing linens, and utilizing a foot bath for exiting the Bobcat Hospital. The care team is being very careful, just in case.