Weaning Begins for Bobcats
Posted by Joanna Weitzel in Bobcats on June 10, 2010
It’s hard to believe it, but Odin, Bo and Teal are already over 6 weeks old! The precious kittens have grown by leaps and bounds, and continue to thrive with each passing day.
It’s is amazing to see the changes taking place; in their fur, their walk, and their emerging personalities. Hundreds of spots have popped up across the bobcat kittens’ bodies. They are now walking with a slight “spring” in their step, giving a glimpse into the power those legs will soon hold. And three distinct personalities are appearing. Bo is the leader; first to run out and first to the food bowl. Teal is like the middle child; follows the group and has a special fondness for Bo. Odin is the smallest and the most quiet of the three. He struggles to keep pace with his two siblings, lagging slightly behind them in overall development.
Odin, Bo and Teal get along beautifully with their adopted domestic siblings, and all of the kittens spend much of the day playing, rather than sleeping now. As they started to exert a new independence from “Mom” Chloe, the time seemed right to enter the next important milestone in their development, the very messy and labor intensive process of weaning!
A little more than a week ago, each group of kittens were introduced to solid foods. The domestic kittens had few reservations about accepting the new softened kitten food, but the bobcat kittens have been much slower to embrace their turkey slurry. At first, Odin, Bo and Teal didn’t know what to make of the unusual “slurry” concoction of blended ground turkey mixed with formula. They wore more of it than that they ingested! But soon they adjusted to the taste and consistency of the mixture, the kittens actually began to attack the end of the large syringe, biting and chewing in anticipation of each feeding.
So as their interest and appetites soared, the slurry was thickened and offered in a shallow dish. First they bathed in it, literally covering themselves from head to toe in the mixture, grooming themselves and one another afterwards until they were clean again. Within a couple of days, they were diving into the mixture face first, awkwardly sucking the slurry from the dish as if they were nursing on Mom. A bit scary to watch! I feel like a lifeguard, there to save them from drowning in their food!
Being a part of Odin, Bo and Teal’s development is indeed a privilege, and I’m delighted to be able to provide a small glimpse of this experience with others. And while I have to keep a distance between myself and the bobcat kittens to ensure their survival, I find myself already wrestling with the realization of what’s to come; the separation from their domestic siblings and Chloe, the move to an outside enclosure, and their eventual release. In only 6 weeks, these awesome little kittens have stolen my heart. Seeing them scamper with and act much like their domestic siblings, it is easy to see how people could be mislead into believing that keeping such animals as pets might be a better life for them.
However, there is no mistaking that there is something very wild about them, even at this very young age. Their teeth already cut like a knife and their claws are razor sharp, characteristics certainly desirable for an animal surviving in the wild, but not so much for a house kitty. To check out more pictures of the bobcats and their weaning adventures, visit http://www.facebook.com/carolinawildlifecare?v=photos#!/album.php?aid=174913&id=299058178578&ref=pb. To make a donation to help with the bobcats’ care, please visit http://www.carolinawildlife.org/bobcats2.htm.
Getting Mobile
Posted by Joanna Weitzel in Bobcats on May 13, 2010
With each passing day, all of the kittens are growing and becoming more mobile. Now that their eyes have opened, they have begun to venture outside their carrier and explore. It’s not unusual to enter to find a pile of kittens snuggled in different spots around the room.
The kittens are being kept in a quiet room where a fan runs continuously in the background providing a “white noise”. The drone of the fan helps in omitting background noises or voices that the bobcat kittens might hear coming from nearby activity. There is a strict “no talking” policy around the bobcat kittens. We want them to associate a human voice as something foreign and to be feared, not something that they become accustomed to hearing.
Right now, the bobcat kittens are being cared for by a single rehabilitator to limit their contact with humans. Once they move into their larger outdoor enclosure, a second caregiver will likely be introduced during the remain part of their 18-month stay in rehabilitation.
Unlike Odin, Bo and Teal, Chloe and her domestic kittens are getting lots of TLC from humans outside of the room. We want them to enjoy the love and attention of people, so they’ll make wonderful pets for their future adoptive families. Chloe and her kittens are all very loving and love nothing more than a good rub and lots of affection!
We’re keeping careful watch on Chloe and all of the kittens to make sure that they are happy and healthy. Chloe continues to get “breaks” between feedings and all kittens are now being weighed every other day. Feeding time for the kittens is alternated, so they have quality time with “mom”. And during the times when the bobcats are being supplemented with formula, Chloe has one-on-one time with her own kittens. Pretty soon the weaning process will begin!
Lightening Strikes Twice for Bobcats
Posted by Joanna Weitzel in Bobcats on May 12, 2010
We were amazed at how a wonderful story of a shelter cat helping CWC raise
three bobcats captured the attention and hearts of people across the country and beyond! It seemed that everyone had fallen in love with the story of the bobcats, Zoe and her precious kittens.
We received hundreds of emails and people donated generously towards the bobcats’ care. Interviews were given to different media outlets and new questions popped up. What would happen to Zoe and her kittens? Would CWC adopt the bobcat kittens out themselves? Can people come to the wildlife center to see the bobcat kittens?
People were please to learn that Zoe and her kittens will not go back to the animal shelter. Upon return to Project Pet, all are being spayed/neutered and adopted into loving, forever homes. And for the bobcat kittens, the goal is to keep them wild for a return to the wild. They are not being domesticated, nor are they being exhibited. Odin, Bo and Teal are being cared for by a single caregiver, to limit their exposure to people with the intention of their retaining a somewhat natural fear of humans.
Zoe was a wonderful mother to Odin, Bo and Teal and everything seemed to
be going well. But within a couple of days of the story being reported, subtle changes in Zoe and the kittens were noticed. Zoe’s own kittens were much older than the bobcats. They were becoming far more interested in playing and catfood and less interested in nursing. And while Zoe continued to nurture the bobcats, she was spending less and less time with them. Things just weren’t working, and the bobcats were not thriving.
Zoe’s milk was drying up and Odin, Teal and Bo stopped gaining weight. We needed to step in and take appropriate action. To make matters more concerning, one of Odin’s eyes had begun to open. Within a day or two, all of the bobcats’ eyes would be open and we wanted the first thing that they focused on to be a cat, not a human.
We explained the situation to Project Pet. They had one other nursing cat in care, a lovely calico named Chloe. Chloe had been rescued from an abandoned home just like the bobcats. However, Chloe was nursing (6) kittens all very young, all the same age of the bobcats.
After consultation with our vets and careful consideration, we decided to see if lightening would strike twice. Would Chloe accept (3) more kittens into her litter? And if so, how would we ensure that all (9) kittens remained healthy and thrived as would Chloe? Would it be too much?
Chloe and her kittens were introduced to Odin, Bo and Teal m
uch in the same way as they had been with Zoe. Amazingly, Chloe’s reaction to the bobcats was as heartwarming as Zoe’s had been. She too immediately began cleaning each kitten, but unlike Zoe, Chloe was visibly concerned when separated from the bobcat kittens.
It was the perfect match. Within the next two days, all of the bobcat’s eyes opened, but so too did all of the domestic kittens eyes. While slightly larger, the bobcat kittens were at a same stage of development as their domestic siblings. Our bobcats viewed Chloe as their Mom as did Chloe.
This decision requires more in the way of observation to ensure that each
one is gaining sufficient weight. All (9) of the kittens are weighed daily, and since the bobcats are slighty larger, they’re being supplemented with formula 3-4 times per day to ensure that Chloe has enough milk for everyone. Chloe’s food and water bowls remain filled at all times, and she is given well-deserved “breaks” throughout the day filled with TLC and private time.
We never would have thought that we could find another mother cat as wonderful as Zoe, but we certainly have in Chloe. And with all of the kittens so similiar in age and development, they are truly bonding with one another. It is exciting to see that lightening has certainly striked twice!
To learn more about helping injured and orphaned wildlife, or to make a donation to support the work of Carolina Wildlife Care, visit www.carolinawildlife.org.
Bobcat Kittens Settle In
Posted by Joanna Weitzel in Bobcats on May 12, 2010
What better reason is there to create a blog than to blog about bobcats! It has been a crazy, yet exciting, couple of weeks since Carolina Wildlife Care’s little bobcat celebrities arrived in late April – Odin, Teal, and Bo. The (3) newborn bobcat kittens arrived at Carolina Wildlife Care after the abandoned home their den was under demolished. Mom did not return to retrieve her kittens, so the bobcats kittens arrived at our wildlife center through the SC DNR. Read the full story at CBS News http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/29/ap/strange/main6445796.shtml
Carolina Wildlife Care has rehabilitated wildlife for more than 20 years and cared for over 200 species. However, this was our first arrival of newborn bobcat kittens, so we were chartering into unfamiliar territory. We hoped to find some guidance from another organization experienced in raising bobcats to ensure a successful introduction back into the wild.
After placing a couple of unreturned calls to another wildlife center, I called Big Cat Rescue in Florida and spoke with Carole Baskin. Carole 
was so helpful in answering my questions and offered advice on the kittens’ immediate and long term care. Surprisingly, their own organization had recently received (3) bobcat kittens, so they too were caring for kittens about the same age as ours. It was comforting to know that there was someone else in which to compare notes.
I told Carole that the bobcats were being syringe fed formula every 2-3 hours, and she mentioned that Big Cat Rescue had been successful in using a domestic nursing cat as a surrogate for raising bobcat kittens. The domestic mom provides the bobcats the nurturing and care they need, but they will also be able to bond with a species similar to their own. What a great idea, and the search for our “mom” began!
It didn’t take long to find beautiful Zoe. Zoe had been saved from a local shelter by a rescue group called Project Pet. She had recently been weaned from her own kittens, but it was believed that with continued nursing she would maintain her milk supply. So, Zoe arrived at the wildlife center along with 2 of her kittens to attempt the adoption.
The bobcat kittens were wiped down with a towel covered wit
h the scent of Zoe’s own kittens, hoping that it would assist in Zoe’s acceptance of them. One by one each little bobcat kitten was carefully introduced to Zoe, making sure that she did not act out against it. But, each time Zoe immediately began to lick and clean the kitten like she would her own. What a wonderful mother kitty! The bobcat kittens were a little slower to catch on, but with some help and coaching, they too accepted Zoe as “Mom” and began to nurse. Could it really happen that easily? No glitches?
Everyone was now breathing a little easier as the bobcats had their new mom and the intriduction was a success. But as we soon will learn, the bobcats’ long journey to freedom is likely to encounter a few bumps along the way…
Recent Comments