De-fleaing bobcats
Yesterday, we gave all of the bobcats flea treatments and vaccinations. They were not amused….Nothing like trying to frontline and stick five pissed off 15-30lb razor blades. Not to mention, it does not make for photogenic kitties….
The release program cats are always far easier to catch, vaccinate, and treat. Why, you ask? The long-term bobcats are completely used to being handled, and aren’t easily bluffed. They know what we are up to, and they know exactly how to make it as hard as possible for us to do anything with them. It probably took ten minute per cat for the long terms, and closer to five for the release programs.
We vaccinated everyone except for Giggles (a release program bobcat that came in late last year. She got a special name because she has an odd habit of sticking her tongue out when she growls at you…it is rather adorable), and Olly. Giggles and Olly seem to be suffering from some sort of mild cold, and we do not want to stress their immune systems with a vaccine until they are over their illness. I should stop here and mention that when Giggles came in, she was far smaller, and appeared to be a female (the different sexes seem to have different facial structures, which WCCR is researching). However, recently, after moving her from isolation back into the release program pen, we realized that she did not have girl parts, but boy parts. However, she has been here, and called female for so long, that we all continue to refer to her as “she”.
Once Giggles and Olly are over their colds (that they are being treated for), we are looking at releasing Giggles, and Irving. Hopefully, I will be able to post some good video of the release 🙂
The reason we vaccinate is the high volumes of animals usually on the property. We get bobcats (and other species) from all over the region. They all come in for various reasons, and vaccinations are a good way to stay on top of disease prevention.
All of the staff members at WCCR are highly trained and have tons of experience working with bobcats. These cats may not be huge, but they are extremely powerful, and can inflict a lot of damage for someone not trained to work with them. If you have an issue with a bobcat, while WCCR does not trap bobcats, and prefers that they stay in their natural environment, we do handle cases of confined bobcats. Please feel free to contact us if you do have a bobcat that needs help. PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HANDLE A BOBCAT ON YOUR OWN!
I am really suprised that we haven’t had any new bobcats come in for the past few weeks…by now we should have babies. I guess the late hard freeze has a lot to do with that. Baby season has been really slow this year so far. You can always contact me at kari@crosstimberswildlife.org if you need assistance with a bobcat.
I know you guys are acustomed to photos, so here is one of the bobkittes before they were all mad at us!
The Wildlife Center at Crosstimbers Ranch
The Wildlife Center at Crosstimbers Ranch official blog 