Pet Bobcat Care Guide
Authors: Linsey Hembree and Nessie O'Neil
Bobcats: Cuddly housecats of vicious carnivores? While bobcats are certainly misunderstood creatures, going so far as to compare them to a housecat is a bit of a stretch. As with any exotic pet, these animals are not for everyone. If having a pet bobcat is truly something you are interested in, then continue on!
Before you even consider bringing a pet bobcat in to your life, you need to look into legality. Not every state will allow you to own a bobcat and even if yours does, there may be restrictions within your city, county, or even your HOA if you have one. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE WILD BOBCATS IN AND TRY TO MAKE THEM PETS. If you find a wild bobcat in need of assistance, please find a rehabber immediately. Rehabbers can be found by contacting your local wildlife department or by downloading ANIMAL HELP NOW.
Table of Contents
Enclosures for Pet Bobcats
If you plan on getting a pet bobcat, you are going to want an outdoor enclosure. While bobcats can be litter box trained, they are still wild animals and will spray all over your house. Scent marking is a major way bobcats communicate, and it is very common for our bobcats to tell us how much they love us by peeing on our legs! As great as keeping a bobcat in your house might seem at first, it is rarely something that is sustainable. Having an outdoor enclosure ready will make owning a bobcat much more enjoyable for both you and the cat!
Basic Bobcat Enclosure Requirements
- The enclosure must have a full top and bottom. The top can be either a full roof or welded wire, and the bottom needs to be either buried welded wire, concrete, or wood.
- The ABSOLUTE MINIMUM size for a pet bobcat enclosure is 24x24x12. as they need lots of space, and the taller the better as long as you can build them structures to play on, because what cat doesn’t like heights?
- Make sure all wire used is at least 8 gauge at a minimum. Cages with wire thinner than that or with holes any larger than 2×4 inches isn’t escape proof or safe.
- A double opening, or catch door, is necessary to help keep your bobcat safe.
Pet Bobcat Diets
Bobcats, like any cat, are obligate carnivores, meaning they only need meat in their diet, so it’s best to feed them a full meat diet. Bobcats tend to do poorly on a diet of commercial food only. While you can supplement your bobcat’s diet with a good, commercial carnivore diet like Mazuri or Zupreem Exotic Feline Diet, some won’t eat it even if it’s offered. Therefore, a balanced raw meat diet is essential.
In the case of obligate carnivores like bobcats, a “balanced diet” mean either whole prey or around 80% muscle meat, 10% raw bone, 5% liver, and 5% other form of offal.
On top of a raw diet, it’s best to give your bobcats a supplemental vitamin powder. Exotic Pet Wonderland gives our bobcats several supplements, including taurine powder and wild trax powder.
As with most animals, pork is one food item that should be given sparingly if at all. Other than that, bobcats can have about any meat. However, never feed rodents or other animals that are not from a verified source in order to avoid any accidental poisoning.
Balanced Bobcat Diets
In the case of obligate carnivores like bobcats, a “balanced diet” mean either whole prey or around 80% muscle meat, 10% raw bone, 5% liver, and 5% other form of offal.
On top of a raw diet, it’s best to give your bobcats a supplemental vitamin powder. Exotic Pet Wonderland gives our bobcats several supplements, including taurine powder and wild trax powder.
What Meats can Pet Bobcats Have?
As with most animals, pork is one food item that should be given sparingly if at all. Other than that, bobcats can have about any meat. However, never feed rodents or other animals that are not from a verified source in order to avoid any accidental poisoning.
Bobcat Vitamins and Supplements
On top of a raw diet, it’s best to give your bobcats a supplemental vitamin powder. Exotic Pet Wonderland gives our bobcats several supplements, including taurine powder and wild trax powder.
Pet Bobcat Vet Care
Before you get a pet bobcat, it is important that you make sure you have an exotic pet veterinarian on board willing to see one. Bobcats need specific vet care, and can be a lot for a vet to handle. Veterinarians who specialize in domestic dogs and house cats won’t see a pet bobcat, nor will most exotic pet vets. Do your research, and find a vet who specializes in zoological medicine and has experience with bobcats and lynxes.
Since pet bobcats are still wild animals, they are experts at hiding their illnesses until it’s too late. Because of this, it is also important to find more than one vet if possible, in case one isn’t reachable when you need them most. If you start young and make the vet visits a positive experience with your pet bobcat, it will make visits more bearable and safer for everyone involved.
Spaying and Neutering Bobcats
Spaying or neutering your pet bobcat is highly recommended, as this cuts down on hormonal aggression and spraying. This can be done at nine months. However, these behaviors will not stop entirely, and behaviors like territory marking should be expected of all pet bobcats.
Pet bobcat kittens should be vaccinated at 6-8 weeks with a FVRCP vaccine and receive their boosters as needed. This vaccine protects against feline viral rhinotracheitis, feline calcivirus, and feline panleukopenia. Bobcats should be vaccinated for rabies using a killed vaccine. Keeping your pet bobcat healthy requires annual vaccines as well. Ensure you keep your pet’s vaccines up do date with yearly rabies and FVCRP vaccines.
Do not declaw your pet bobcat. Declawing any kind of cat is the equivalent to cutting your own fingers off to the first knuckle. Declawing bobcats leads to a lifelong disability, a lower quality of life, chronic pain, and an increased risk of obesity due to losing the ability to properly exercise. If you do not want a pet bobcat with claws, then you do not want a pet bobcat at all.
Bobcat Vaccinations
Pet bobcat kittens should be vaccinated at 6-8 weeks with a FVRCP vaccine and receive their boosters as needed. This vaccine protects against feline viral rhinotracheitis, feline calcivirus, and feline panleukopenia. Bobcats should be vaccinated for rabies using a killed vaccine. Keeping your pet bobcat healthy requires annual vaccines as well. Ensure you keep your pet’s vaccines up do date with yearly rabies and FVCRP vaccines.
Do not declaw your pet bobcat. Declawing any kind of cat is the equivalent to cutting your own fingers off to the first knuckle. Declawing bobcats leads to a lifelong disability, a lower quality of life, chronic pain, and an increased risk of obesity due to losing the ability to properly exercise. If you do not want a pet bobcat with claws, then you do not want a pet bobcat at all.
Declawing Bobcats
Do not declaw your pet bobcat. Declawing any kind of cat is the equivalent to cutting your own fingers off to the first knuckle. Declawing bobcats leads to a lifelong disability, a lower quality of life, chronic pain, and an increased risk of obesity due to losing the ability to properly exercise. If you do not want a pet bobcat with claws, then you do not want a pet bobcat at all.
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