What does the future hold for us?

Well, not a whole lot has changed since last week. We are still growing, playing a LOT, and still taking turns going with Mom and Dad to work. We figured out how to go over baby gates, so doors now have to be closed at work so we won't try to escape. We have full run of the house at home, and we love to chase Tex and Lynx, along with the people of the family, all over the house! Tex is very much our buddy now, and Lynx is learning to tolerate us. Mom even caught Lynx trying to give us baths the other day! We are still drinking mostly kitten milk (with extra calcium and vitamins) and haven't shown much interest in any types of meats that have been offered. Tonight Mom made us something pretty yummy, though. She mixed egg yolk and pureed meat in with our milk, and boy did we like that! Step one towards solids was a success! It's usually 8 weeks or so before bobkittens are weaned, so we still have some time.

A lot of people have been asking what happens with us once we are weaned and old enough to be out on our own. We have imprinted so much on people considering we were found at a very young age. If we stay tame, Mom would very much like to keep us for educational programs to help others learn about bobcats. She has already been talking with others to gather various facts to have lesson plans ready. She has some ideas and has already talked to a few people that would be interested in hosting us to educate others. There is a big room at home that has 3 walls of windows that is being converted completely to a kitty playroom, and if we stay, Mom and Dad will plan on building a big outdoor enclosure off of that room so that we have lots of safe play room if we are not in the house with the family.

Of course, there is also the chance that we could end up having more wild tendencies, in which case Mom and Dad do have a large ranch that we could potentially be released on. But what if we are too wild to be in a captive situation safely, but are so imprinted we cannot be released? They have that covered, too. An educational facility that keeps various Texas wildlife to educate the public has contacted Mom about having extra living space in the event we cannot be kept or released. Mom and Dad have talked a lot about all of the different possibilities so they can be ready for anything in the future, but right now they just plan to take it day by day and keep us healthy and safe. They plan to adapt which ever way is needed as we grow and change.

We also want to let everyone know that it is not necessarily legal for anyone to have bobcats, and we don't want anyone to get the wrong idea that it is ok for just anyone to raise one (or two!). There are laws in place at the city and county level that keep people from being able to have them within certain cities or counties. If the city or county has ordinances regarding wild and dangerous animals, bobcats are almost certain to be included on the list. Sometimes the ordinances are hard to find, so we encourage you to check with your Game Warden or Animal Control office to find out what the rules are in your area if you think you want to help orphaned bobcats (as we definitely do not encourage anyone to take babies from their moms!). We also have very particular needs that need to be addressed, so raising our kind is not just an easy adventure. For example, if Mom did not provide us with calcium and vitamin supplements, we could easily become lame in the back end or suffer from seizures, and we could ultimately die due to the lack of the correct diet. Raising bobkittens definitely takes a lot of work!

Ok, we'll stop lecturing now and get on to the fun stuff - pictures! Here are a few from the past week: