Sanctuaries Offer Permanent Home To Orland Park Bobcat

ORLAND PARK, IL -- Several accredited sanctuaries have stepped forward to offer the bobcat found last month in a shuttered storefront during a police search for guns a permanent home. The bobcat’s owner was charged with unlawful possession of firearms by a felon, and illegal possession of a wild animal. Lynxie, the bobcat, was turned over to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

“The bobcat has been taken to an approved facility where it is being provided with care,” the IDNR statement read. “We cannot provide the name of the location, as this is still an active investigation. “

The bobcat was found in a small office in the storefront. Lynxie cannot be released into the wild because his front paws have been declawed. Tammy Thies, founder and president of the Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone, Minn., said it’s not unusual for the location of wild cats or exoctic animals siezed in criminal proceedings to be put into “witness protection.”

“I can’t speak directly to this case, but rescue groups will hold the animal too,” Thies said, a wildcat expert. “From my experience, the bobcat is being properly cared for during the investigation. If the judge’s disposition determines that the person had the cat illegally we want it to go to reputable facility.”

Thies estimates there are 8,000 pet tigers being kept by private owners in the United States, compared to the roughly 320 tigers living in Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited zoos.

“There is a captive cat epidemic,” Thies said. “It’s not fair to the animal or the public who doesn’t know there’s a tiger next door.”

The Wildcat Sanctuary has about 100 rescued wildcats living at the sanctuary in rural Minnesota, including 30 bobcats and the rest tigers, lions, cougars or mountain lions, bengals and African servals. The average age of the wildcats that come to the sanctuary is 10 years old. Many are surrendered by teens who’ve raised the wildcats as pets until it’s time to leave for college.

“People try to re-home the wildcats instead of bringing them to a sanctuary,” Thies said. “I think the idea of owning a wild or exotic [animal] is much more glamour than reality. Most people keep them as pets through adolescence, but not a lifetime.”

Even in states where owning a wild or exoctic cat is legal, finding a vet to treat the animal can be a challenge. Most liability policies will not cover the damage a wildcat might cause to another pet or person.”

Many of the bobcats that find their way to the Wildcat Sanctuary can be traced to a breeder in Idaho that breeds and ships bobcat and Canadian lynx kittens to buyers throughout the country. When local authorities discover the bobcat or lynx living in an area illegally, it’s the owner rather than the breeder that usually gets arrested and prosecuted.

When trained properly and raised with a lot of human contact, bobcats and lynxes bond strongly with their owners, the breeder’s website claims. The nature of cats, whether wild or domesticated, are relatively similar: they sleep 18 hours a day, wake up when they’re hungry, are independent and are loyal companions to their human owners, according to the breeder. Wildcats can also be trained to use a litter box. Prices aren’t mentioned, but the bobcat breeder requires a $450 deposit to hold a kitten.

“Most of the bobcats we rescue, we can trace back to [the breeder],” Thies said. “Most have neurological problems.”

Declawed wildcats also tend to develop debilitating arthritis. Thies says some of the cats have had their canine teeth removed at the gumline.

We see a lot of regrowth where the bone is exposed past the skinline … it’s really horrible,” she added. “Most pet owners declaw and that is really inhumane. You take away everything the bobcat needs. A bobcat will bite, with claws or not.”

Thies said her wildcat rescue organization and others want authorities to know there are accredited sanctuaries equipped to care for bobcats, lynxes and other exotic cats. The rescued cats are not on public display at the Wildcat Sanctuary and live out their days in free-roaming natural habitats with heated enclosures.

“We always tell people to keep the wild in your heart, not in your home,” she said.