Shadow

North American Bobcat

On this page we will follow Shadow on her life experiances and give insight on animal behavior, enrichment, husbandry, and life as a Bobcat in a domestic environment.

One of the reasons we chose Shadow was at 8 weeks she was still on the bottle. Bottle feeding is a great time for bonding and builds trust and a dependent relationship. Most predators start to ween as early as 4 weeks where they will start eating solid food. I personally, like to get mammals at 10 - 14 days old so that the first impression they have is me taking care of them. We were fortunate that Lynn Culver, President of the Feline Conservation Federation, emailed me saying she had a Bobcat kitten that showed great potential as a educational ambassador. Timing is everything as we were deciding which animal would be best as a traveling ambassador for Pella Wildlife Company.

We like small cats for traveling educational programs because of there size and temperment. Bobcats when worked with from birth are very affectionate, are trainable, and safe to work with the general public.

First trip to the vet. All of our animals have a file of veterinary care. This includes date of birth, weight, vaccinations, and monthly maitenance which may include nail triming, dental care, and fecal checks.

Dr. Tim Yoder heads our staff of veterinary care. He oversees all of the veterinary care needs of

Pella Wildlife Company

Our next topic will be interaction and starting the basics on behavior management

It is very important to get young animals use to travel and restraint. Here Shadow is experiencing a harness and leash as well as travel in a pet taxi. She didn't mind either. When on the leash she will want to be carried versus leading. This will change with exposure and encouragement. The pet taxi ride is vital, as an adult it is much easier to transfer an animal that is comfortable in a pet taxi than having to tranquilize them. Agian, ecouragement and positive reinforcement aid in this training. We also spoil a little with freeranging on long trips. She knows where the litter box is and spends most of the time on the kids laps or looking out the window.

Shadow and Elvis enjoy playing together. This is a bit different as Elvis is an adult male Bengal and plays with all young animals as if he is their mother. A good and gental adult cat that will play with a kitten is very valuable, as we prefer Shadow play hard with Elvis than with us. We want Shadow to know we are not play toys and come to us for food and affection.

Socialization is key in the development of any animal ambassador. You want the animal to feel comfortable around everyone. So make alot of noise, get them use to seeing alot of quick movement, and take them everywhere. Here Shadow enjoys the company of everyone she meets.

Time to go to work -

Here Shadow prepares for her 1st public appearance. When working with animals it is very important that they are given time to adjust to their surroundings. When possible we bring two of the same animal incase one is having a bad day. With Shadow there is only one, so we take the extra time to get her ready for the event.

We always tell our audiences that these animals are not pets and from time to time they may react quickly if startled. This is why it is good to work with your animals on a regular basis in many different conditions. A stressed or wild acting animal is never a good ambassador. Here you notice "Shadow" resting in my arms, as the evening progressed she actually fell asleep in my arms.

A true cat nap

Guarding the House

Life on the road

Shadow finds a new toy -

it happens to be the pull string to a ceilling light that hangs over our glass table.

 Fortunately she has lost interest in it.

More arial acrobatics

One thing to keep in mind when working with ambassador animals - you have to let them be animals.

Shadow is very good when she has to go to work and loves attention.

Her enrichment program allows her to run to full speed and as you can see leap into the air.

12 Weeks Old

6 Months Old