Night visitors

[bobm]

I had friends ( now deceised )near Dixon, Cal. who farmed sugar beets, raised QHs and had a flock of 200 white faced ewes. A short haired, male black cat who was born at their horse barn and was always quite friendly finally grew up to be QUITE LARGE. He looked just like a Black Leapard. His mom and his littermates (large, but closer to normal sized ) fed on field mice and washed them down every morning with milk offerings. One day they decided to weigh him... 28 lbs. !!! They named him Lumux. In Cal. most of the country feral cats die off as kittens every year from feline panleukopenia and/ or eaten by coyotes as kittens or adults. In city parks or suberbia when they are fed by bleeding heart cat people, their populations explode, then harbor many types of deceises which they spread to us and our family cats and other pets mainly throgh fleas and mites. They also are the major predators of wild song birds. The catch and release programs are wishfull thinking at best.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

For people with deep pockets there are several exotic wild cats kept as pets. A client once had a ocelot. They don't make good pets, people dump in the country, no longer their problem.

I've heard it sort of depends on what kind. Ocelots are indeed a problem cat. So are Servals and Savannah's (serval domestic hybrid) mostly because people are not really used to dealing with a cat that's that big and a bit tricky of temper.

On the other hand, I have heard that caracals are OK provided the one you get is an actually fully domestic one that was born in captivity (as opposed to a wild one that was captured and trained). They're also big but we are talking "large dog big" not "full on adult Bengal Tiger big" so within handle able size. They are supposed to form very close bonds with humans and can be handy hunting companions (wouldn't you just love a bird cat that could actually jump and catch the birds out of the air for you.) Of course I may be a bit biased here (I've always really wanted a caracal, and may be letting my desire cloud my opinion)

And some of the smaller ones are supposed to be OK too, like sand cats.

I am pretty much certain that the cat in the photo is some sort of domestic mix. Most of the domestic wild crosses

1. Don;t look much like a domestic (a savannah still looks mostly like a serval.

1. are way too expensive to be allowed to roam around casually. Of course, there is the possibility of abandonment. I does sometimes happen Close to home for us NY there have been persistent rumors of a pair of black panthers living in the Palisades feeding on the deer.)

The only wild hybrid I can think of that looks even vaguely like your picture is a Kellas cat (a mix of domestic and Highland Wildcat) but those are RIDICULOSLY rare (to the point it took until about 1980 for a specimen to be found to confirm what it was) and extra odd for New York (They are, of course Scottish and since pure highlands make terrible pets being so agressive (a fact that many a soft hearted Scot trying to save "a stray tabby" has found out.) I can't imagine the hybrid is any better behaved (which would explain the feralness, but someone would have had to bring it over.)

 

[HomesteaderWife]

I agree that a 30lb cat is not unusual (but a very overweight kitty). I too can say I have seen a cat that large- I met a rescued cat who was exactly 31lbs! He still moved around too.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

Jackb, has there been any snowfall in your area yet? check to see if there are any tracks you can snap a pic of. if you don't have any snow yet, try throwing down some flour on the ground it might frequent to get some prints to show us.

 

[jackb]

No snow yet. Problem with the flour is that this is the first time I have seen it near that area, I am not sure it will head that way again. I am not sure my wife would appreciate flour, and if it rains I'll have dough. The camera will be on for several more days, so perhaps I'll get a better photo. In the near future I am going to place my cameras on my son's property. He has a large 400 foot wooded area that we will bait with a few cans of dog food to see what he has roaming around at night. He claims to hear coyotes at night. We find it fascinating to see what goes on when we are sleeping.

 

[jackb]

I agree that a 30lb cat is not unusual (but a very overweight kitty). I too can say I have seen a cat that large- I met a rescued cat who was exactly 31lbs! He still moved around too.

It just seems unusual for a pet to be roaming around at three in the morning in near freezing temperatures.

 

[thistlebloom]

It just seems unusual for a pet to be roaming around at three in the morning in near freezing temperatures.

I don't find that unusual at all for a cat. Especially if it has a cat door to let himself in and out of.

 

[jackb]

Yeah I suppose you are right. Never have seen it during the day, and I am outdoors all day long in the good weather and very often in the winter. Nocturnal Tom. The only cat I ever see is a calico that lives across the street.

 

[Smart Red]

Back during my mis-spent youth, I knew a family with a very big cat. I was told it was a cross (sterile of course) between a coon and a cat. It did have faint rings on its tail and a faded mask-ish look to its face. Now I wonder if they meant Maine Coon, but there were the rings. . .

The reason I remember it: it used to bring dogs home in its teeth. Smaller neighborhood dogs, but dogs nonetheless. NOT a cat to tangle with.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

It'd have to be; cat's and raccoons are WAAY too far apart to mate successfully (they aren't even in the same suborder).