Just shot my first bobcat while deer hunting this evening. I don't know all that much about them, but based on the few I've seen this seems like a darn big tom. Anyone know how big is "big"?

Gatorgordo,
I can't believe anyone would ever give a Texan a straight line like that. Ku-dude

Where in Texas are you at? I have lived in a few other states and parts of Texas and by far the biggest i have seen have been in south Texas (brush country)

There is a big range according to Texas Parks and Wildlife. Anywhere from 9lbs to 50lbs for cats in general (no gender was given in that range that I recall). I have seen a female that was as big as 22in's tall, and she was in bad shape and weighed about 40lbs. That cat was shot in College Station Tx. But I also saw three in Montana the first of this month that all looked like big fat house cats?

Chuck

Never ask a Texan how big something in Texas is... otherwise you will get a Texas sized answer.
take care
smallfry

Somewhat smaller than a large blackmaned lion, male of course.. the females are a little smaller, but they eat jalapenos and nurse their young on pure cactus juice.
Be sure to use at least a 375, as they will come up in teh box stand with you, and there will be nothing but teeth, claws, and fur

jeffe

Well, in spite of the small tidbits of solid information spotted among the VERY WEAK attempts at humor I got enough information from here and another site to decide that he is probably larger than average for this area, but not huge. He is 37 inches from nose to end of tail and weighs 25 pounds after bleeding out.

arbstdnt: I am in NE Texas, near where Tx, Ok, and Ar join, just off the Red River.

Most of them you find are not very big. But one night when I was about 12 years old, My great uncles hounds treed a bobcat in a china berry tree in Mitchell Co. south of Westbrook. I was sent up the tree to kickout the cat. I got about 6 or 7 feet from this cat and could tell he was no orginary bobcat at which point I went back down. While we were argueing about how to get the cat down, he just jumped out right into the middle of 5 of the meanest coon hounds west of the Mississippi and started kicking ass and taking names. He would rear up on his hind legs and swat the hounds with his front paws. One swipe and a hounds ear would look like it had been through a bread slicer. I never seen a bobcat unfold his claws before that and it was scary. Anyway this went on for 5 or 10 minutes and the Cat took off. The hounds took off after him, but you could tell from the barks their heart was not into catching him and after 30 mins lost him.

I can still here my uncle Fonzo say, "Frank, damn that was one of them Lynx Cats!!!" Are you sure Fonzo. "Yes boy, it had to be, because there is not a bobcat in world that could whip Zeke and Troubles ass like that cat just did." (Zeke and Troubles were his kill dogs, a big Blue Tick and a good size Black and Tan.)The cat was not as big as Troubles but was bigger than the Walker Hounds and hell of lot meaner than any of them.

Saludos...Frank

And yes my great uncle was called Fonzo.

[ 11-13-2002, 21:33: Message edited by: Gringo ]

Se�or Gato,

That is a good size bobcat, I do not think you will see many much bigger. I do not know if you are in to Taxidermy, but we killed one about that size bird hunting several years ago. We gave the Taxidermist a couple of bob white quail. He did a mount with the Quail taking off and the bobcat up on his hind legs trying to catch them. Turned out really well.

Saludos..Frank

Gatogordo,

Bobcats here in Texas generally range from 10-25lbs. A 25lb. bobcat is a trophy. Here is a pic of a 25lb. Texas cat.

Good Hunting,

Bob

Gato,

that sounds about like the one in our back yard a year ago.

Beautiful animals. I hope you are going to do something with him. If not, lets talk.

ScottB:

Sorry, too late, I called everyone I could think of to see if anyone wanted the hide or whole animal to mount and got no positive responses, so I cut his head off for a friend of mine's son's skill collection and chunked the body. He is in Alaska and was thrilled when I sent him 2 trophy possum skulls last year. BTW, our deer are very gray compared to most whitetail's tannish/brown and this cat was much darker and more muted than the one pictured above

Also, I want to make it clear that anything I said in my last email was meant completely in jest and was not in any way personal. Perhaps it didn't come across as I meant it.

This is the second Bobcat I've shot out of that blind, first one was last year with a .22 and he didn't die soon enough for recovery at dead dark.

If you want to try you luck, give me a shout, electronically speaking. Hogs have almost disappeared but are in the area.

Bob is correct, I've weighed hundreds of Bobcats in my business over years and most of the nice big Toms will weigh between 19 and 25lbs. I weighed one cat over 30lbs in 16years. If there's a 50lbs bobcat out there I'll have to see it to believe it.

Pooh boys, I capped one in Georgia a few years back that weighed 37 lbs, a female at that.

I got this one yesterday morning, it weighed in at a plump 27 1/2lbs. I skinned it and plan to tan it and put it in my reloading room.

"This is the second bobcat I've shot out of that blind."

Gato: HINT, close the doors and windows on your blind when you leave and it will make it harder for the bobcats to get in. It also helps if you don't leave partially-eaten cans of Vienna Sausages behind.

Like Jerry says, that's a BIG cat at 25 pounds. Just think what a 5 pound housecat is capable of and multiply it by five! Pretty formidable predator there. Congrats.

[ 11-18-2002, 21:15: Message edited by: Stonecreek ]

we once ran across a couple of average texas bobcats, and there was some size difference between them.

Well, there was the smaller one done eat my brothers horse, but the bigger one that ate my horse, then ate the smaller one too.

course since they were in texas, the horses were small, only 20 hands or so, but with the saddles on they musta gone 1500 pounds apiece.

so with the two horses and the other cat in his belly, He were pushing 3-4000 poounds, then he farted, and after all that texas bs left, he was only a couple of spots and some pointed ears.

and thats a fact.

You people NOT from the great state of Texas are sure jealous!!!
And that is a fact also!!!:> :>
Don't you just love it....
TEC

I've heard of Arizona, but not much.

Nutoy,

Great cat!! Congrats!!

Bob

The BOOKS say they range up to 30 lbs. I have to believe they can go considerably bigger, with really good specimines in the 40s.

They will forever be just big sleepy housecats to me as I sort of grew up with one captured virtually at birth. He grew into a monster sized animal but of course he had the best of care etc.

What was he like? He was a VERY clever, VERY strong cat. He learned things with almost frightening speed. Normally he was a pretty placid guy. Wake him up from a nap (which he did a LOT OF0 and he was absolutely loving and appreciated petting and attention like any cat. His purr sounded like a 12HP Evinrude at fast idol.

He did a lot of SILLY things that showed he absolutely had a sense of humor....including running and jumping up on top of my head and shoulders and just swatting me in the face for no reason...except NEVER with claws and never hard. Just little playful things designed to startle the hell out of the unsuspecting and show how fast and in control he really was.

Our favorite game was chase the sock. He really got into that and frequently caught up with my hand and arm instead of the sock. Once he caught me, I went limp FAST.

It was then you fully realized his strength and how easily he could hurt you. Several times he would bite down on my hand or wrist hard enough that I THOUGHT he has got to be drawing blood! But in all the games, he never once scrached me or drew a drop of blood with his bites.

Cats seem to have delicate control over this and somehow know EXACTLY how hard they can bite and dig their claws into something without actually breaking the skin.

Bottom line was this bobcat was a totally good guy who never really met a stranger and never hurt anyone.

All cats to me are simply awesome creatures...but I think cat nature is VERY standardized. A cat is a cat. In fact there is an interesting book out titled "The Tribe of Tiger," which goes into this point in some fascinating ways.

I could never shoot one short of self-defense.

[ 11-23-2002, 01:45: Message edited by: Pecos45 ]

Gatogordo My wife killed one three years ago that weighed 38 lbs on the taxidermy scale. He even looked huge. I killed one last weekend with my 9.3x74R that weighed around 28 to 30lbs. These cats live on a river and get pretty big, we have seen several nice ones. In other places I have hunted any Bobcat 20 lbs and up was considered a good trophy.
Tell us the story and what rifle/load etc did you use?

Pecos 45 My wife had a "pet" Bobcat for many years. It stayed in the house and slept with her little dog. When it reached puberty it became hard to handle and injured her and her dad. She found a Zoo with a Bobcat habitat [not just a cage], that needed a new young male. We went to see it after we got married and it remembered her!

N E - Once bobcats get completely grown and mature, they do start to get that far away look in their eyes and gradually instinct starts to replace all else. It's just a matter of time after that before they hurt someone. My friend who owned the bobcat of my account realized this and began feeding the cat rabbits he shot for him and then soon after that took him out to a good safe area, shot a final rabbit for him and parted company. Cats have such a tremendous hunting instinct there is a very high probability this cat made it IMHO. He was already successfully hunting chickens etc before his release. He didn't need any training in that department.

There is a beautiful wildcat in the Philiphines called the Leopard Cat because it looks like one.
Cat breeders have taken this species and domesticated it for household pets. From what I have read on the subject it takes about FOUR generations of these cats to produce animals that are really good pets. I suspect the same could be done with bobcats and perhaps HAS been done for all I know.

The tigers of Tiger Island are an example of domesticating even tigers. But obviously they do not breed or promote them as true pets.

All cats are naturally high strung animals, subject to moods and a wide range of emotions. Anyone not real sensitive to a cat's emotional state at all time could find himself in serious trouble fast with the larger species.

I would dearly love to try and raise some of these cats from birth on up and get to know them.
If people can do things with grizzly bears, I have to believe there are wonders yet to be explored within the cat world as well.

[ 11-23-2002, 09:03: Message edited by: Pecos45 ]

NE 450 No 2:

Really not much of a story, I was sitting in a relocated deer stand about 30 minutes before dark, deciding if I liked its position and thinking whether I wanted to cull a doe if one appeared(one shot and the work starts), when this cat crossed an opening about 150 yards away, narrow opening, no time to shoot and I was thinking, "Drat" or something similar.....

After a few minutes he walked out of the brush coming more or less directly toward me, I shot him in the center of the chest a bit under a 100 yards with a 6.5x55 custom barreled Rem 700 using PMC 139 gr pointed soft points. That was that.

I'll help average out Pecos's aversion to killing cats, I kill every one I see anywhere around my place, and am proud of it. I've got two mousers and if it wasn't for my wife, they'd make good targets too.

BTW, since we are off on the subject of cats.....Subject:

HOW TO GIVE DOGS AND CATS PILLS

1)Pick cat up and cradle it in the crook of your left arm, as if holding
a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cats mouth
and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As
cat opens mouth, pop pill in. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

2)Retrieve pill from floor, and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left
arm, and repeat process.

3)Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.

4)Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm,holding rear paws
tightly with left hand. Force jaws open, and push pill to back of mouth
with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for count of 10.

5) Retreive pill from goldfish bowl, and cat from top of wardrobe. Call
spouse from garden.

6)Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and
rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head
firmly with 1 hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down
ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.

7)Retreive cat from curtain rod, get another pill from foil wrap. Make
note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered
figurines and vases from hearth and set aside to glue later.

8)Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just
visible from left armpit.Put pill in end of straw, force mouth open with
pencil and blow down straw.

9)Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink 1 beer to
take taste away. Apply band-aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood
from carpet with cold water and soap.

10)Retrieve cat from neighbors shed. Get another pill. Open another
beer. Place cat in cupboard and close door onto neck to leave head
showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat
with rubber band.�

11)Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard back on hinges. Drink
beer. Fetch bottle of scotch. Pour shot and drink. Apply cold compress
to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Apply whiskey
compress to cheek to disenfect. Toss back another shot. Throw t-shirt
away, and fetch new one from bedroom.

12)Ring firemen to retrieve cat from tree across road. Apologize to
neighbor who crashed into fence, while swerving to miss cat. Take last
pill from foil wrap.

13)Tie the little bastards front paws to rear paws with garden twine and
bind tightly to dinning room table.Fetch heavy duty gardening gloves
from she. Push pill into mouth followed by a large chunk of steak. Be
rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour2 pints of water down
throat to wash
down pill.

14)Drink remainder of scotch. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency
room, sit quietly while Dr. stitches fingers and forearm and removes the
last pill from your right eye. Call furniture shop on the way home, to
order new table.

15)Arrange for the ASPCA to collect mutant cat from hell and ring local
pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.

HOW TO GIVE A DOG A PILL

1)wrap it in bacon.

Gatogordo, what did you do with this last one?
Was the hide badly damaged?
I'm fixing to tan the one I got the other day and will have plenty of tanning supplies left over to do several more.

i don't know how much my biggest one weighed but he was 38.5 inches long from tip of tail to tip of nose, measured "over the curves". he was a fully mature male and apparently fairly old because, although he had all his teeth, they were very worn and most had pieces broken off of them.
cheers...bud

Nutoy:

As I posted above, I tried to find someone to take the whole animal or hide and couldn't so I cut his head off for a friend of mine's son's skull collection and chunked the rest. It did have a pretty good rip in the side where the bullet exited. I was busy deer hunting and didn't even take any pictures.....I'm not big on pictures anyway.

Thanks for the offer though.

[ 11-23-2002, 21:13: Message edited by: Gatogordo ]