I don't know anything about trapping but last week my partner found a trap at work and showed me. It was the right front paw that was still stuck in the trap. No kitty. Are they known to bite off there leg or do you think the trap snapped it off. I din't pay attention to where the bone was in the trap.

It has been years since I trapped, but I have walked up on animals right at daybreak that were asleep. I can only assume it was from fatigue, due to fighting the trap. And I have been told that animals left too long in a trap, especially if it is daylight hours, will sometimes begin to gnaw at whatever is holding them. If the foot is numb, as it would be from lack of blood flow, the animal could very well chew off its own foot.

I don't believe this is in any way a concious decision: animals are not smart enough to make that kind of a decision. But I do believe they will try to rid themselves of whatever is keeping them from seeking haven once daylight happens, because they are vulnerable in daylight, and that may result in chewing off their own foot.

All the more reason to run traps promptly. Animals deserve that much...

Animals chew at the trap, and when their foot gets numb from low circulation, they sometimes get into the foot. Coons are the only animal that really do this that I have experience with, and they chew at the foot from the trap down, not up above where the trap has the grip on them.

Something is awry with the cats foot. Some states have 48hr checks, most have 24hr checks, but I have never heard of a bobcat chewing at its foot, never. If I had to guess, another animal came by and ate the thing. Either a few coyotes, dogs, mtn lion, or a bear.

I do trap, and animals chewing their own feet is mostly a myth if the right size of trap is used for the target animal. Bobcats don't really fight a trap very hard, as compared to k-9's.

No trap is designed nor any trapper wants to break the animals leg, that would create a weak spot that the animal could pull out of. I've snapped traps on my fingers before on accident, and never got a broken finger out of it, so thinking about one breaking a leg is far fetched at best. Many trappers sell fox and 'yotes to live market for fox hunts and hound training. This is done with regular leg hold traps, and the animals fully recover from the trap in a matter of one to four days. Just long enough for any bruising or tenderness to go away.

Trapping season should be long long out of season by now. TX is the only state I know of where trapping cats year round is legal.

A powerful enough trap can certainly snap through a tender foot...perhaps the trap your buddy found wasn't meant for a bobcat.

Muskrats will chew off their foot also but I have never heard of a Bobcat doing this. Interesting! What size trap was this? God Bless, Louis

The trap was about the size of a coyote trap maybe a bit bigger, I know nothing about traps. We did look around a bit for bones and such. Nothing found.

I've incidentally caught house cats in leg holds, and the trap has never come close to breaking their leg. If a house cat can get by mainly unaffected, thinking a wild animal 2-3+ times that size getting it's leg broke, is a ludicrous assumption.

If there was a trap that did breaks legs, it would be useless to a trapper. It takes too much work to scout a good spot, lay the steel in the ground, bait and maintain the sight every day, just to leave the trapper with an animal that was overly damaged or able to pull out of the trap, making all of his efforts wasted.

Leg hold traps are never designed to break bones.

Was the trap securely fastened to anything? What usually happens is the animal pulls the stake and takes off with the trap. Then it either dies or is killed by coyotes, lion, or bear. In either case it is eaten by scavengers or predators, the foot remains in the trap. The trap should have had something on it identifying the owner.

It was wrapped to a good sizesage brush with barbless wire.

Although the trap springing shut may not break any bones, large enough animals fighting the hold could possibly flip hard enough to break a bone if the trap got wedged. Remember the mountain climber who got his arm caught under a rock and was stuck for 6 days until he decided he had to break his arm and cut his way thru his flesh? He flung himself to the side, and his arm broke on about the first try.

I would bet a coyote ate him. But I guess we will nevert know for sure.

Because you're in Southern OR I'd say a mountain lion got him, I've lost a lot of bobcats and gray fox in traps to lions. And I'd find evidence as you describe several times, with a lot of evidence of a lion taking it.

Bobcats have a pretty stout paw and damage caused by the trap is usually minimal to nothing. Particularly when using the right trap anchored properly.

I've only had coons and rats chew, so usually either rig drowners, use conis,. on coon specific sets.

I've caught PLENTY of feral cats and NEVER had one chew.
BUT, I have seen where possums, cats and even skunks have been EATEN out of my traps, and usually just a foot is left.

Pretty sure one of them was by a great horned owl!

I've trapped since the 70s, and I have never, ever had that occur with a 'cat.

I'd say one of 2 things happened: a cougar killed and took the bobcat or else the trap was not checked regularly and the 'cat died in it and was eaten by scavengers.

Dogs could have done the same thing as the cougar, by the way.

quote:

Dogs could have done the same thing as the cougar, by the way.

But not with the professional style a lion does it.



Dogs will usually kill em' and chew them up, never seen where they dismembered one the way a lion will.

Lions are actually why I preferred smaller traps for cats in lion and black bear country, the lions and bears would self release by popping the jaws out of the frame.

And save me the trouble of releasing them, which isn't any fun alone.

I don't know what happened, it could a died and scavengers got it. Theres coyotes around also a few cougers been spotted. Theres no trapping allowed so maybe somebody been sneaking on the property. About a month ago a guy was called out there to try and catch the couger but no luck yet.

Coyotes tend to leave quite a mess of bones and such. But that usually get scattered quickly. Coyote will usually revisit the set for quite a while.

A cougar usually only leaves a paw and a little fur that they lick off. Sometimes they just eat the entrails and leave the rest.

I'm guessing coyotes.

This is just my opinion.