Essey is a female bobcat who arrived at the sanctuary in 2020. We were told she was about two years old at the time, but she’d never seen a veterinarian.
As soon as the call came in about this bobcat in need, we acted right away. Especially when we heard the details of her living conditions.
Essey was living in a cage in the room of a nice house. Though she also had an outdoor area, it was on concrete. This little girl had never felt grass under her paws.
She’s a tiny girl, only about 10-12 lbs. We were told she’d always been fed cat kibble. So we’ll transition her to the raw diet a bobcat needs.
With a little coaxing and a hunk of cheese, Essey loaded into the crate easily for our journey back to the sanctuary.
Life at the Sanctuary
Since she’d never been to a veterinarian, that meant she hadn’t been spayed, she hadn’t had vaccines. But the good thing is, she hadn’t been declawed either.
Her intake exam went well and she was spayed at the time. After she recuperated and was through her quarantine period, we decided to try play dates with bobcats Enzo and Morgan. Her first play date, she was very confident and loved exploring their habitat.
But bobcats are like light switches, they’re either on or off. That’s why we do a very slow introduction process, to assure all’s well no matter what the circumstances might be.
For some reason, during her second and third play dates, Essey appeared nervous from the get go. Morgan and Enzo picked up on that and began intimidating her.
There was no scuffle or anything, but they were definitely not making her feel welcome. And that just made Essey feel more nervous. So, we ended the play dates. We tried again on another day, but the same thing happened.
So, they’ve each let us know, this isn’t the match we were hoping for. We’re going to continue to do what’s best for Essey, whether that’s living next door to others or actually sharing a habitat with another cat she might be interested in.
Right now, she’s as happy as can be with her new found freedom to play and explore outside in her habitat as much as she’d like.
How You Can Help
Our sponsorship program helps cats like Essey live wild at heart. Would you consider becoming her sponsor parent? It’s such a great way to make a difference.
Or even a one time donation towards her care helps. It’s easy to do using the buttons you see at the top of this page. Thank you!
