Is this a bobcat?

[rickyrick]

Hi everyone,
I’m having difficulty deciding whether this is a house cat or bobcat.

Seems tall for a house cat and has speckles.

I also don’t see any ear tufts and seems small for a bobcat.
Admittedly, I’ve only dealt with a couple of bobcats in my life.

I’ve added pictures of other animals in the same spot for reference.








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[rickyrick]

I found a house cat image too,
So the original cat in question is quite large comparatively.




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[stinkeypete]

I agree it doesn't look stocky like a bobcat.

There are some very large housecat species, like the Savannah. It's a hybrid of a domestic house cat and a serval. They're expensive.

House cats and bobcats are too far apart to interbreed and produce hybrids.

I don't know what that location is.. but could it be someone lost a Savannah cat?

[Electrod47]

Looks like a Bob Cat to me. I have observed on my camera similar. They can get pretty lanky looking.

[jmr40]

Photo #1 and #2 look like a bobcat to me. They aren't all big, young ones need time to grow.

[Hawg]

It doesn't look like a bobcat in the face.

[Blindstitch]

Seems like a bobcat. Would be easier if you had a tail photo.

[rickyrick]

I don't know what that location is.. but could it be someone lost a Savannah cat?

This in rural Deep East Texas, about 25 miles from the Louisiana border.

The lankyness of the cat is throwing me off, but the more I look at it it is larger than a housecat.

[rickyrick]

Found an image of the house cat in the in almost the exact spot.




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[Double Naught Spy]

It is a juvie bobcat.
http://www.valleywildlife.net/2014/1...venile-bobcat/

[rickyrick]

He definitely spotted my camera lol.

I initially chalked up it up as a house cat, but later on it hit me that this guy was big so I went back to studying the photo.

[44 AMP]

Immature bobcat. "lanky teenager"

I would imagine in deep east Texas they don't grow heavy pelts the same as they do in colder areas, this can change the "look" a bit too.

Bobcat markings, legs too long, and too tall to be ordinary house cat.

[MarkCO]

Originally Posted by Double Naught Spy

It is a juvie bobcat.

That would be my bet as well.

[rickyrick]

While I believe now that my question was a bobcat,
I found this interesting Facebook group post.
It was a road kill that a game warden couldn’t identify.
It has a tail.
There was a picture from a different angle that showed the tail.



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[Double Naught Spy]

You do know that bobcats can have tails, right? Generally, they are about 4-6", sometimes just a nubbin, sometimes closer to a foot. They get long enough that people confuse them for mountain lions. I know that sounds hard to imagine, but people confuse domestic black cats with fictitious black panthers which should be many times larger in size, LOL.

So there was a picture of the cat from another angle showing the tail you talked about?

[MC 1911]

That looks like an Ocelot. Supposedly only found in So.Texas.

[rickyrick]

Originally Posted by Double Naught Spy

You do know that bobcats can have tails, right? Generally, they are about 4-6", sometimes just a nubbin, sometimes closer to a foot. They get long enough that people confuse them for mountain lions. I know that sounds hard to imagine, but people confuse domestic black cats with fictitious black panthers which should be many times larger in size, LOL.

So there was a picture of the cat from another angle showing the tail you talked about?

This is a Facebook group dedicated to debunking the Texas black cougar claims, but at times people post other odd occurrences.
The consensus of the members believe it to be a savanna cat



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[Double Naught Spy]

Possibly so, but what an interesting and rare thing in the US - a cross between a domestic cat and an African Serval.

[rickyrick]

I’m hoping the cat in my game camera will show up again, but I feel it was spooked by the camera.
I have no intentions of killing it as long as it minds its own business.

I’m really just trying to get an amateur survey of the wildlife on my little forest.

For the next day or so, I hope he has waders on lol

[4V50 Gary]

Looks like a bobcat to me.

Funniest thing I saw was a bobcat watching a twenty plus strong deer herd. Talk about wishful thinking.

[ammo.crafter]

Not certain if it is a bobcat. I keep looking for the missing ear tuffs.

As an aside, my cat weighs 21 pounds and is not over weight simply a very large muscular house cat.

[stinkeypete]

I now think it's a juvenile bobcat. If you look up "savannah cat" on google, you can see that some people have bred some enormous house cats.

My daughter was all-in to get one when she was 12. I avoided this certain fiasco with a normal kitten. The Savannah idea was forgotten. I am strongly opposed to exotic pets.

[rickyrick]

Apparently savannah cats escape a lot.

I found some pages devoted to finding lost savannah cats.

Pretty sure that this is a juvie bobcat, but I’d like to capture an image from a different different angle. The eye reflection washes out some of the cat’s features.

[stagpanther]

I've seen quite a few bobcats up here where I live in Maine--the stance, headshape and fur do not look like a bobcat to me, but then I haven't seen juveniles so maybe, but wouldn't be my guess. Regular housecat would be my guess, possibly even a Maine cooncat--which can get very big and look somewhat like bobcats.

[Hawg]

Originally Posted by 4V50 Gary

Funniest thing I saw was a bobcat watching a twenty plus strong deer herd. Talk about wishful thinking.

Wait until you see a housecat stalk one for 10 minutes and get ticked when it runs off.