People do the darndest (read: stupidest) things, don’t they: According to Zoo Borns, a hunter in Alabama came into a local vet toting his gun in one hand, and a sack of bobcat cubs in his other. Apparently, he reckoned that he’d be able to give these lil’ suckers to his kids as pets. The veterinary assistant who he spoke with was smart to tell the hunter she would see to the welfare of
the kittens, but not tell him that she would never allow them to become wild play things for his kids. Instead, she contacted Carole Baskin of Big Cat Rescue, and the plan was to take the bobcat trio to Florida for care and eventual re-release
back into the wild. But before that could happen, some interspecies love had to take place…

Because the bobcat cubs were so young, they had to be nursed with proper nutrients that most kitten formula just doesn’t provide. It would take three days before the kittens could get the Florida import permit to travel to their refuge. In the meantime, the people at Big Cat Rescue were preparing for the kittens’ arrival. They were worried that too much contact with humans would be a really bad thing for the chances of their survival, once they were re-released into the wild. These cubs were so young that their eyes were still closed. It was feared that too much interaction with humans (especially once they could see them) during the
nursing stage could “make them fearless of people and that would get them
into trouble as adults.” So a foster cat had to be found fast!

This is where Bobbi the domestic house cat comes in. When contacted by Big Cat Rescue, Rick Chaboudy, CEO of
Suncoast Animal League, came forward with Bobbi, a cat who had
given birth to six kittens of her own and even had adopted two others. When introduced to the new wild brood, her strong mothering instincts took hold and she began  to nurse and bathe the bobcats, who were initially freaked out by their new foster mom. Eventually, though, the bond was created and a new family (albeit a temporary one) was born.

The bobcat kittens are still at Big Cat Rescue. You can watch them from 10 am-6 pm EST via live bobcat cam, follow their progress on Facebook and on Twitter, or better yet, you can make a donation to Big Cat Rescue to help them make it back to the wild.

Thanks Eve for the tip!

^{(Image: BigCatRescue)}