Reply #83: Thanks!

[okasha]

I'm sorry Big Cat Rescue didn't see fit to be more useful. I see their point about not hybridizing, but that certainly doesn't help the hybrids that are already with us and need and deserve our care. I don't understand why someone would go to the trouble of obtaining one of these cats and yet fail to be aware of the kind of commitment that's necessary. "Pissed" is better than the previous owner deserves.

Anyway. Some other possibly useful parallels: Lucky-the-bobcat's favorite toys are tennis balls. You might try rubbing one with one of the suggested herbs--maybe the parsley, since he responded so well to it, or valerian (don't know how kitties stand the smell! Phew!)--for him. Put the ball in an old boot, if you have one, and let him fish it out. Tie one of those heavy braided rope tug-of-war things for dogs onto the end of a length of sturdy clothesline and drag it around for him to chase and "kill." If you can find a metal can with a metal screw-on top--an old fashioned baking powder tin, for instance--put half a dozen marbles in it. It makes a good bat-and-chase toy and remains intriguing because the noismakers are completely inaccessible.

Good luck to you both, and keep us posted.