Gosh. I bet you’ve never seen that before!
I like foreign sounding names for common animals.
I have mentioned that the French word for Canada lynx is loup cervier.
The German word for bobcat is Rotluchs (the red lynx, a direct translation of Lynx rufus, its scientific name).
The Rotluchs and the loup cervier make up the North American contingent of the bob-tailed felids of the genus Lynx.
Gosh, that sounds so smart.
Almost as smart as a potty-trained Rotluchs.
UPDATE: I don’t remember writing anywhere that bobcats make excellent pets. In fact, I think I remember writing quite the opposite.
Potty trained, perhaps, but I think it’s standing in the water. Kind of defeats the purpose.
And I can’t imagine a bobcat as a housepet. Noooo, no.
For one thing, they spray, even if neutered.
And I can imagine that cat getting very naughty one night and throwing things out of the toilet, if you get my drift.
A lot of zookeepers comment on how(aggravatingly) both Bobcats and Canada Lynx tend to poop in their water bowls–so for whatever reason, this tendency might make them easier to potty train than a domestic cat. I have read where this tendency might be a sign of insecurity, as cats in the wild will poop in streams to(possibly?) hide their fecals when tresspassing on others’ territories(sounds plausible….), and the stress of captivity may cause the same reaction. Regardless, no, these cats don’t tend to make ideal pets–though as with everything, there are exceptions. Of the two, Canada Lynx tend to be more laid back and less volatile, from what I’ve heard. I did meet a guy with a Siberian Lynx on a leash at a wolf-hybrid rendezvous once–he was a zookeeper. too, and so had some experience with what he was handling. He said he also had a Canada Lynx at home. I must say that this cat was very well behaved, socialized, and behaved better than most of the poorly trained wolf-dogs at the rendezvous! And it walked very well on leash!