Just got my Ninkasi!

[Ozwald]

No, not the award. Today I adopted 'Ninkasi', a 5 week old Northwestern Lynx. I haven't put him on the grain scale yet, but he's aproxamately 2 lbs now, around 3-4 months old he'll be larger than my 8yr/old tortoiseshell cat and he should hit his full weight by his 2nd or 3rd birthday, around 50-60 lbs - about the size of a full grown Siberian Husky or Australian Shepard.

[BDawg]

You must have a lot of really BIG fucking mice in order to want a 'kitty' that big.

Reminds me of "Hangover". Your name isn't Iron Mike, is it? Watch out, Bub'll come by to steal it and piss in your swimming pool.

[Ozwald]

You must have a lot of really BIG fucking mice in order to want a 'kitty' that big.

Yeah we do.



And of course, before and after photos on another breed of mice

[boobookittyfuk]

jesus christ!

will that thing be able to rip your face off?

does it eat regular cat food?

[Hessian Lake]

Wow. I'd think that even the snarl/growl that a lynx makes could be a bit scarier than a big dogs bark. But one thing about having a cat that size is the amount of cat piss you'll have to deal with. Good luck!

[beltbuckle]

I met a guy once who had several bobcats. It sounded like he had to have a separate room or building that was their "home" because they tore the shit out of everything. But nobody messed with him when he was walking down the street with a damn bobcat on a leash.

[Ozwald]

jesus christ!

will that thing be able to rip your face off?

does it eat regular cat food?

Full grown he'll be the biggest cat you can handle safely without getting into the lethal range. Any cat, pound for pound, has the ability to whoop the shit out of a dog, and as you can see from the adult mule deer they can handle much larger size & weight animals as well. I've heard of an adult lynx hunting solo & taking down a full grown cow elk, roughly 450-500lbs. While dogs typically don't give up on a fight, the cat is going to avoid it if possible; they reserve aggression for defense and hunting. Cornering an upset lynx is a very big mistake.

That being said, 'lethal' is a pretty distinct line. I'm not saying he wouldn't be able to shred you all the way to the emergency room if you don't take care with them or learn to read them. All in all, they tend to be very very VERY lovable pets and they take to you like a dog would. They tend to act a lot more like dogs as well - Ninkasi already loves the car, almost all grow to love playing in the water, walking on a leash, playing fetch, etc. The horror stories you hear of are almost all separation-anxiety related - once they bond to you, that's that. There's no relocating them into a different family without the probable eating, aggression, spraying and/or depression issues. The rest are owner issues having nothing to do with the cat.

As for diet, no regular cat food. Ninkasi never took to bottle feeding like most do; usually the formula is lactaid treated milk blended with a little canned cat food & strained, but that's where it ends. He's eating raw chicken, liver, fatty ground beef mixed with calcium carbonate for long bone growth. The calcium powder will end up being replace by feeding the occasional whole raw chicken, bones and all. Some love hard-boiled eggs & get significant calcium from the shell. The diet with these cats is absolutely critical - almost any new health problem or symptoms can be traced back to its diet. All in all, regular cat food just doesn't have the vitamins, nutrients or sustenance that an exotic cat needs for a healthy life.

Wow. I'd think that even the snarl/growl that a lynx makes could be a bit scarier than a big dogs bark. But one thing about having a cat that size is the amount of cat piss you'll have to deal with. Good luck!

The growl is amazing. Even at his size right now, I would compare his growl to a medium/large dog and it's only going to get louder, deeper and more wild-cat-like as he gets older. And that cat growl will freeze the blood of just about anyone... especially if you have small children

Here's another pretty amazing thing. Most cats have an irresistible urge to defecate in sand, no big secret there. The lynx along with a lot of larger cats actually prefer water. I've heard time and time again of a pet lynx/bobcat/cougar teaching itself to use the toilet (fingers crossed on this one). The downside is that they love to play in the water and an open toilet seat pretty much equals the mop taking up residence in the bathroom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9W5u11V7LM

FYI, a bobcat is one of 4 subspecies of lynx. Ninkasi is going to resemble the cat in the video, only get a bit bigger.

[Ozwald]

I met a guy once who had several bobcats. It sounded like he had to have a separate room or building that was their "home" because they tore the shit out of everything. But nobody messed with him when he was walking down the street with a damn bobcat on a leash.

Yeah, bobcats tend to be that way a little more than their cousins. Having several? That's just asking for your house to be shred. They play. Hard. And with the ability to jump over 7 feet vertically... yeah, there's not much that's safe.