In 2005 I emailed Nicole Carion about bobcat rehabilitation. She emailed me back stating that I can rehab bobcats. She then stated she was going to make the below bobcat rehab manual legally mandatory for California.
http://www.animaladvocates.us/bobcatrehabilitationmanual.pdf
In this manual they state if you have a solo bobcat kitten, you should make a bobcat costume, put it on, smear bobcat feces and urine on yourself. You should then go into the enclosure and play with the bobcat as if it were a domestic cat.
When Nicole Carion emailed me that manual I posted it to the main rehab group. I told them "this is our new mandatory bobcat protocol." All of the rehabbers thought it was the stupidest thing they have ever seen. A bobcat can tell it's just a human in a fake fur costume who smeared urine and feces on themselves. This will not keep solo bobcats from imprinting.
The correct protocol is to contact all bobcat rehabbers and look for a buddy. If the eyes are closed, you can nurse normally. When the eyes open, handle as infrequently as possible. Only feed and clean. Hopefully you will soon find a buddy.
Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.
http://www.animaladvocates.us/bobcatrehabilitationmanual.pdf
In this manual they state if you have a solo bobcat kitten, you should make a bobcat costume, put it on, smear bobcat feces and urine on yourself. You should then go into the enclosure and play with the bobcat as if it were a domestic cat.
When Nicole Carion emailed me that manual I posted it to the main rehab group. I told them "this is our new mandatory bobcat protocol." All of the rehabbers thought it was the stupidest thing they have ever seen. A bobcat can tell it's just a human in a fake fur costume who smeared urine and feces on themselves. This will not keep solo bobcats from imprinting.
The correct protocol is to contact all bobcat rehabbers and look for a buddy. If the eyes are closed, you can nurse normally. When the eyes open, handle as infrequently as possible. Only feed and clean. Hopefully you will soon find a buddy.
Some noted problems. They use a catchpole with the kitten. You never use catchpoles with cats. They can easily break their neck. They are only to be used as a come along pole for dogs on the ground.
We are not allowed to interact with wildlife.
We are not allowed to allow wildlife to play with human toys.
We are not allowed to show wildlife in a pet-like manner.
You should never allow a wild animal to jump on you and attack. What she is doing is worse than just leaving the bobcat alone. She is teaching him it's okay to play with, jump on and attack humans. We don't do this with domestic kittens for the same reason. They become overly aggressive. That bobcat is smacking her right next to her eye. Very dangerous.
We are not allowed to "pet" wild animals especially at this stage. If it was a tiny, eyes closed crying raccoon, maybe but not an eyes open juvie bobcat.
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| Nicole Carion recommends playing with bobcat kittens. |
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| Nicole Carion recommends playing with wild bobcat kittens with humans boys, allowing bobcats to jump on you and swat. |
Needless to say after I posted this in the main rehab groups, everyone attacked Nicole Carion for not knowing what the heck she was talking about. After that Nicole Carion did not make that manual mandatory.
Later that year I got in a six month bobcat kitten. I notified everyone that I needed a buddy. A crazy rehabber in Ventura said she had a six month "kitten" that needed a buddy and my six WEEK kitten would be perfect. She demanded that I give her the kitten. She went totally crazy, defamed me to the animal shelter saying I had no permits and demanded that the police go and get the kitten.
She contacted Nicole Carion who told me to put my six week kitten in with her six month kitten. Anyone who knows anything about animals would know that a six month "kitten" should have been released. If one were to put a six week kitten in with a six month one, the older one would instantly kill it. Anna Reams just wanted the kitten because she considers herself the bobcat "Queen."
I contacted two well know bobcat specialists including Chuck Traisi. The experts both agreed with me and sent emails to Nicole Carion stating that I should not give my kitten to Anna Reams. Anna needed to release her six month cat immediately.
Next day Chuck Traisi got in a six week kitten. I took mine down and joined it with his. He said my cat looked perfectly wild and was eating dead mice very nicely.
Nicole Carion states she volunteered in a zoo up north. She states this is where she got her "wildlife rehabilitation" training. All the rehabbers could clearly tell this was not the case. First few years she made so many mistakes.
I almost forgot about this. Knowing the Anna Reams of Ventura Wildlife can go completely crazy every time I got a bobcat call in her area I offered her the animals first. My vet Dr Conrad saw a very sick bobcat at West Valley shelter. She called me and asked if I'd pick it up. She told me it just came in, looked really sick and might need to be euthanized. I called Anna Reams and told her about the cat.
Anna raced there as fast as she could and took the bobcat back to her facility. Even though it looked very sick she put it in with her bobcat. The bobcat had panleukemia which infected her other bobcat. Both bobcats died because she didn't recognize panleukemia and did not quarantine.
It doesn't stop there. Anna Reams and Brenda Varvarigos blamed the shelter vet Dr Laura Cochrane for infecting the wild bobcat. The bobcat came in with panleukemia. They get it from our feral outdoor cats. Anna and Brenda demanded that they fire Dr Laura Cochrane. They sent letter after letter, threatened to sue and finally the city fired fantastic vet Dr Laura Cochrane. Everyone tried to get Dr Cochrane rehired because she was such a great vet.
Brenda Varvarigos and her group Valley Wildlife Care went out of business. Her home was foreclosed upon and she moved to New England. Even though she wasn't rehabbing she kept her website up and still took donations. Other rehabbers complained then she finally stopped.
In the meantime Anna Reams has been reported to Zoning, Building and Safety for years. She needs a variance, conditional use permit but refuses to get one. Instead she started a petition demanding one. I know this because the city called me and asked if they could have a copy of the one I wrote and got passed in LA County. Even though Anna is a horrible person I gave them a copy of my amendment to zoning. Even then she refused to apply for a variance. She currently is operating illegally.
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