Bobcat kittens' surrogate mom is house cat

The three newborn bobcat kittens, orphaned in the woods of Alabama, had no chance of surviving without a mother.

Bobbi, a black and white house cat from Pinellas County, stepped into that role.

Bobbi is nursing the 2-week-old wild kittens at Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, guiding them through a critical period where the newborns need more exposure to felines and less to humans, the sanctuary's officials said.

"It's been amazing to see her taking them in as her own," Big Cat Rescue founder Carole Baskin said of Bobbi.

The baby bobcats - two females named Midnight and Rain, plus a male, Storm - will be fed by Bobbi for up to four weeks, Big Cat Rescue president Jamie Veronica said.

The kittens were given those names because "we drove through a midnight rainstorm to get them," Veronica said.

A hunter brought the kittens to a veterinary clinic in Alabama earlier this month, Baskin said. Vets said they think the hunter shot the kittens' mother. It is legal in many states, including Florida, to hunt bobcats for sport, Baskin said.

"He walked in with a shotgun in one hand and a bag of kittens in the other," she said.

The vets contacted Big Cat Rescue to take over the care of the animals. Workers at the sanctuary near Citrus Park then asked on social networking if any animal rescue groups had female cats that could nurse the orphaned bobcats.

Suncoast Animal League in Pinellas answered the call and offered Bobbi, executive director Rick Chaboudy said.

Along with nursing the newborns, the house cat is also cleaning them and providing warmth, Veronica said. Bobbi's own kittens will teach the bobcats how to socialize with other felines and the trio will eventually be taught how to hunt live prey.

Baskin said they will be returned to the wild within a year to 18 months.

"I'm glad we have this opportunity to give them a second chance and let them do the things that bobcats do," Veronica said.

Although the bobcats may be cuddly now, they mature into cunning predators, Baskin said.

"They are one of the most wicked, deadly animals that you could ever come into contact with," she said. "They never get tamed."