WASHINGTON — An injured bobcat will have a cozy Christmas as she continues recovering from a rough Thanksgiving, when a car struck her and then took her for a 50-mile ride in its grill.
“Bobcat #17-2688” is “eating well and getting her medications in her food,” according to the Wildlife Center of Virginia website. Her caretakers in Waynesboro have decked the cage with evergreen tree branches so she can celebrate the holiday with festive smells.
The bobcat suffered a back laceration, bruised lung tissue, small abrasions and a hairline jaw fracture. Her caregivers have been reluctant to perform surgery on the jaw, as it would probably increase her stress — and decrease her appetite.
Vets decided to let the jaw heal on its own. For now, her meals consist of blenderized rat parts. The soft diet actually makes it easier for the vets to medicate her, too.
“She does love her rat slurry,” said Dr. Alexa Ortiz, a wildlife veterinary intern at the center. “Essentially, we just take a whole rat and we put it in a blender and add a little water until it’s a liquid form.”
Jaw fractures take about eight weeks to heal, and the bobcat seems to be on the path to recovery four weeks in. At the eight-week mark, she’ll be X-rayed and, if it looks good, will be discharged shortly afterward.
Turns out that the little 20-pound kittycat — estimated to be around 5 years old — likes being in the hospital about as much as you do. Sounds and the presence of humans certainly don’t help the outdoor cat’s mood.
“She’s very aggressive — very bright and alert,” said Ortiz, who finds that checking on her can be mildly terrifying. “She’ll growl at you, bare her teeth at you. She’ll lunge at you sometimes.”
The kitty’s odyssey began when she was crossing a road in Gloucester County, Virginia, on the morning of Nov. 23.
Just a wire and a piece of plastic held the bobcat during the perilous trip to Richmond. The driver of the Prius wasn’t aware of the accidental stowaway until she arrived at her workplace.
