r/bobcats • u/Ok-Lynx-5483 • Aug 03 '26
Is this just a massive feral cat?
Seen him a few time in the neighborhood. I don’t dare get closer than the other side of the road because it looks massive.
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u/Similar_Newt1790 Aug 03 '26
Clearly you never seen a bobcat or an house cat in person before. Totally different from each other!
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u/Ok-Lynx-5483 Aug 03 '26
Iv seen many of both. I have a cat. I saw a 3 feral cats on my morning walk and I don’t think twice. Theres bobcats at the zoo in town. This thing is way bigger than the usual cats.
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u/Similar_Newt1790 Aug 03 '26
But you where claiming to have seen both I highly doubt that! Scared to get any closer, clearly it’s a house cat
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u/Ok-Lynx-5483 Aug 03 '26
How big do house cats get in your neighborhood? This cat is about 30” head to
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u/Ok-Lynx-5483 Aug 03 '26
- Never said this was a bobcat. Came to this community because I figured there may be some inside knowledge to why this cat is so big. The maincoon feral cat is the only thing that comes close to explaining. Atleast acknowledge the size lol. Its belly is 16-17” long
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u/Similar_Newt1790 Aug 03 '26
Well some cats are like cars, different makes and models
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u/Ok-Lynx-5483 Aug 03 '26
Obviously, which is why I came here to discuss the make/model and was told by you Iv neither seen a “car” and a “truck” or whatever the bobcat is in this metaphor lol. this cat is way bigger than all the Honda civic feral cats in the neighborhood, so atleast tell me the make/model before your imply I’m lying and stupid.
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u/chilldrinofthenight Aug 07 '26
*Maine Coon
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u/Acrobatic_Quit1378 Aug 07 '26
Beat me to it (not as one word). It's the origin of the name in relation to the coastal state in northeast USA. These large felines arrived via ships from Europe and were valued for keeping supplies free from rodents, with polydactyls (extra toes) highly prized. On the other hand, for those who wish a simple way to differentiate a feral (or even domestic) from a wild bobcat, bobbed means to appear shortened, i.e..tail. You probably know all this already, but I'm posting for those who might not.😻
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u/KeyInvestment6594 Aug 03 '26
Lollllllll obviously you don't know much about cats mine weighs 30 lb and it's a regular All-American Fatboy cat
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u/Firm_Video_2932 Aug 03 '26
Looks just like a BIG tomcat that comes around my place at night that I estimate easily around 15~20lbs. And there's no mistaking he's a boy, as he has the biggest set of nuts on a domesticated cat I've ever seen. Bro's def packn'...😂
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u/Ok-Lynx-5483 Aug 03 '26
My cat at home is 12 lbs. this thing was easily twice if not 3x his size.
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u/jamminsami Aug 04 '26
I had a female maincoon, she was 32.7 lbs, healthy, hell on wheels, flossed her teeth with any paper back she could pry out of the bookcase, and, indeed, opened drawers & drawers if she liked. I'm told the males are larger. So, think the full size truck version vs the Honda Civic type.
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u/Ok-Lynx-5483 Aug 04 '26
A large feral maincoon is the only thing that makes sense to me.
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u/Firm_Video_2932 Aug 07 '26
That's not a pure bred Maine Coon for starters, so it can only be a possible Maine Coon [mix.] But Maine Coon isn't the sole genetic reservoir for large stature, tho I can say with 100% certainty that bobcat lynx cannot be counted amongst the pool of contributors. As it's biologically impossible for a domesticated cat and lynx to produce a viable zygote.
The cat in your video is likely an F1 to F2 hybrid of the domestic cat and some other large breed cat, as a true feral domesticated is an F5. That's where so little of the/any initial hybridization remains that it no longer dominates morphology and rather what you see is the more traditional morphology of the domesticated (8~12lbs) animal. In short, one or more of that cats parents or grandparents was a large breed cat of some kind and that's about the only certainty that can be gleaned from the video other than the fact we're obviously looking at a felid and not some other animal.
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u/Professoressa-62 Aug 04 '26
I had a 25 lb Maine Coon Tom. They look like bobcats with a bushy tail - this one might have MC in its history
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u/Due-Abalone5194 Aug 05 '26
"I dont dare get close" , get out if here! Youre human, you know you want to get up next and go psspsssppssss 😉😁
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u/Neverending-fantods Aug 04 '26
Don’t be afraid of that sweet kitty. Gentle giant domestic cat
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u/Ok-Lynx-5483 Aug 04 '26
it ate a peregrine falcon for breakfast, so its not my first inclination to go pet the kitty bigger than the neighbors dogs 😭 maybe next time I see him hunting I’ll go say hi..
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u/Secret-Song2600 Aug 04 '26
Just looks like a large house cat.
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u/Ok-Lynx-5483 Aug 04 '26
Agreed but with some scale, “large” doesnt give the cats size justice. the metal square he walks past is 15” wide.
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u/chilldrinofthenight Aug 07 '26
You think this guy is going to attack you if you cross the road? Or is it just that you think you'll scare him off?
In Australia, way way out in the outback, I saw feral cats the size of med. dogs.
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u/Ok-Lynx-5483 Aug 07 '26
This cat was that size (medium dog). I wasn’t expecting to be attacked, but Iv never seen a “domestic” cat that size. I’m certainly not trying to say this was a bobcat- just not a normally sized cat. My town is teeming with feral cats and this one stands out dramatically. My neighbor who has lived there for 50 years had a similar reaction after he watched it in his trees eating a falcon.
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u/chilldrinofthenight Aug 07 '26
I know it's "nature" and all, but I'm glad I didn't witness the falcon carnage. Eugh.
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u/Ok-Lynx-5483 Aug 07 '26
Yeah same. It’s usually the falcons eating other birds in my yard..
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u/chilldrinofthenight Aug 07 '26
But cats, though. They kill MILLIONS of birds in US --- every year. And to kill a top predator like that. Tsk.
Doesn't your town/city have a trap-neuter-return group? Maybe look into that? It won't stop this tom from killing, but at least he won't be adding to unwanted animal population.
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u/Flashy-Football842 Aug 07 '26
Looks like a big gray house cat. Must be eating well and has good genes.
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u/Severe-Paramedic-661 Aug 07 '26
Looks like guy who goes by the name of Bennie, I haven’t seen him all summer he used to visit his old house after the people he lived with moved. Go Bennie!
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u/AwayYam199 Aug 03 '26
American lawn lion.