PAWS Says Goodbye to Beloved Bobcat Owen
An Entertainment Abuses Articles from All-Creatures.org

FROM PAWS Performing Animal Welfare Society
October 2021

Owen passed from this life at the age of 19, surrounded by many who loved him. His toughness, his playfulness, his piercing gaze, and his wiggling tail made indelible impressions on our hearts and he will be greatly missed by all who knew this very special bobcat.

Bobcat Owen

PAWS is sad to announce the passing of bobcat Owen. This special cat was born in 2002 and purchased as a small kitten to be a "pet." Not much is known about his early life, but it is certain that he was not fed properly, as Owen’s skeleton did not develop normally. Metabolic bone disease is a common syndrome in young captive exotic animals who are fed a diet that lacks the proper vitamins and nutrients necessary for normal development. This nutritional deficiency often results in irreparable damage to developing animals, causing pain and disability throughout their lives.

In 2015, Owen was confiscated from private owners in California, where bobcat ownership is illegal. He was found in a small, filthy cage, in distress and unable to keep himself clean. When PAWS was contacted by authorities immediately after Owen's confiscation, we wholeheartedly agreed to offer him a permanent home at our sanctuary. Because of the nature of the confiscation, authorities asked us to keep his presence a secret until the legal case was resolved. He lived at our Galt sanctuary for five years in a "witness protection program" of sorts, until moving to our ARK 2000 sanctuary in the summer of 2020 [Saving Wild Animals in Need. . . and Sometimes in Secret].

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