Wildcat Sanctuary Seeking Name Suggestions For Orphaned Bobcat

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone is asking the public to help name a bobcat kitten that recently entered their care after its mother was hit by a car.

The orphaned kitten was first brought to Wildwoods Wildlife Rehabilitation in Duluth. The hope, initially, was to "wild up" and release the bobcat back into the woods.

However, with winter soon coming, there was concern the kitten wouldn't survive without a mother, the Wildcat Sanctuary said. The decision was then made to have the kitten live in captivity.

"We would've loved to have seen this little scared girl grow up wild," said Tammy Thies, the director of the Wildcat Sanctuary. "But when that wasn't an option for her, we agreed to provide her a home at The Wildcat Sanctuary. We knew we had to give her the chance to live wild at heart."

The Wildcat Sanctuary says it hopes to give the bobcat kitten a surrogate family made up of other rescued young bobcats.

As for her name, the Wildcat Sanctuary says it's taking suggestions here until Sept. 28. Staff will then vote on a name for the kitten at the end of the month.

According to the DNR, bobcats are the most common native wildcat to Minnesota and about 2,000 of them live in the state.

Generally, when bobcat kittens are born, they stay with their mother for a year before they find their own home range.