Community Chat

[golding76]

The face of a Maine Coon cat:

The face of a bobcat:

This beautiful feline may "walk on the wild side."  I hope there is an attempt to determine his DNA.  What a glorious kitty!

[Mz iMac]

Adoptable Feline Mr. B Is Apparently Not a Bobcat

copy/paste link---> phillymag.com/news/2019/08/22/morris-animal-refuge-mr-b-cat

August 22, 2019

This 26-Pound Adoptable Chonk Sure Looks Like a Bobcat

But Morris Animal Refuge maintains that Mr. B is a “jumbo-sized package of fluff & love” and a “domestic shorthair.”

Photo courtesy of Morris Animal Refuge

I hope each and every Philadelphian is blessed enough to gaze their eyes upon these exquisite photos of Mr. B, a very large Philly feline who is, with no need of explanation, going viral.

Mr. B — also known as BeeJay — is currently in the possession of the very kind people at Morris Animal Refuge in Washington Square West, who describe him as a soon-to-be adoptable “jumbo-sized package of fluff & love,” a “CHONK,” and also, a “cat.” I’m not convinced the last descriptor is accurate, however. In fact, I would like to make a case that Mr. B is actually a bobcat that could land in the hands of unwitting, feline-loving Philadelphians.

Why? First of all, as you can see, he is a big boy. Very big. If you’re wondering, he is not quite as big as the biggest cat ever — the internationally known Meow, who weighed 39.6 pounds at the time of his unfortunate death in 2012. But at 26 pounds, Mr. B is indisputably big.

Second, Mr. B’s physical characteristics more or less align with a bobcat’s. See: sciencing.com:

A bobcat looks like an oversized house cat, weighing between 20 and 30 pounds with a black-spotted brown coat that can turn gray in the winter. Though a bobcat has a bobbed, black-tipped tail, the black is only on the tip instead of the wider band found on a lynx’s tail. With large ears, and tufts of fur at the tips, the bobcat also sports ruffs of fur on its cheeks. It stands about 2 feet tall from shoulder to its large paws.

An actual bobcat. | Photo by C Watts/Flickr

You don’t have to be a detective to put the evidence together. Some of the aforementioned descriptions accurately sum up Mr. B: an oversized house cat … weighing between 20 and 30 pounds … black-spotted brown coat … an oversized house cat. We admit Mr. B’s black-tipped tail looks a little more like a lynx’s than a bobcat — so we aren’t ruling out that he’s a lynx, either. As for the tell-tale bobcat ear tufts  … well, it’s hard to say if Mr. B has them in the provided photo.

Emmy Homan, development manager at Morris Animal Refuge, maintains that Mr. B doesn’t have the ear tufts. And, she adds, “I don’t think he has anything that would really point to bobcat, other than his size.”

According to Homan and the rest of the folks at the shelter, Mr. B is actually a domestic shorthair. (My old cat, Tabby, was a domestic shorthair, and let me tell you, she was pretty average sized.) The company has not run DNA tests.

“[Domestic shorthair] is what we believe he is,” Homan said. “There’s not really a good way to rule [bobcat] out. Especially being in a shelter, we don’t have the DNA-taking ability. So there’s always that possibility, but we’re pretty sure he’s just a domestic house cat.”

As mentioned, Mr. B will be available for adoption within the next few days, after his medical records are all accounted for. If you want to make him your furever friend, you better act fast. Homan said the shelter has already fielded plenty of inquiries. It will adopt out Mr. B on a first-come, first-serve basis, as soon as he’s available.

Also, if you are going to adopt Mr. B, consider accruing a little research on bobcats. We hear their diet sometimes consists of normal-sized cats. And those of them that have been accidentally adopted have been known to nibble on their owners from time to time.

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No mention of where this cat came from and/or how he came to be at the shelter.

[SilleeMee]

Big kitty looks sad to me. It doesn't look happy.

[sidsmom]

The shelter is declaring him a Domestic Housecat

[bikerbabe]

Awe. He’s beautiful! I can’t figure out how some people have itty bitty kitties. 😂 every cat I’ve ever owned has been at least 15 pounds and large, not tiny little framed kitties. Yes, he’s overweight but he’s also beautiful. My current kitty is 16 pounds and when she stretches out she takes up a good part of the bed. 😂

[Spacrazy]

I saw this on the news yesterday and thought it was a leopard.  I love him and I want him!!

[Azcowgirl]

That face !.......{{{{{swoon}}}}}  Paul Newman eyes..lol 🥰

[songbird]

Gross.  You think that cat is healthy?  Short life. All neutered animals are only interested in eating.  Before that it was sex, then food.  Now it's just food.  Americans are just as obese as their cats.  My cat isn't obese.  Really proud of that. 

[bobby5]

@golding76
Thanks for those pics. I think Mr. B looks more like the bobcat.

@Mz iMac @sidsmom
Thanks for all that info. Very interesting.

@Spacrazy
I love him & want him too!😻

[RainCityWoman]

I would have thought he was way over 26 pounds, but I don't think he's out of proportion. Look at the size of his head and his feet. He's a big boned guy. I have a cat that weighs 18 pounds, and he's just a domestic breed red tabby. My other cat is 12 pounds. They both eat the same food. My big guy gets tons of exercise chasing his buddy all over the place, but he doesn't seem to lose any weight. Mr. B just looks so lovable I can't stand it. If I weren't thousands of miles from his rescue shelter, I'd be in line with the rest of you.