The saga of a “big cat” spotted on Long Island this week has come to an end with the animal’s capture.
Authorities believe the cat is a Eurasian Lynx and was a pet who escaped or was abandoned by his owner. The frightened feline was first spotted on Wednesday in Central Islip, Long Island, a suburb that stretches for 118 miles just south of New York City.
“Scared the daylights out of me,” Diane Huwer, a self-proclaimed cat lover who was the first to encounter the lynx, told the local ABC affiliate.
The area encompasses two counties and is one of the most densely populated places in the U.S. with more than 7.6 million people. It’s one of the worst places in the world for a wild cat to be abandoned, with heavy traffic, ubiquitous environmental noise and endless shopping plazas surrounded by labyrinthine residential neighborhoods.
It’s illegal to own wild animals in New York, and the cat’s “owner” likely would have kept it without a proper enclosure to avoid attention from authorities.
The lynx’s sightings made the headlines in the New York papers, as well as coverage by local TV news and online publications. It went viral on social media, with users trying to determine what kind of cat it was from the handful of blurry photos witnesses were able to snap. Some media coverage suggested it was a true big cat. (Here at PITB, we thought it was possibly a Savannah cat or an American lynx.)
Local authorities searched fruitlessly for three days and were about to give up early Saturday morning when someone spotted the wild cat in a residential neighborhood and called police.
The hungry feline was pawing through garbage cans next to a house in Central Islip. Authorities said the young lynx was friendly and socialized to humans.
“He was rubbing his face on the cage, looked like he was a friendly cat and from the tips we’ve gotten,” Frankie Floridia of Strong Island Animal Rescue said. “It seems these people have had him since he was a baby.”
Veterinarians have named the lynx Leonardo de Catbrio and said he’s about a year old. Despite his ordeal, the 40-pound cat was not malnourished or dehydrated, and the vets who gave him a check-up said he’s in good health. They’re waiting on lab results to confirm his species.
“Someone obviously had it as a pet,” the SPCA’s Roy Gross told Newsday. “These are wild animals, not the type of animals anyone should have. … They don’t belong in captivity this way.”
In the meantime, police, the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the SPCA are looking for Leonardo’s “owner,” who faces misdemeanor charges and a fine of up to $1,000 if he or she is convicted. They’re sure to have questions about how the person acquired a wild cat, let alone a non-native species. It’s been illegal to “import” wild animals since the Wildlife Act of 1976, and the illegal wildlife market has been a scourge on law enforcement and conservationists alike.
“I know everybody wants something that’s exotic,” Gross said. “They want something cool. It’s not cool.”
Header image of Eurasian Lynx courtesy of Pexels
A lonely cat in the UK needs a forever home
Eleven is a silver tabby who’s been returned to the shelter twice by would-be adopters, and staff at the shelter are appealing to the public to find her a forever home with patient humans.
The four-year-old with bright green eyes has been with Battersea Cats and Dogs in south London since April. Her rescuers say she takes a while to adjust to new surroundings, and they believe that’s why Eleven was returned twice within days. If Eleven’s failed adopters had been more patient, shelter staff said, they would have discovered she’s a loving lap cat once trust is established.
They hope to place her in an “understanding home” with people who “will give her the time and space to settle in, as she would be a wonderful addition to a home.”
“Eleven needs her own space when she’s settling in, so she can hiss and swipe if pushed into interactions that she is not ready for,” a shelter spokesman told the Mirror. “She expects respect, but once given she will reward you with plenty of love. She is a super clever cat, who enjoys learning and she will sit on command for a treat of course.”
Pain In The Bud 
I wish i.could.take that Eurasian Lynx, Eleven, and ALL of the kitties who have been abandoned! We have never in 44 years done that! Of course now we have our hands full with one 20 guy so no room for more (240sq.ft plus kitty condo) I am also 71 and my husband is 68 and one rescued Maine Coon is keeping us on our toes!
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I got a kitten for my daughter that disappeared for the first few weeks. We thought that she must have actually slipped outside while we weren’t watching. She finally came out, but she was still not very social. (We visited the family who gave her to us several times before she was old enough to be weaned, and her mother had, they admitted to us, a very (shall we say) difficult disposition. She was weird.)
But eventually my daughter’s cat became very loving and was deeply attached to my daughter.
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What will happen to the lynx? Best case scenario would be if a rescue for big cats took it.
Poor Eleven needs a home, too. Sometimes people don’t realize that cats take time to
adjust to a new home and owners.
Please keep us updated, Big Buddy!
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If people do not have the patience to wait for cat to adjust then they do not deserve to have one.
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RIGHT ON!!!
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You’re exactly right. It bothers me when someone adopts a cat and then returns it right away. Just like humans it takes time to adjust to a new home for many of these furbabies have been abused. God Bless Eleven, I’m praying for her to find her perfect forever home.
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I’ll follow up. Looks like he’s still in the care of the SPCA, but I imagine you’re right, he’s probably headed to a sanctuary. Zoos usually aren’t interested in former pets because of behavioral issues.
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Know what happens to someone who does not give a cat a chance and gives it back? They are put on a list with a red flag. That is what rescue groups and rescuers i know do. My sweet Clementine was found on street during a tnr and rescue mission. Took 8 MONTHS FOR HER TO ADJUST.Know what she did when she trusted me? Slept next to my pillow and gently put her paw on my cheek. She was a dump. Miss her terribly. Lived for nearly 4 years.
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That’s the smart thing to do. When I was looking to adopt and had no experience with cats, I thought rescues were being ridiculous with requiring people to take training courses, etc. Now I understand why they do it, and why it’s necessary.
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Leonardo Lynx iss speck-taculur!! Wee hope hee findss a nice resckue place to live…poor Lynx……
An Eleven iss a Kitty aftur mee own heart……nee had 2 failed 2 ‘doptionss two! Mee spent 2 weekss at ferst place an then allmost 2 monthss inn seckond place. Same reesult: back to crappy Sheltur. Then BellaSita Sistur came along an THE rest iss Hiss-tory!!!!
***purrss*** BellaDharma an ((hugss)) BellaSita Sistur
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He’s been moved to a place called the Sweetbriar Nature Center on Long Island as a temporary home. The SPCA and state DEC are trying to make arrangements to move him to a sanctuary that houses wild cats, since Sweetbriar is set up for native wildlife and not “exotic” animals, but that could take a little while as most sanctuaries don’t have vacancies just waiting for cats to come along. Unfortunately due to the illegal wildlife pet trade, and people dumping their wildcat “pets” once they get too big to handle, sanctuaries for big/wild cats usually operate at capacity.
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You’re exactly right. It bothers me when someone adopts a cat and then returns it right away. Just like humans it takes time to adjust to a new home for many of these furbabies have been abused. God Bless Eleven, I’m praying for her to find her perfect forever home.
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I hope they find a nice sanctuary for Leonardo and a patient owner for eleven. Cats are territorial and could take months to adjust to a new home. When they do finally adjust and trust you though they are such a blessing!
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Central Islip is East of New York City, not South.
It’s also about 60 miles East of New York City, not 118 miles.
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Yeah what I meant is Long Island is a suburb south of NYC and is 118 miles long, as I’m writing for an international audience who might not know our local area. 🙂 I’ll see if I can rephrase it to make it more clear.
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