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Appearance: In the colder months the fur is silver tipped giving it a frosted silver blue appearance. The coat is only lightly spotted, the ears have black colored tufts and they have a dramatic facial ruff and a long beard tipped in black. The tail appears to have been dipped in black ink and is black all the way around the circumference of the tail.

Personality: These tender, timid and impressive cats are known for being extremely devoted pets. We think that if everyone knew how good of pets they made everyone would want one! They can be a little bit shy around outsiders and newcomers but deeply imprint on those in the home and consider themselves part of the family when raised in a secure environment. They have been known to happily walk on a harness, play with a ball and ride in a car. Still lynx are very timid and are more likely to take a dive under the bed when unknown visitors drop by than are other medium sized cats.

Latin: Lynx Lynx

Family: Felidae

Species: Canadensis

Genus: Lynx

Weight 35-45 lbs

Height: 24" - 26" at the shoulder

Length: 36"-50"

Life Span: 15 - 22 years in captivity

Unique Qualities:
Extremely large feet. The feet are well adapted for walking on the snow. The wide spreading feet act as a snowshoes with long hind legs that allow them to move through deep snow. Distinctive facial ruff and long beard tipped in black.

Diet: Lynx are almost entirely dependant upon the Snowshoe hare for their food supply. In times of stress due to a lack of hares it will hunt birds, mice and similar small rodents but it is almost entirely dependant on hares to survive. The Lynx population expands and contracts along with the hare population.

Remember that in the wild, these animals eat their prey whole, fur, feathers and all. No one removes the bones or feathers from their catch so the best diet you can provide is one that simulates what is available in the wild, icky stuff and all. If you plan to keep your Lynx outdoors you may want to try whole prey as food.

Since cooking removes many of the necessary nutrients from meats and causes bones to splinter and become potential choking hazards you will want to stay away from cooked meat and canned pet-foods.

You can feed a variety of raw meats including chicken quarters, deer, rabbit, beef, quail, etc, just be sure to supplement with vitamins. A domestic Lynx should eat between one and two pounds of meat a day with added vitamins and minerals.

Reproduction & offspring: There is a gestation period of 63 - 70 days. Females produce a litter of 1 - 6 kittens with the average varying with the abundance of available prey. Kittens weigh about 8 ounces at birth, will open their eyes in two weeks and begin to walk in three to four weeks.

Permits: Check with your state and local governments for regulations on having exotic pets.