“O Lord, Thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is Thy loving-kindness, O God!”
Psalm 36:67
There are many varieties of wildcats in different parts of the world. The term “wildcat” generally refers to small, wild members of the cat family. It is often applied to an unusual species of lynx, bobcat, or even a domestic cat that has gone off into the wild.
The one known as the forest wildcat is actually a variety of the lynx, but is smaller than most lynxes. It is only about one-third larger than a house cat, with longer legs, a broader head and shorter tail. Another variety is called desert lynx, and looks very much like a household pet. Both kinds are found in various parts of Canada and the United States and are bold and cunning at hunting, which they do mostly at night.
Among wildcats’ favorite foods are ground squirrels, rabbits, wood rats, mice, moles and low-roosting birds, which they capture while the birds are asleep.
Actually these animals are not very good runners, but bound after their prey in bobbing leaps, just like a frightened house cat does. When other food is not available and they are really hungry, they have been known to eat beetles, grasshoppers and crickets. Sometimes a wildcat will flatten itself on a branch over a trail and pounce on unsuspecting animals or birds which pass below.
Wildcats are excellent tree-climbers and prefer to live in forests or brushy places but sometimes will have a well-hidden den in rocky areas. Often they will have more than one den for hiding purposes when pursued by an enemy, which might be a fox, wolf or prowling dog. When attacked by an owl, hawk or eagle without chance of escape, wildcats roll over on their backs, biting at the bird’s head and neck and using their sharp-clawed feet to pull out feathers. The birds generally give up and fly away.
Usually three or four kittens are born in the spring, either in a cave or hollow log. They are just as cute as domestic kittens. The mother nurses them for several weeks, then teaches them to hunt by putting live mice and other small creatures in front of them. If the victims are about to get away from one of the kittens, she will go after it and bring it back for the kittens to try again. They soon catch on.
Does the Creator watch over these wildcats? Yes He does. They are one of the “beasts” in our opening Bible verse. Can you say with the psalm writer as he thought about the Lord’s loving ways, “O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our maker. For He is our God; and we are the people of His pasture” (Psalm 95:67)?
ML-10/17/2004
OCTOBER 17, 2004