Pet Bobcat Repeatedly On The Lam Becomes The Talk Of Manahawkin, N.J.
MANAHAWKIN, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A New Jersey homeowner has landed in court because she can't seem to keep her pet bobcat corralled.
It seems the frisky feline likes to roam, leaving neighbors nervous, CBS 2's Scott Rapoport reported Wednesday.
At 38 pounds, "Rocky" the bobcat hybrid is not exactly your typical house cat. Nor, apparently, does he want to be.
According to his owner, Ginny Fine, he's escaped or run away from her house five times.
Yeah, it seems 3-year-old Rocky, part bobcat, part Maine Coon, is a perpetual cat on the lam, repeatedly bolting Fine's Manahawkin abode and walking off into the neighborhood on his own -- sometimes for days.
Neighbors are not thrilled with the news.
"You know, I don't like it running around on the street. You know? We got too many young kids around here," Rick Peters said.
It got to the point where Fine actually signed an agreement with the court that if Rocky got loose again he would be seized by Animal Control, and in March when he escaped yet again he was captured and taken to a nearby zoo. He was ultimately ordered by the court to undergo a DNA test after some Animal Control officials suspected Rocky was actually a purebred bobcat and not a hybrid.
It turns out purebred bobcats are illegal to own as pets.
Fine told Rapoport she was worried she would lose him, but in May a judge ruled the DNA test on Rocky was inclusive, allowing him to return home.
But then in July, Rocky ran away again, was seized again and held in a zoo again until last week when he was finally returned to Fine after she promised to rebuild his outdoor pen, put a double door enclosure in her entrance way and shore up the back doors.
Fine characterized the new arrangement as "just happiness; just happiness."
So, they are reunited – for now.
When asked if she thinks Rocky will bolt again, Fine said, "No. I don't think he will."
We shall see.
In court, Fine pled guilty to letting an animal run at large and was fined $250. She also must pay more than $400 to the zoo where Rocky had been living since running away in July.
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