Can You Keep an Ocelot as a Pet?

Ocelot ~ Petrified Wood 

"Can you keep an ocelot as a pet?" is the first question that shows up on google when you search "ocelot". By now many people are familiar with this cute little feline. In the 1900's 200,000 ocelots were killed annually because at the time their value was in the fur trade. Today that story has changed. Now people are wanting to know if they can have one as a pet. They are beautiful and they are not vicious. In some parts of the world it is legal to own an ocelot. I suppose the answer is "yes," you can keep an ocelot as a pet, BUT this is the wrong question. Might I propose that the right question is "should I keep and ocelot as pet?" I will let you decide.

In my experience raising wild cats for various wild cat sanctuaries, a wild cat is not the same as a feral cat. Wild cats cannot be tamed and an attempt to do so would violate its very nature. Feral cats can be a bit rough around the edges but they can be tamed because a feral cat belongs to a species that has already been domesticated. In the domestication process house cats have been continually selected for their integrative personalities and thus live quite nicely alongside their human friends. Wild cats, ocelots included, never experienced that kind of selection. Instead, nature has continually selected those that are best at surviving on their own.

Selfie with the serval kitten I raised 

Now I do have to say some wild cats have a charming personality. You can look up YouTube videos with an ocelot as the star for evidence to this point, but you don't have to because I'll just tell you. One of the kittens I raised for a wild cat sanctuary in southern Oregon had the most adorable personality. His name was pounce and he was a special needs kitten. I loved the way he needed me and his spunk for life. But he was a wild cat. His playful pounce, for which he was named, would no longer be so much fun when he achieved his full size. Even being the target of a domestic cats play can do some considerable damage but think of how much more destruction a wild one can do. Pounce, however was the exception to the rule. Most of the kittens I raised did not act like pets. There was another wild cat that I raised, a fishing cat. He still loved me as his foster mom but he was viscous from day one. There is a reason I don't have a selfie with him.

Bobcats at the Rehab Center

Nature and nurture aside there are other things to consider. There are a pair of bobcats that now reside at a rehabilitation center called Wildlife Images. Previously they were owned by a women that took great care of them. She knew what she was doing; the cats were healthy and probably happy. But something happened to her and she could no longer care for them. Luckily for the bobcats, they found a new home. You might have a great relationship with a wild pet but what happens to it if you can no longer care for it isn't quite so simple as what would happen to your family dog.

Finally, consider the life of the ocelot you would be taking responsibility for. Ocelots are built for the wild. The way an ocelot thinks, reacts, and feels all relates back to its wild heritage. The wild is where they belong. So I will ask you "Should you keep and ocelot as a pet?"

I can think of an alternative option. It's called a Bengal cat. I used to breed Bengal cats. Despite their wild look, they are completely domestic. Out of all the cats I have had in my life the Bengals are the gentlest, smartest, prettiest cats I have ever owned. They were always the least likely to scratch little kids and the most likely to sound big and scary. For me they are just purrfect. 

Spice my Bengal Cat

Charlie the Bengal Being Silly

Ocelots are stunning animals but they are most beautiful in the wild. That is why I paint them and other wild cats. I paint them so you and I can have them in our homes while leaving the actual animal where it can fulfill its potential in the wild. Ocelot ~ Petrified Wood was sold as part of my WCN 2018 Fall collection but I enjoyed painting him so much I "wood" do it again.