Boulder Cat

Recently completed this bobcat mount to serve as a display piece for the shop. All the major parts of this mount, minus the artificial cypress branch, were given to me-- woohoo, free stuff! Larry generously offered me the fake rock. The bobcat was brought in by one of Larry's buddies last winter; he was all, "Hey, I got a bobcat, you want it?" Yes, please! It was a small, very plain-looking bobcat with hardly any spots, so I skinned it, bagged it, and tossed it in the freezer, not sure what to do with it until recently. Here's a sad-looking photo of the cat that I took before skinning; his fur is wet in some places which makes him look extra pitiful.

Then, at the Texas convention this summer I stopped by the Headquarters Taxidermy Supply booth and talked to Vic Heincker, who was there promoting some of the forms that he had sculpted for HQ. I've been curious about HQ's small mammal forms for some time now because they have such a lively, dynamic look to them, and I told him as much. Said I wanted to give them a try one of these days.

Well, on the last day of the show as the suppliers room was closing down, he had a few forms leftover and offered to let me take one home! Remembering the plain little bobcat still in the freezer back at the shop, I happily accepted the smallest bobcat form he had. Here's a photo of the form that I snapped immediately afterward. It's BC-LS-11 in the HQ catalog, and it turned out to be a pretty good fit! You know, I was a little bummed about the judging at the show this year, but being gifted that bobcat form really brightened my day.