I shot a very nice bobcat yesterday and it has great spots and was 36 pounds. My original thought was to tan the hide for a wall hang to go along with all my other furbearers from WI. My question is, can I have a taxidermist skin the cat, I can flesh it and then send it to a tannery (Great Northern Fur) to get tanned and then decide if I want to mount the cat?

One part of me says mount it but the other part of me says don't because cat don't always turn out great. I will not draw a tag for another 6-8 years so this is a very nice trophy for me as a resident of WI.

A goal of mine has always been to have a wall hang of all WI furbears and this would complete my collection.

Get it rugged.

This thread is useless without pics!! Nice job I agree rug it

Yes it can be tanned and once you get it back you can decide what you want to do with the pelt if anything else. Most taxidermists are going to want a skin a bobcat for a mount different than if they were going to have it rugged for you. Just make sue you discuss that with the taxidermist up front.

Take it to a taxidermist and have case skinned with the feet on and then have it tanned and then you can go from there.

If it's a nice trophy (which it sounds like it is), send it to a GOOD taxidermist & have him mount it.

I think I would go with it rugged also. The cat mounts are tough, and my luck with taxidermists hasn't been good over all.

mount it!

Gotta weigh in.....If you want to have it skinned and tanned, skin it as you would for a rug. Any taxidermist with experience can still mount it without a hitch. Dorsal cuts are nice time savers, but open skinning will NOT ruin it for a lifesize....as a dorsal cut won't ruin it for a rug, albeit it will be a real pain for the taxidermist to sew up the dorsal cut and then open it for a rug. I don't remember ever doing that with a 'cat, but I have done it with big bear after the customer changed their minds. One other thing---no matter what tannery does the tan, it can lose stretch over time as it hangs on your wall. Any tanned hides I received from a tannery that were going to sit more than a few months were always rehydrated and frozen to store until ready to do the mount.

I did the skinning on my dorsal myself and doing the taxi with the help of a friend who has done it. Skinning is pretty easy on dorsal but you leave feet in and the tanning shop will cut out.

Pictures of the cat added.

Nice cat, if I ever get one it’s going to be a full mount, I have a taxidermist who does awesome work on cats!

Congrats, teacher. That's a fun dilemma to have on such a nice cat. I'm sure either would turn out great. I'm not personally a taxidermy fan, but I've seen some really striking life size cat mounts that I'd love. I'm sure you can get a good connection here.

Nice spots for a WI cat !

Would be a great mount .

Definitely mount it!

That is a big beauty.
I would certainly mount it.
There are some terrific taxis out there. I would highly recommend Craig Simmons from Trimble MO, just north of Kansas City. Phenomenal attention to detail.
You shot it, what in your Jammie's?? Seriously, tell us about the hunt?

Osky

Get it rugged if you don’t want to do a full mount. That’s a pretty cat and definitely a trophy. See my rug here. If you wanna know who did it ask. You will have to scroll to the top of the page

https://trapperman.com/forum/ubbthreads....rmi#Post4637147

Those are some great spots for a Wisconsin cat! I would mount it. No doubt.

I was able to hunt with some friends who have a great walker hound. After 8 days of hunting in very cold weather and poor snow, we got warmer temps in the teens and fresh snow. The morning after the fresh snow, we found 3 tracks. One was small but fresh as I saw the cat cross the road. We had a 12 year old girl with a tag and I decided to pass on that track and try a larger one. After helping the group get started on the small track I left for a different one. 45 minutes later, we heard that the girl shot her cat out of a tree. The track I was on ended up going into private land so we caught the dog and left the area for track #3. We put the dog down and 30 minutes later he was barking treed .5 miles off the road. I grabbed my gun and almost ran the entire way into the tree. The cat was in a maple tree 30 feet up in a crotch. I could see his neck as he looked down and his chest and saw the spots. The dog owner said it was at least 25 pounds so I said I was going to take it. We waited a few minutes for others to come in and see the cat and as they got closer, he got nervous and started to bail out. At that point, I took my shot and he fell out of the tree and the dog jumped on a very live cat. We had to separate them before the dog got hurt. I was able to use my .22 to end the battle. One guy in the group told me that when they come out the get smaller, but this cat didn't he got bigger. It was a tough hunt with many miles and hours in the woods but it was worth every bit of effort.

I know many say to mount it but I have a small house, I love to hunt/trap/fish and want to go out of state to elk hunt this fall. I also want all of the WI furbears hanging on the wall together. I have some thinking to do.

Beautiful animal! Needs at least a rug.

Dang nice Cat!!
Mount that Kitty!!!

I killed a huge Tom lion back 20yrs ago. I had it rugged. I never regretted not getting a mount. The rug is very versitale and takes up way less space, and a heck of a lot cheaper. Go for a rug

Gray fox. I'm looking for someone in pa that does good cats. You mind sharing who it is?

Mount it!

Beautiful cat! Being a taxidermist I would say spend the extra $$$ and get a full body mount. Check your locals work and ask lots of ???'s. I don't know prices in your area but around here probably only $200 more for full mount. JMO

I've seen ALOT of terrible bobcat mounts, the good ones I've seen were VERY expensive. Unless your willing to spend a couple thousand on it I would definitely get the rug. Google bad bobcat mounts and you'll see what I mean.

Great cat BTW.

Great looking cat, I'd be happy with a mount or rug but that t definitely deserves to be seen. If u go with a mount is check out wildlifeartist1 on here he's located in Michigan and his work is great on bobcats

Way to go Matt. Still searching down here for my first. Missed three with live traps over the warm up. Two malfunctioned live traps (one my fault) the last live trap has me scratching my head as there is no way the bait could have been taken without the animal being caught. Only thing I can think of is it was a coyote had to be something large enough to keep the door open while stealing the bait that was wired to the top of the cage in the back and it is a 30" live trap.

My advice would be to decide now if you intend to rug or mount it.Tanned hides have a shelf life and if you hang it for several years,it may stay looking great but may not be mountable.If you get it tanned and store it in the freezer,it will last indefinitely.Rug or mounted should be your choice but don't do either without being sure you pick a taxidermist that can do it justice.

Awesome cat! Full body.