Can u put a cat hide on a no. 4 or 5 wire coon stretcher? Or should u buy a cat board? I have fox, coyote an otter boatd

Buy a cat board. A wire raccoon stretcher will be too wide and the wrong shape. A fox or small coyote board would be a closer fit.

I have a small coyote board an a large coyote board, would the small one work out ?

If you buy a bobcat board then you will have the right board forever.

I use my otter boards for cats.

Do u leave the front legs long on pelt? How long to leave before turn ? Half a day? No scraping of the pelt is needed?

YouTube is your friend you can watch it over and over again that’s how in learn a lot of new things.

It will look like a football if you put it on a wire stretcher

X2

Dave there is one of the best tutorials you'll ever see right here in the fur handling archives.

Don't mess up your bobcat, watch some videos.
Yes you need to flesh but not as much.
We turn our cats after about 2-3 hrs.
Leave legs long front and back.
Look up Nevada style put up on bobcats.

Lots of videos out there.

Thanks for all the info!!!

Hope you are doing well Dave.

Fox or otter board. He lives in Iowa. Our cats are junk until like LATE season. Even then they're not that great

I use adjustable fox stretchers for cats

I'd buy an adjustable one like mentioned, seller on here- Otis and Top Lot make good ones.

Interesting vid, bobcats are handled differently

I would not put a high dollar western on wire but several local buyers use wire. Pinch the stretcher at the top to make it narrower. Use clothes pins to hold everything square at the bottom. A piece of lathe inside the pelt to allow air to circulate. Make sure its dry when you flip it. The window for cats is small keep a eye on it. If your only doing 1-4 or something I wouldn't buy wood for average Iowa cat. IMO you wont gain enough to pay for the stretchers.

I remember NAFA recommending coyote boards for bobcat.

this one was done on wire

Depends on the size of the cat, I've actually never seen a fox board, but would guess it to be the best fit. Only fox I ever put up, I put on a cat stretcher. I've got some jumbo cat boards that I do the little coyotes we have in this country on, but they are too big for 90% of our cats, so I'm assuming even your small coyote board will be too big for most cats. No wire. An otter board would work for small/medium cats except most otter boards have a very short, rounded head, and I prefer a narrower, more pointed head for cats. If you don't mind losing an otter board you can take one and trim the head down to make a cat stretcher.

If you're cat is too dry to turn easily when you take it off the stretcher, take a towel and soak it in hot water, thoroughly wring the water out and wrap the cat in the warm damp towel. In about five minutes it will turn easily. This is actually the way I do most of my cats, I put them on the stretcher and let them dry overnight, when I get up in the morning I take the first one off the stretcher, wrap in a towel and go on to the next, by the time I have the third one off the stretcher and wrapped in a towel the first one is ready to turn. No hassle or worries about ripping an overdry hide, and no worries about spoilage from stretching a green hide fur out. Much less hassle than the no-turn method in my opinion.

You can get a nice adjustable wooden stretcher for about $20 or so, Get at least one.
Makes all the diff if you sell your cats.
We used coyotes stretchers for years, our bobcats must be big because they fill them up. Bobcat boards have a little different shaped nose and taper, makes them look better.
We've talked at length with fur buyers, put them up right for the most money.

Wytex our cats aint your cats. Look at the picture I posted. Like I said even the local buyers dont use wood.

If your only catching a few, if they are not from CA NV OR WA ID UT WY NM or AZ the expense of wood wont pencil. You cant make silk from a pigs ear.

Cats like this don't live in IA