I have a bobcat that was in a customer's freezer for three years and had some pretty bad freezer burn on its feet and tail. I skinned it out as much as I could, and then soaked it in a pickling solution to help soften it up. This worked, and I was able to skin it out. However, there is some hair slippage on 2 of the feet on the toes, and pretty bad slippage on the tail. The question is, do you think it is worth mounting it, or will it loose too much hair in the tumbler and during mounting? Any advise would be greatly appreciated!
Return to Lifesize Mammal Taxidermy Category Menu
It works great just my opinion.
First of all, tan the skin. Once it's tanned, THEN make the decision to mount, rug, or sell.
To start tanning, you can add Stop-Rot or other slippage prevention agents to your pickle that you already have the cat in. You can also take the pelt out and immerse it right in a bucket full of the stuff.
You're going to have to replace the tail, but that's easy, they can be had for very little $$ (between $5 and $10 per tail).
A warning. Get those foot bones out within 24 hrs. of beginning to pickle. OR ELSE. I mean you'll have rotting, slipping, stinking feet. Make sure you do a great job fleshing within 24 hrs. of starting the pickle, too. You need those acids in there to set the hairs and kill the germs, asap.
Thanks for the info. Where can I get a bobcat tail?
Try www.moscowhideandfur.com
Thanks for the info on the bobcat tail. It was very useful!