Dolly

Dolly was about 3 years old when she arrived at Catty Shack Ranch on November 30, 2019. She and Lester the bobcat came from a private facility. It has been fun to watch as they adapted to their new loving forever home and let their full personalities emerge.

Within a few weeks at Catty Shack Ranch, Dolly has treated our ears to the sound of a puma yowling. When our lions roar, some of the tigers chime in and the leopards vocalize. Dolly now adds her distinctive voice and many times, continues to talk long after the other animals have grown silent. She also responds to the voices of certain loving caregivers. Sadly, over the past few years, our puma population aged and passed away and we so missed that sound. Now we have Dolly! While her species cannot roar, she can yowl, hiss, chirp and scream. She also can purr and we hope you get to hear that sound too.

Dolly regularly practices her tether ball skills, batting and clutching a ball hanging from her ceiling. She enjoys surprising tour groups as they pass by her enclosure. She patiently waits and watches them from the back of her enclosure and then quickly and quietly sprints through her tunnel to emerge at the front. Then she circles back to plan her ambush on her next victims. She enjoys lying on her platforms, posing for photos and basking in the warmth of the sun. She has a view of Lester in his new home from her enclosure.

In the wild, pumas are found over a wide range of the Americas – from the Canadian Yukon, through the western United States and Central America, down through Argentina and Chile. A subspecies (the Florida panther) exists here in the southeastern US. It is no wonder that this cat goes by at least 40 names. Puma, cougar, panther, mountain lion, catamount, and painter are some of them. Our visitors come from all over the world and refer to Dolly by the species name used “at home.”

We are grateful to be able to provide a safe, loving forever home to Dolly and all our animals. Dolly enjoys a healthy diet of raw meat, portions appropriate to her age, size and nutritional needs. All our animals receive regular veterinary care and are very much loved.