Our Friend, Precious “The Bobcat”

Since the time of ancient Egypt, humans have been fascinated by wild animals, especially the big cats. The Wilsons, a family of wildlife lovers, have no idea what they’re in for when they adopt an injured bobcat that was found in the backyard of a home near the rim of a canyon. Author Judith Smith Wilson and her husband and young daughters find surprises nearly every day as the young female bobcat invades their lives and their hearts.

They soon learn that Precious, the name they’ve chosen for their new family member, was domesticated and de-clawed, so she can never be returned to the wild. She’s a complete failure when it comes to killing prey, and two attempts to breed her have mixed success. They also find that Precious loves to nuzzle their hair and snuggle by their side. Like any cat, Precious also enjoys playing in boxes and batting around various objects for fun—only in this case, those objects happen to be the paint brushes used by Judith, a professional artist, in her art room.

Needing her own space, Precious soon settles into a large enclosure outside, but her favorite place still remains the living room of the Wilson home every evening, when all of the other pets are shut away and the family can focus on this dynamic character who’s unlike any pet they’ve ever owned. The impact she leaves on her new family over the following two decades of her life can never be forgotten, even in comparison to the lions Judith encounters on her African safaris.
Where Precious came from is still a mystery. “Maybe,” Judith writes, “we weren’t meant to know. What I do know is that Precious came to teach us many things: Love, Patience, Laughter, and yes, even Responsibility."

“Through my tears, you will always remain, OUR FRIEND, PRECIOUS THE BOBCAT.”