The normal Bobcat litter consists of 2 or 3 kittens, born blind and weighing 4 to 8 ounces. Birth occurs in a rock crevice or burrow, after a 60-day gestation period. The kittens open their eyes after 10 days and are taught hunting skills by their mother until they leave her 9 or 10 months later. The father has no role in raising the offspring. Males are usually fertile by their first year, but females do not usually give birth to their first litter until they are two years old.
Females normally produce just one litter per year.
Bobcats in captivity have been known to live as long as 25 years. Young Bobcats appear as lovable and harmless domestic kittens, but because they are wild animals with the ability to inflict injury to humans, it is illegal to keep Bobcats as pets without special permits. Until 1971 the Bobcat, like the Coyote, had been pursued and destroyed as an undesirable predator, and little thought was given to its status or welfare. It could be killed at any time and in any manner. With the international protection of the world's spotted cats, the fur trade turned to the North American Bobcat.